Bikes that really should have shaft drive

[Dr Jekyll]

I appreciate that not everyone agrees that chain drive is fundamentally, even morally, wrong. Equally there are those who are convinced shaft drive bikes can't go round corners.

But to take a moderate middle position, which bikes have chains but really should have shafts?

Kawasaki Versys and Suzuki V strom spring to mind.

Kawasaki Z1000 perhaps.

[SAS Tom]

Sapping power from a Versys doesn't sound like a good idea to me. They don't have much to start with!

[Hooli]

R1s, as they are all ridden by fat blokes too old to bend down & manage to lube the chain.

[Fleegle]

Hooli said:

R1s, as they are all ridden by fat blokes too old to bend down & manage to lube the chain.

That's why I have a bike lift

[Hooli]

Fleegle said:

Hooli said:

R1s, as they are all ridden by fat blokes too old to bend down & manage to lube the chain.

That's why I have a bike lift

I thought that was a stairlift?

[creampuff]

Purity14 said:

You have it wrong, shaft drives cannot wheelie.

Hehehehehe

[Gareth9702]

Here is a shaft drive failing to wheelie.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1cuYycMRY

[Husaberk]

Dr Jekyll said:

I appreciate that not everyone agrees that chain drive is fundamentally, even morally, wrong. Equally there are those who are convinced shaft drive bikes can't go round corners.

But to take a moderate middle position, which bikes have chains but really should have shafts?

Kawasaki Versys and Suzuki V strom spring to mind.

Kawasaki Z1000 perhaps.

Just sold my z1000, managed to get 21k out of the original chain and sprockets. Only had to adjust the chain 4 times. Loved it but the last thing it needs is more weight, the enemy of fun.

Shaft only seems worthwhile on stuff that either works for a living or is so heavy the extra weight isn't noticeable.

[Mr2Mike]

None of them. How are you supposed to modify the final drive gearing when you have 20kg of power absorbing junk attaching the wheel to the gearbox?

[Hooli]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Keeps your bike cleaner for OCD freaks.

[Wedg1e]

Purity14 said:

You have it wrong, shaft drives cannot wheelie. They can go round corners without a problem.

I've wheelied my shaft drive. Unfortunately once the front end comes up it tries to turn corners - usually onto the bike next to me

[Dr Jekyll]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Reduced maintenance is the upside. You can be out riding while the chain drive owner is faffing around adjusting the chain.

Given the power of modern bikes reduced efficiency compared with a perfectly adjusted chain is irrelevant. Weight is similarly irrelevant.

Most of us have no interest in adjusting our final drive ratio, that's why cars seem to manage perfectly well with shaft drive.

[jackh707]

Dr Jekyll said:

Kawasaki Versys and Suzuki v strom

If you are refering to the 650s, NoNoNo. Light (for what they are), cheap and reliable bikes that do not need to be more complicated,

If 1000s, I'm still not sure. The V1000 is a road bike, the Strom 1000, has some light off road suggesting styling, but the lack of shaft drive is one of the reasons these 2 bikes are affordable and undercut a new R1200GS/KTM1190/multi by £4-5k.

Don't get me wrong they are not in the same league overall as the above bikes.

And let's not get started on BMW final drive failures. Arguably they usually happen to unsympathetic owners who wouldn't notice the first signs of it starting to go.

I'd pick a chain for reliability every time.

[Gareth9702]

The two most popular bikes for dispatch riders were the CX500 and the GT550. Chains may be fine if you ride only on sunny weekends but if you ride every day in all conditions they become an unnecessary weak link. There is nothing inherently unreliable in shaft drive - as proved by countless millions of cars, tricks, tractors, ... - so any BMW issues are down to poor design.

[tight5]

Hooli said:

R1s, as they are all ridden by fat blokes too old to bend down & manage to lube the chain.

one gets ones butler to do such things .

[Mr2Mike]

Gareth9702 said:

The two most popular bikes for dispatch riders were the CX500 and the GT550. Chains may be fine if you ride only on sunny weekends but if you ride every day in all conditions they become an unnecessary weak link. There is nothing inherently unreliable in shaft drive - as proved by countless millions of cars, tricks, tractors, ... - so any BMW issues are down to poor design.

On cars and trucks, weight and size are not such an issue so it's not difficult to make parts strong enough to be reliable. On a bike you have far more constrained packaging requirements. Shaft drives are already heavy, bulky assemblies compared to chain and sprockets; to make them much stronger and longer lived would probably mean even more size and weight.

[black-k1]

All biles with more than about 35bhp.

Weight increase is minimal and less than the unnecessary extra kilos most riders add.

Removes requirement for lubing and adjusting and saps less power than a badly adjusted/lubed chain. Much easier to keep clean and doesn't need replacing every 20k miles.

[Silver993tt]

I also vote for shaft drive on nearly all bikes. An alternative would be enclosed chains and don't understand why they're not available, even as an option.

[Hooli]

tight5 said:

Hooli said:

R1s, as they are all ridden by fat blokes too old to bend down & manage to lube the chain.

one gets ones butler to do such things .

Have you no class old bean, one's butler should instruct the groom to do it.

[Fleegle]

Everyone knows that chains get cleaned, adjusted and lubed when it goes in for a service