chain or shaft

I`m trying to decide on a new honda shadow.. but am torn between the
aero and the spirit 750`s
The aero is shaft driven and the spirit is chain. I have been told that
the shaft driven bike will give me a smoother ride.. other than that,

I'd be astonished if that were true. I strongy recommend finding a
better source for advice. Mind you, I like shaft bikes, ride one
regularly, prefer it to chain drive, but I cao't imagine it make that
particular difference. What I like is the low-maintnenance character
of the shaftie.

The aero won't wheelie. Or countersteer. The spirit will do both of

Stop that! You're being silly.

I love the hand gestures and voice effects you have with that phrase.

He might want to tighten up on the wrist some ....

Depends on the manufacturer of the shaft drive; viz ~1995 Virgao 535
rotates counterclockwise, and my R65 rotates clockwise.

Imagine my surprise going immediately from an all day ride on the
Virago (Pittsburg, PA, to Christiansburg, VA) to my R65 around the
block to the mechanic's!

In other words, you may need an anti-coriolis effect unit for your
anti-coriolis straightener!

That gives me a great idea for a *switchable* anti (or pro) coriolis effect
unit!

these things.

If the Aero won't countersteer, how do you turn it? If that is truly
the case, it is unique among motorcycles.

Old joke you probably haven't encountered yet. "Shaft drive motorcycles
can neither wheelie nor countersteer."

Both of which are false, of course.

But need debunking.

Why?

Excess bunk.

Bill Smith

Another thing to consider is what the rwhp is, I believe those bikes
both use the same motor so power output could be different based on
drive mechanism.

The chain drive ACE 750 makes a whopping 37 hp at the rear wheel, so if
the Aero shaft drive 750 has the same engine it will be less powerful
at the wheel which is where it matters. If power is what you want,
buy something else.

what other benefits are there between the two?

Which would you rather do.. Worry about constantly oiling, cleaning and
adjusting a chain that is going to throw chain lube all over the place
and require replacing (along with sprockets) every 10-15k miles.... or a
shaft drive which requires changing the fluid every spring and fall
totalling 15 minutes of maintenance on a part that will still be in
working order 100,000 miles from now?

That's a little extreme. Newer chains aren't anything like the old ones.

You don't need to clean and lube the shaft nearly as often as you do
the chain.

And to think that some say Harleys represent a means of compensating!

Do you really have to talk about lubing your shaft in public? At the
least, take it to the bathroom!

As long as he cleans it first, what's the problem?

That he only does it once every 6,000 miles.

Wouldn't that let it get a little, uh... crusty?

See, that's why it's a problem.

We are on a very slippery slope. All hands on deck!

Al Moore
DoD 734

Get shafted!

Uh, I mean get a shaft drive. I had one on my last bike.

There is less to worry about compared to a chain drive, but keep in mind
there will come a point when regular maintenenance for a shaft drive will
be required to keep it operating. My old bike required I open the housing
every 7500 miles and squirt some grease into it.

Mine requires I change the oil in it every 25000km. It's a really easy
job, though. I'll be doing it everytime I change the tire.

I am an old man of 77, still young at heart. I have ridden motorcycles
years ago some no longer built. Can't even remember names,BUT shaft
drive for me! Try repairing a broken chain in the middle of the night
with limited tools and a flashlight, SHAFT all the way!

Choose the bike, not the way it provides power to
the rear wheel.

Hope this helps!

Chain = sportier. More available torque and hp, lighter. Requires some

You can get as much torque as you want: that's what the transmission is
for.

maintenance, but not like in the old days.

Shaft = low maintenance (virtually none). Used to be said that "shafties
don't wheelie," but someone forgot to tell my FJR.

Or the Goldwing, for that matter.

My '82 GS1100L, a shaftie, would wheelie no problemo. Any quick twist
of the throttle in 1st.

That's Boxers don't wheelie. Specifically, Spagthorpe Boxers.

Well the shaft won!!! went out and bought it this evening... Very nice
bike.. i'm not after raw power.. quick takeoffs.. or even poping
wheelies.. Just want a comfy riding bike to putz around on.... The aero
does it very well... Haven't taken it far yet.. just around town as the

Congrats! God, but I LOVE a New Bike Announcement!

guy at the dealer recommended just running around town for the first 50
miles to break in the bike. After that i'll get running on the highway
and see what it does at cruising speeds.
But from what I can tell so far. It accelerates smoothly through all
the gears. Has plenty of power for the takeoffs. Handles well over the
bumps in the city streets and over tracks. Has enough weight to keep
everything riding easy. First service is due at 600 and every 4K after
that.

Congrats on the new bike, and hope you have many smiley miles.

Yeah, I agree, but sometimes you have little choice. Shaft drive works for
cruisers and touring bikes, but those of us who also ride sportbikes don't
have much choice in the matter. Try to find a performance bike with shaft
drive, and you'll be looking for a good long while.

It still takes a high-performance sport bike and a bold rider to stay ahead
of my 1985 Honda Sabre.

I had an '84, the 700 version. That was a good bike. Now I'm
putterin along on a 2003 Volusia.

The bright spot in all this is that modern chain drives are _not_ as
maintenance-intensive as they used to be. I haven't cleaned or oiled my
chain in almost 6,000 miles, and it's still like brand new.

My touring bike (FJR) has a shaft. My sportbike (R6) has a chain. Neither
one has given me any problems. Ride whatever kind of bike makes ya smile,
and don't worry about the final drive. And if what makes ya smile is an
older chain-drive bike, put a quality modern chain on it. That's all it
takes.

Try repairing a broken shaft spline in the middle of the day with all
the tools in the world. Chain is much easier to repair.

I don't know *anybody* who's ever broken a shaft spline.

I know several who have broken some part of a shaft drive. You just
don't know enough people.

How many have broken a spline?

Number of BMWs: 4 owned.

Splines broken: zero, in 25 years.

You need to be more specific about *what* splines one *which*
bikes.

1) rear wheel drive splines. Those do wear out.

2) gearbox input shaft splines. Starting with the /6 gearboxes
they became much finer. Those wear out too, and sometimes do
strip.

3) clutch plates. Seems like a spline failure, it's not.
Basically if you stop lubing the splines on the later vintage
R bikes the clutch plate, which has a very underbuilt hub,
can grenade in place.

Bottom line: any bike has wear items. For chain drive, figure
you will replace the sprockets and chain once every year or two
if you ride a lot. They're consumables.

For shafties, you will have to maintain the drives and shaft
oil, also a disposable item. Likewise any rubber driveshaft boots.

That's the *real* inconvenience of shaft drive bikes. Once that
boot tears or starts leaking you need to pull the swing arm to
get at it. I can do both sprockets and the chain on my KLR in
an hour. Doing a driveshaft boot takes all night, a new boot,
a half bottle of 90 wt, and a gasket.

Chains transmit more power with less weight. I'd say that's a
given. Most of that though is due to the way BMW builds it's
bikes. They have separate gearboxes that weigh more than
KLR's entire engine and transmission combined. Heck, the darn
flywheel on a /2 weights more than a KLR engine, just about.

At least 2. One a BMW, the other a Kawasaki.

I know 3 or four who have toasted the V-Star splines, although the
failures were related to factory defects.

Factory defect or not. It's not easy to fix alongside the road with any
amount of tools, where as a chain is simple to fix with minimal tools.
Which was the point I was making.

Don't get a motorcycle. If your motorcycle suffers some failure you
can't fix at the side of the road, you have to walk. If your shoes
break, you can still walk.