Shaft drive vs belt drive vs chain drive

[jrdudas]

I have been bike-less for several years now and am getting ready to get back on board. My last bike was a Honda CX-500 and was the worst handling bike on curves that I have ridden. I always blamed the lack of lean confidence on the shaft drive. Then after a few years I was convinced by some that the problem was not the shaft drive, but rather the odd placement of the V-2 engine. The bike was top heavy because the cylinders opposed each other in an-across-the-frame configuration instead of an in-line-with-the-frame setup.

The other day I met a salesman who seemed quite knowledgable and explained to me the technical reasons why the basic design of a shaft drive tends to take weight off of the rear tire during acceleration in a corner. He said all shaft drive bikes suffer from the same design characteristic. Well that sounded quite plausible so now I am back to being confused.

My first choice in my next bike is a belt drive; they are reported to be clean, relatively maintenance free, and reliable. That narrows the field quite a bit and I really don't want to pay the money for a Harley. I find the Suzuki Savage (S40) quite interesting but I think it is too small for me. I am not a huge guy, but I am 6' 1" and about 210 pounds. I'm afraid that I'll look like 4 pounds of tuna in a 3 pound can. I know that the Savage has a loyal following and I really like the simplicity of the bike, but just think it's too small.

I don't want a chain drive because of the maintenance and mess. I have had a chain drive in the past and had no trouble with it other than being messy. So here's my question to those who have experienced all three; are today's shaft drive bikes prone to poor handling on the corners or am I getting bum information about their basic design. If you have owned either a chain drive or belt drive and then went to a shaft drive, what was your experience.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

JR

[earwig]

Get a Buell! You'll love it! Check out the XB12S... you can get a nice leftover or used one for pretty darn cheap!

[Mintbread]

Shaft drives are heavy which means they will affect the performance of the rear suspension and therefore the handling of the bike.

The maintenance and messiness of a chain depends on you, not the chain. Chain wax does not fling off and has yet to leave any mess on me or my bike. Maintenance involves spinning the wheel and spraying the wax on the chain after a ride. Total time is about ten seconds every couple of weeks.

[earwig]

Shaft drives are heavy which means they will affect the performance of the rear suspension and therefore the handling of the bike.

The maintenance and messiness of a chain depends on you, not the chain. Chain wax does not fling off and has yet to leave any mess on me or my bike. Maintenance involves spinning the wheel and spraying the wax on the chain after a ride. Total time is about ten seconds every couple of weeks.

Doesn't break dust and dirt stick to the chain and wax, and then get all over your back wheel? I hated having a chain... especially having to keep it tight/the right tension.

[Mintbread]

I have polished rims and I never have any gunk from the chain on the rear wheel. Dirt and brak dust yes, but no chain wax.
Adjusting the chain along with a dozen other things I do regularly with the bike all comes down to performance.

[Sev]

I find the extra maintenance associated with a chain isn't so annoying that it isn't worth getting a chain.

Ultimately all the final drives are good, all do what they're supposed to, and do it well.

SO! Do not allow the final drive to influence which bike you want. If you get the bike you love, you won't give a rats "O Ring" how it moves power between the crank and wheel, so long as it does so.

[Gummiente]

My last bike was a Honda CX-500 and was the worst handling bike on curves that I have ridden.

I'll second that! My first bike was an '81 CX500C and I swear it had a hinge under the seat that connected the front of the frame to the rear. What I found out later was just what the salesman told you, it's an inherent characteristic of shaft drive bikes. BMW has tamed the effects quite nicely with their suspension setup but nobody else seems to have followed suit. The '99 Kawasaki Drifter 1500 I had a few years ago was just as bad as the Honda in the handling department - BUT - once you learn how to adapt to a shaft drive you can enjoy years of trouble-free mileage. Don't gun it from a stoplight and you won't have near as much "shaft effect" (when the rear of the bike rises before the front). Try not to adjust your speed while in a corner, otherwise you'll get that nasty "hinge under the seat" experience. Be smooth on throttle inputs and you won't get that jerky motion caused by backlash in the final drive. Having said all that, don't rule out a shaft drive simply because of a less than enjoyable experience on one. They just require a slightly different technique to operate is all and the benefits are very low maintenance and long life.

Belt drive is a very good setup and there are more bikes out there than you might think with them. As you're a big guy, why not check out the new Kawasaki Vulcan 900? Or the Yamaha V-Star?

[KingRobb]

have had a chain and a belt drive, no problems with either.

I second the vulcan 900 idea....guy at work got one early this season and wont shut up about how great it is.

[t_bonee]

I find the extra maintenance associated with a chain isn't so annoying that it isn't worth getting a chain.

Ultimately all the final drives are good, all do what they're supposed to, and do it well.

SO! Do not allow the final drive to influence which bike you want. If you get the bike you love, you won't give a rats "O Ring" how it moves power between the crank and wheel, so long as it does so.

+1 It doesn't make a damn bit of difference. Get whatever bike you like. The final drive isn't gonna make that big of a diifference if you've found the bike you like.

[ZooTech]

My last bike was a Honda CX-500 and was the worst handling bike on curves that I have ridden. I always blamed the lack of lean confidence on the shaft drive. Then after a few years I was convinced by some that the problem was not the shaft drive, but rather the odd placement of the V-2 engine. The bike was top heavy because the cylinders opposed each other in an-across-the-frame configuration instead of an in-line-with-the-frame setup.

My first bike was a '78 CX500. I had no problem scraping the exhaust in a turn, even with dry-rotted tires. Most sportbikes are made a bit top-heavy on purpose in order to "fall" into a turn easier. The only thing a shaft-drive will do to spoil a good turn is jack under acceleration, but even that isn't usually enough to upset the chassis to the point where you'd freak out. It just takes some getting used to.