Cardan final drive?

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ragin cajun · Sat May 13, 2006 2:33 pm

I've heard of (and seen reference to) shaft drive, chain and belt. What is a Cardan final drive? I'm guessing a type of chain or belt, but not sure. Thanks for any explanation.

The Volusia and Shadow Sabre both have this according to a comparison site that I'm looking at.

niterider · #2 Unread post by **niterider** » Sat May 13, 2006 3:02 pm

I would like to know what that is too.

Gummiente · #3 Unread post by **Gummiente** » Sat May 13, 2006 3:04 pm

A Cardan final drive is the same thing as a shaft drive. Depending upon where you are and what application it is on, it may be referred to by different names. For example, the driveshaft on a car was commonly called a Hotchkiss drive over in Europe while the same system was referred to as a shaft drive in North America. Over the years it has simply become common practice to call it a "shaft drive" when referring to a motorcycle, but some manufacturers will still refer to it as a Cardan drive. IIRC, the name comes from the Italian inventor who came up with the idea of using universal joints and a shaft to transmit power.

niterider · #4 Unread post by **niterider** » Sat May 13, 2006 3:09 pm

Thank you Gum info appriciated.

Sat May 13, 2006 3:13 pm

That's why I like it here. There have to be very very few things about bikes that can't be answered by someone in this community.