Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Any and all info appreciated on the advantages/disadvantages of chain/belt/shaft drive. I'll start:

Chain: needs to be adjusted, chain may break, chains are cheap, easy to replace
belt: needs to be adjusted, belt may break
shaft: torque steer? (not sure, never rode one), more maintenance?

What else? I'm shopping for an older bike, and need some info from everyone. One bike I've found is an '80 Honda CX500. I like the bike, and it seems like a decent starter bike (been away for about 15 years), but the shaft drive worries me a bit...

Thx!
Chris

I ride an 80 CX500 myself. dont worry about the shaft drive at all. I have never had trouble with mine, its smooth as can be.

The CX500 is a great starter bike, its very easy to ride, easy to do maintaince on, comfortable, and has plenty of power

At our altitude my CX will do 80mph on I-25 all day long and will still pull to 90-95mph in a hurry with just a twist of the throttle, its heavy enough to not get pushed around by the wind too much.

The CX has decent low end torque and you dont have to rev this engine much when riding on surface streets, but there is a nice reserve of top end power available with a mere downshift. I can putt around town at 30mph in 5th gear and not be lugging the engine.

Only real downside I can think of with the CX, its brakes flat out suck, you need to plan your stops in advance and use engine braking to supplement the poor brakes. On a side note poor brakes are a common feature of most older bikes, most bikes of this era are weak in the braking dept.

Another possible downside, if the CX is a custom model you will be tanking up about every 80 miles, the CX500 Custom has a tiny tank. If the CX is a deluxe model it has a bigger tank with a 150 or so mile range which is pretty average in the motorcycle world

Thanks for the info! BTW, I just checked the ad again, and this one is a 1984, not an '80 model. Haven't looked at it yet, nor seen pictures.

Chris

ok there was an 84 CX500 but cant seem to find any clue if it was sold in the US?

seems the eurosport and turbo (yes it really is turbocharged) models were the only ones that made it to 1984.

CX500 turbos are VERY rare, and eurosports are all but non existent in the US

any CX in good running condition for a reasonable price is worth picking up, they are known to be damn near indestructable.

I can putt around town at 30mph in 5th gear and not be lugging the engine.

You ride around in 5th gear while doing 30?

I'm usually in 2nd gear while doing 30, and my bike is very similar to yours. Is that bad for me? Should I be in higher gears?

it just has to do with engine speed, his RPM's will be much lower in 5th gear than yours in 2nd... neither is wrong unless you are stalling the motor or redlining it.

+1 to everything jmillheiser said.

I have only had her for six weeks, but I have found my '81 CX500 to be a great starter bike. To be honest, I have the feeling I'll hold on to her for fun even after I end up with another bike.

Also, the shaft drive is nearly maintenance free. The only scheduled mainteanance is to drain and change the gear oil in the rear drive, but this is a simple five minute/two nuts to remove job, and it does not have to be done often.

Fun to ride, a really cool sound at speed from the V-twin engine...great starter bike, or if you read the UK and European boards-- great bike PERIOD.

My bike is chain driven, the only drawback I see it the pain of lubing it. Adjustments is not an issue because I usually need to replace the rear tire before the chain needs adjusted. My last bike was shaft driven and seemed to be pretty much maintenance free. I had been told stories of shafts locking up but didn't give it much thought until riding with my son and his friend on night and the shaft locked up on the friends bike. PTL we were the only ones on the road because the bike and rider went down at 60 mph on the highway.

Kevin

angrypeppers wrote:Any and all info appreciated on the advantages/disadvantages of chain/belt/shaft drive. I'll start:

Chain: needs to be adjusted, chain may break, chains are cheap, easy to replace
belt: needs to be adjusted, belt may break
shaft: torque steer? (not sure, never rode one), more maintenance?

Shaft == less maintenance. I personally prefer shaft drives. The downsides of shaft drives are they add more weight than a chain or belt and there is some power loss.

To me, not have a chain or belt to deal with is a much bigger advantage than the above mentioned disadvantages. And thje only maintenance is having to change the gear oil once every year or two.