Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Can anybody give me an opinion about whether chain drive or shaft drive is better, or does it matter? Thanks!

Ford vs. Chevy.

Shaft is cleaner and lower maintenance. Chain is cheaper and more efficient. It all depends upon the usage and user.

Chain all the way.

More efficient.

Lighter.

Less complicated.

You can change gear ratio easily.

You can see the condition of the chain where the shaft is somewhat of a mystery.

I don't see how a modern o-ring chain maintenance is a big deal. It's virtually maintenance free. A shaft still needs to be maintained. You need to change the axle oil and some need spline lubes, etc.

Lot less things that can go wrong.

And most important for me, a chain does not hinder the handling of a bike.

Well I have only been a rider for 18 months now and I have a '97 Magna with a chain. I was always told that a shaft drive was way better. I am glad to hear that a chain drive is better in some ways. Also, I was under the understanding that a shaft drive was way less in need of maintenance. Is there another side to this discussion ?

I love shaft drive bikes. I have a Kawasaki Concours and a Yamaha XS750F. Both have shaft drives.

HYPERR wrote:Chain all the way.

More efficient.

Lighter.

Less complicated.

You can change gear ratio easily.

You can see the condition of the chain where the shaft is somewhat of a mystery.

I don't see how a modern o-ring chain maintenance is a big deal. It's virtually maintenance free. A shaft still needs to be maintained. You need to change the axle oil and some need spline lubes, etc.

Lot less things that can go wrong.

And most important for me, a chain does not hinder the handling of a bike.

Less things to go wrong on a chain? Virtually maintenance free? It's a "mystery"?

Are you mad?

With a shaft drive, you change the oil once every few years. And... oh, wait, that's it. Chains need to be oiled every few weeks.

Chains do have advantages, but maintenance and complexity are not among them.

jonnythan wrote:

HYPERR wrote:Chain all the way.

More efficient.

Lighter.

Less complicated.

You can change gear ratio easily.

You can see the condition of the chain where the shaft is somewhat of a mystery.

I don't see how a modern o-ring chain maintenance is a big deal. It's virtually maintenance free. A shaft still needs to be maintained. You need to change the axle oil and some need spline lubes, etc.

Lot less things that can go wrong.

And most important for me, a chain does not hinder the handling of a bike.

Less things to go wrong on a chain? Virtually maintenance free? It's a "mystery"?

Are you mad?

With a shaft drive, you change the oil once every few years. And... oh, wait, that's it. Chains need to be oiled every few weeks.

Chains do have advantages, but maintenance and complexity are not among them.

You obviously don't know much about spline lubes and clutch spline problems with BMW shafties do you?

There are tell-tale signs that a shaft may be failing but nothing is certain. And it certainly is a mystery in many cases. With a chain, everything is out in the open and any deterioration to the chain is right there for you to see.

I change the axle oil in my bike every year, not every few years.

Shafts are not maintenance free and modern o-ring chains are not maintenance intensive.

There is no need to be sarcastic or insulting.

Am I mad? No, but if you think chains are more complicated than Shafts, maybe you are.

Belt Drive - best of both worlds.
And I am quite mad.

bigbeakmacaw wrote:Can anybody give me an opinion about whether chain drive or shaft drive is better, or does it matter? Thanks!

Depends on what you're looking for in the rest of the bike... Shaft drives aren't found on smaller displacement engines. So, if you're looking for a "first motorcycle" then a chain drive is the way to go. Or belt drive... now THAT is virtually maintenance free. Just do a visual check (for damage) periodically and know what the proper belt tension is.

P

jonnythan wrote: With a shaft drive, you change the oil once every few years. And... oh, wait, that's it. Chains need to be oiled every few weeks.

Chains do have advantages, but maintenance and complexity are not among them.

With modern O-ring chains, maintenance is not much of an issue. A huge change from the standard chains of yesteryear. Since the primary lube is sealed in the rollers, all that is required is an occasional spritz of light lube to keep the O-rings sliding and link plates from rusting. On my bike, this takes less than a minute, every few weeks.

With the improved lubrication, the O-ring chains wear better than the old ones too. My current chain has reached the end of it's life at 23K miles. Over that period, I only had to do a chain adjustment (15 min.) twice.

A lot of the complaints I hear about chains come from folks that are treating their O-ring chains like the old standard chains. Dumping heavy, sticky lube on them, which attracts dirt and requires the chain to be cleaned occasionally.

IMHO, the final drive on a bike should be way down on the list of things to look for in a new bike.