I own all 3 types. Break a chain,repair and keep going. Break a belt not as easy a fix, but still not bad. Break the shaft drive and you're in for a long fix. It's rare but does happen. And it's the most expensive fix of the 3.
Not entirely accurate, I have bikes with all three systems and have had failures of all three over the 50 plus years I've been riding. If a shaft drive fails it's expensive and inconvenient but usually nothing more. If a belt fails it's again a nuisance but costs very little to fix. If a chain fails you can SOMETIMES get away with a road side fix but I've had other instances on high performance bikes where the chain has parted and entered the engine completely destroying the primary drive. I've never had that level of damage from a belt or shaft.
That oil cost less than $6 for a quart and it’ll last 3-5 years depending of how much oil you need and how frequent you change the oil. Btw, to change it, you just drain it from plug and fill (3~6ounces?). This is as cheap maintenance as anything goes. I changed my oil at 6000 miles (roughly 3-4 years). Bought a new quart. You could probably ride it longer as no contamination gets in there or use synthetic oil to last longer.
Missed belt vs chain trade off: while a belt is more expensive itself to replace, during catastrophic failure a belt will simply zip away with the rider only noticing a complete loss of power transmission, while a chain can both jam between the sprocket and swing arm instantly locking the rear wheel and can also be flung forward into the transmission/engine/drive sprocket requiring a complete rebuild or engine/transmission replacement. This is an important difference as how a system operates at its limits and at failure can have lethal consequences. I’ve personally seen all three modes of failure, and had both a locked rear wheel in a turn from a broken chain and a lost belt at highway speed. While a chain can simply fall away if it breaks in the right location every instance I’ve seen has resulted in a high speed projectile thrown either behind the bike or into some portion of it (or getting jammed between a sprocket and swingarm). A shaft drive, on the other hand, only fails catastrophically when the front u-joint disconnects and if the design is otherwise unsupported it becomes an ersatz pole vault flinging the entire rear of the bike into the air, much like a disconnected drive shaft can do on an automobile. While this essentially only occurs due to direct damage it is still a more dangerous failure mode than a belt.
@@johnadams3038 Sorry John, I’m not following your point. It’s accurate to say that when both are in good condition then chains have less wasted energy, but I’m not seeing how that’s germane to their catastrophic failure modes. Can you close that loop for me so I can understand what you’re getting at? Thanks.
@@johnadams3038 That's actually no longer true except at low power. Belts have gotten a lot better over time, and their friction loss is near constant. Belts however have frictional losses that increase as speed increases. So at a low output, a chain may have a 1.5% frictional loss, while the belt would be 3%. But at a high output, the chain might be 3%, and the belt will be 3%. I can send you links to actual data. Anyway the 6-9% losses of belts are numbers from the 80s, belts made a lot of progress in the last 20 years and are pretty much on par with chains in terms of power losses when actually riding.
@@johnadams3038 Yea the reason is simple I want a hog the same as my grandads hog. Cogged belts are far superior if you look at all the latest research and not the 1980s crap this computer voice is spewing.....Mmmmm can silicon chips spew?
Regular maintenance is actually mandatory on them, if you don't maintain it you're gonna have problems. VFR 1200 taught me all i needed to know about this system.
@@omnipotent87 Not true. Shaft drives take the force a complete 90 degrees, even with the best gear design it falls short of what a chain provides in efficiency. Common knowledge.
As long as you ensure it's properly adjusted every once in a blue moon, a belt is a lifetime part. Really, the price difference is not an issue for most riders because they will never have to buy one. Of the handful of belts I've installed for my customers, one was damaged by gravel and the others weren't aligned properly, never seen one just wear out. Chains were a daily thing, also saw quite a few engine cases broken by broken chains and countershaft seals and bearings ruined by worn out chains with tight spots. In fact, I believe I've repaired more bikes that were broken by their chains than I've replaced belts. For what it's worth.
If you want consistent acceleration then the drive shaft is the way to go. If you want more power then a chain is better, but it does not behave the same each time you accelerate. Chains are more fun and less predictable than drive shafts.
@Ziggy Zig Maybe the dyno is not sensitive enough to notice. My FZR 600 and FZ-09 chain bikes both have less consistent acceleration than my vStar 650 had which has a drive shaft. Maybe the tire quality is the actual cause. The Z rated tires on the 2 crotch rockets might allow for more tire spin.
I had a 1984 Honda V65 Sabre shaft drive. Changing 5 fluid ounces of 90 weight gear oil was yearly maintenance. It took hard beatings and high mph. My bike was A FAST ACCELERATING ROCKET.
@@arturama8581 In 1986, at Baylands race track, Jay Gleason on a standard 1200 Vmax got a standing 1/4 mile in 9 secs, the V65 was not far behind that, not alot of progress has been made in the years between on standard production bikes
One HUGE difference ( covered by a couple others but not the author ) between chain and shaft for sport riding : While leaning into a turn and applying moderate throttle a chain driven bike will tend to "SQUAT" at the rear due to the physics of the top of the chain pulling force on the top of the rear sprocket ... which, in turn, compresses the rear shock ... which, in turn, lowers the center of gravity mid-turn. Not the case on a shaft driven bike. The physics of the ring & pinion gearset ( at the rear wheel ) demands the pinion gear is attempting to climb UPWARDS on the ring gear ... which, in turn, makes the bike RISE AT THE REAR. It's a strange feeling if you are used to feeling a SQUAT and get a RISE when you apply a heap of throttle. But it's just physics.
I also noticed right away that a belt driven has no buffer between acceleration and down throttle....in other words....(on a 1000cc touring bike), when I accelerated quickly and then suddenly decelerated the rear tire "chirped"......not good at ALL during cornering.
I agree as my Ducati is a chain drive and my BMWR1100RT is shaft I ride 1 of the two at least 6 days a week .the shaft drive is easier to get to clean into a right hand corner than left due to the rotation of the drive shaft
Im happy to see this comment. My dad told me this and kinda blew my mind, Im just getting into motor cycles and understanding this made me realize just how much every part matters. And how much they can effect the quality and comfort of a ride.
All 3 have their place. On my Harley, love the longevity of the belt. I put on way to many miles for a chain. On my KTM dual sport, obviously a chain. I have 2 sets of wheels with different sprockets and a chain for each set. I am not putting 15-20k miles on my KTM, so longevity is not a concern. Fine tuning the gearing by changing the front and rear sprockets is. Never owned a shaft driven bike, only have a few miles on a couple of them.
There's an automatic chain oiler kit available, manufactured in the UK. Kit consists of an oiler resiviour with flow rate adjuster, drip feeds oil onto chain via tiny tube. Keeps chain 100% clean, no oil spray onto back rim/tire. No more cleaning/lubricating chain. Highly recommended chain drive. 🖐🇦🇺
Honda 750 was so popular in the '70's, a company made a kit to enclose the final drive. Had rubber belows flex for up n downs. Oil in, dirt out. Nice long chain n sprocket life. Harley did the same thing back in the old days. Seems they always leaked and the styling experts didn't like it, but the idea is sound.
All 3 designs have a specific purpose and type of motorcycle they are generally used for. I've experienced all of the different final drive types. For me, cruising the open highways I love my shaft drive. Reliable, very easy maint. and I'm on a larger V-Twin cruiser, so a little loss of power at the rear wheel really isn't that noticeable. It's not a sport or super sport.
The power loss claimed is not likely, a car barely has that much loss. That tiny shaft and very few gears would be under 10% loss and not that much higher than either a belt or chain, maybe 5% difference.
I much prefer chain drive generally speaking because of the flexibility to easily change sprockets. Also, with a centerstand (such as on my ZX-11), lubing the chain is easy (especially with the chain guard off). Chains also look very cool and can be downsized to shave weight. Pretty impressive how something that has to handle the full power of the bike only weighs a few pounds.
i have a chain driven DRZ400 and a shaft driven XJ750. shaft is cool cause it doesnt need any real maintenance besides some gear oil. but they are heavy, i think i prefer chain the most. they are simple, cheap and easy to replace. yea lubing it often can suck but it doesnt take long
I've owned bikes with chain drive, and with shaft drive. I agree that each system, under the right conditions, provides reliable power delivery. For the open road, my shaft drive Concours, for off road fun, my chain drive DRZ 400.
I have been riding for over 35 years and motocross raced for 20 of it . I totally agree . My BMWR1100RT is shaft and love it. But my Cagiva elephant is chain drive . I just don't think a shaft drive would do well in a off road environment.
@@powertothebauer296 yes the BMW Paris to Dakar was a shaft drive. But I suspect that they ran higher than normal grade ujoints in it as well as sealing everything up very well. But what would concern me would be the long term effects of sand and water getting to the drive line and the rubber in between the inner and outer drive shafts deteriorating and having a drive shaft failure.
Fails to mention the cvt belt drives on the majority of scooters. Totally different to the toothed belt system. Very simple and low maintenance. Also, I have a Yamaha Townmate T80. 80ccs and shaft drive. It's brilliant.
I have an Icebear Rocket 50cc that has the belt driven cvt. They don't seem to break often, and if they do its cheap to replace. Also easy enough to DIY. I suppose the performance in scooters is helped with it being more enclosed.
Having owned and ridden all 3 over the past 46 years, shaft wins hands down, unless it's a dirt bike (or a BMW) My bought new 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan 750 has 119K miles on it and the shaft drive has never caused any problems. Just change the oil in it once in a while. Shaft drive bikes also have a HUGE advantage when it comes to rear wheel alignment. The wheel can only go on one way, so there is no alignment to deal with, and nothing ever needs to be adjusted. It is sealed and protected from dirt, water, mud, whatever you ride through. Sadly shaft drives are so expensive you don't see many of them anymore, manufacturers are cutting corners to save money. The next best thing is an O or X ring chain. They last a long time, and don't need to be lubricated or adjusted nearly as often as old school chains, they are easy to work on, and you can usually change the gearing by replacing sprockets. The last and by far the worst is belt drive. I have a belt drive Harley, and after trying for three days to get both the belt tension set right AND the rear wheel aligned, I gave up and took it to a local independent Harley shop (NOT a dealer) They told me it takes TWO people to do it right. And while a chain will tolerate a slight amount of rear wheel misalignment, a belt will not. It has no sideways flex, and the slightest amount of misalignment will grind it up. There is also the problem of getting a small rock or piece of gravel between the pulley and belt. That is usually no big deal with a chain, the steel chain and sprocket will simply crush it. But with a belt drive, it can destroy both the belt and pulley. I am planning on doing a chain drive conversion on my Harley. Belt drive SUCKS.
Agree with you that shaft drive on a powerful enough bike is best. Did you have bad experience with BMW shaft drive? As a BMW mechanic I only see very rare occasions of a worn out drive shaft driven bike.
FYI - you do NOT need 2 people to align and tension a belt, but (and you already knew this was coming) you do need the bike held upright on either a center stand (which Harleys only ever have as aftermarket items, and that rarely) or an appropriate lift. Note that you don’t need the bike in the air - a full size lift with handlebar tie downs and a wheel chock works fine so long as the bike is in neutral. While I’ve never seriously ridden a shaft drive (though I came really close to buying one a decade ago), I have just over 70k miles on my ZX6 (chain, almost instantly converted to an x-ring) and am about to top 100k miles on my Harley (belt) a major difference to me has always been the feel. Because the belt stretches ever so slightly it takes some of the jerkiness away (though in fairness that could also be the rubber dampeners Harley puts between the driven pulley and the wheel itself). In a cruiser or touring bike this is a huge benefit as it allows you to simply glide around relying on the engine torque to see you through, while you’d downshift on a sport bike to do the same. For those who don’t ride both: on a sport bike if you don’t stay in its power band you effectively have no power, and lugging the engine results in you slowing down as you aren’t generating enough power to keep moving, while on a large touring bike you can indeed lug the engine as it still has sufficient torque even at low rpm’s to generate the power needed to accelerate. For the easiest comparison: try accelerating from a stop in 3rd gear or higher - any big twin Harley can do this without stalling, while essentially no sport bike can (exception: liter bikes and up, and only by revving the engine and dropping the clutch) - these machines are just designed for completely different purposes.
@@robertkb64 I was unable to get the belt tension adjusted and the rear wheel lined up at the same time because the axle nut has to be loose to adjust the belt tension. When I got the belt tension right (and yes I have the H-D tension 10 pound tension gauge) the wheel was out of alignment (I also have the Motion Pro alignment tool that checks the distance between the dimple in the swing arm pivot and the rear axle) After getting the wheel back in alignment, the belt tension was off. I went back and forth several times and finally gave up. I don't have a lift, or room for one. I have never seen a Harley with a centerstand. But I have never had any problem adjusting a chain while keeping the wheel in alignment on bikes without centerstands.
The power loss for a shaft drive is closer to 7% than "20 to 25 % of the power". Belt drives are adversely effected by rocks, sand and gravel and are ONLY recommended for paved roads. The regular maintainance for shaft drived is oil changes, for roller chain it replacment of chain and sprockets the time between replacment can vary 3:1 depending on road, of off-road use.
I have a belt thats more than 20 years old now and i never touched nor maintained it and its got close to 150k miles. In my opinion if you're a cruiser guy mostly on paved roads, belt is the best. For adventure guys the best is shaft or chain. For performance ofcourse chain. My belt also had 20k plus miles off road experience and it never let me down. Oh and i turned my bike into a bobber the moment i acquired it so it doesn't have a belt guard to protect it from rocks. I swear for the past 20 years I've been using that bike i never touched it nor worry about it. The only time i had to touch it was when changing tires for final adjustment thats it! Fuckin real maintenance free compared to my other bike with a chain.
the power loss for a chain is 99% when the chain starts jumping teeth and 100% when the chain breaks Unless you are riding with the throttle WFO ALL THE TIME what do you care about power loss?! Cant afford gasoline for your MC?!
@@kenwittlief255 power loss means power loss... so you're slower than the next guy with less power loss... no biggie for cruising around other than range/fuel cost but when performance is of concern, it starts to matter.
I could not believe the "20 to 25%" claim. That would be a huge amount of power converted to heat loss. If you held your brake to rub off a quarter of the power generated, it wouldn't take long for the brake rotor to glow red hot. I've never noticed a drive shaft get hot. If you lost 25% of power, why, you'd need a radiator just for the drive shaft. I'll wager those numbers correspond to maximum torque or full throttle. A Goldwing cruising the interstate at steady state might be as low as 1% loss. That's my guess, I'm willing to be educated as I don't know.
You know, these guys are leaving out the option of using a hydraulic pump and motor. The nice thing about hydraulics is that you have a bypass valve, which serves as the transmission.
Some other things to consider is unsprung weight and the shaft drive adds negatively in this regard. Also you have to control the shaft tendency to lift the rear suspension on hard acceleration can be spooky on a curve or cornering. You do this by springing it stiffer /rough ride Shaft drive does need a special grease not totally maintenance free. I've had all three types of drives and IMO non really stand above the rest as far as overall performance .My rides over the years, Triumph Rocket3 and Goldwing are shaft and around 5 other Hondas with chain . Harley Superglide with belt ....was leery of a belt drive but it has 30,000 miles on the same belt. very quiet drive/clean light weight Chains can handle more power than a belt but they are messy and stretch and wear out. Noisy/messy /heavier than belt Shaft are strongest but heaviest and with high power motors need a stiffer suspension . Rough ride/handling quirks with suspension loading and unloading.
Yes I thougth the same about belt drive aswell, until i got a harley sportster, its way cleaner then a chain, but not as clouchy as a driveshaft, best of both in my opinion
I couldn't tell you what the hell you're talkin about because everytime I twist the throttle on my shaft drive Honda all I see are people in my mirrors chains rubber bands belts whatever you want to call them they're all outdated yesterday's bullshit
@@joelombardi5235 It's not only about speed, the way torque gets tranferred through the driveline just feels smooth with belt drive, the reason electric bikes also have this because it is quiter then a chain. That being sad, chain wil put any drive shaft of equal power in the mirror, why? because a shaft drive has a lower power transfer efficiency then a chain, even lower than a belt drive. I had an old yamaha dragstar, maybe newer ones have improved, the fact is you NEED play in you splines, which maybe causes the clunky feeling when riding
@@joelombardi5235 Maybe they didn't twist throttle as you did or just your bike more powerfull regardless off drivetrain system? your comment feels cringy ana fanboyish. And video literally said, shaft lose %22-25 power.
"Some other things to consider is unsprung weight and the shaft drive adds negatively in this regard." - true, but what's not being said is in the new bikes (K series Beemers etc.) the shaft is also the integral swing-arm, and also being alloy, the weight differential isn't as extreme as many like to think.
That’s a point- I had a Suzuki 850 shaft drive for a few months in 1990 and I never did look into how the drive worked or how to service it. Then I moved to the US. After a year or so in the States my mother sent me a form from the UK Department of Transport- they wanted tax monies for my bike….which I had sold before leaving. The registration is cut into two when the vehicle is sold- the seller sends in one part, the buyer send the other part. I sent my part, they dint send their’s. We never had any Hell’s Angels in our area but we has….THE SCORPIONS. Hey, cash money, legal transaction, I’m off to America. Nice machine, bog-standard, could go 100mph all day, even with the #2 spark plug barely hanging on in there. Some fool before me had tried to force in the wrong size plug or something.
Been riding 25 years & had 3 bikes. 1st bike: chain, 2nd bike: belt, current bike: shaft. Favorite? All good as long as you get out there and ride the thing.
Oh no I spend 30 seconds looking at a belt while I change my oil and do proper maintenance on my motorcycle every other ride 🤦♂️. They aren’t cars they are much more needy. If it’s to much of a hassle to check it every now and then why even own one
@@alexchristian5399 Lol my Goldwing has a longer oil change interval than my pickup. It is up to the rider to choose what kind of bike they want. I like to explore and go to distant places so the Goldwing made a lot of sense just so happens that it doesn't require me to check or change something every time I want to mount it. So stop being some elitist that is telling someone to not own a motorcycle for saying they prefer to have shaft drive because it is one less thing to check.
@@KoaGuy lol I said it was unrealistic to expect a motorcycle to be easy to maintain. And you are flat out wrong. Not everyone has 30k to drop on a motorcycle like the fucking gold wing. I’m not trying to gate keep I’m calling it moronic to buy a motorcycle and then complain about having to do maintenance
@@alexchristian5399 But that's the thing no one here is complaining about doing maintenance. This guy choose to have a shaft driven bike because he doesn't have to deal with checking a chain or belt. It's their choice to choose the ride they want. What's unrealistic is someone who would buy a motorcycle based off your opinion. You are gate keeping. So don't back track and also not everyone is buying a brand new loaded Goldwing many are used and in great condition for cheap, and many buy used.
@@alexchristian5399 what is your malfunction lol? OP litterally just stated that the shaft drive is perfect for him based on the fact that it is the most "low maintenance" solution. How do you get worked up by such a comment??
Wow, never new shaft drives waste 25% of power (sounds high) and belts 10%. Clearly, chain is the winner re performance and cost, but you pay for the maintenance, but its not bad if its a road bike.
Chains also have the disadvantage of stretching under load. A loose chain can cause the bike to fish-tail, so having it properly tensioned is important. The chain's pressure on the back axle can pull the back wheel put of alignment, disturbing the handling of the bike. With a shaft drive (or a CVT) misalignment is eliminated, so "technically" those alternatives are "safer". Shaft drives tend to cause the back of the bike to rise under power, while chains cause the back end to drop. You can see this effect on drag bikes where the tyres are actually distorted by the power. Bikes also have the tendency for the front end to dip under heavy braking, so having a shaft drive bike can have an effect like a see-saw if ridden aggressively. BMW has a special front end setup to counter this.
@@stanislausbrown8626 And say a rag gets spun around the wheel locking the rear wheel up, what happens with the rear wheel? Can it slip with the shaft drive to save the the biker?
I have a Moto Guzzi V7 which is shaft drive. What I like most about it is that I don't have to clean it all the time. Changing the oil in it is a breeze and doesn't need to be done all that often.
I've had at least one of each, and my PERSONAL PREFERENCE is for shaft, with belt drive running a very close second, and drive shaft being a set-and-forget proposition, which I quite like. I'm a laid-back cruiser kind of rider, not a sport biker.
Started with a shaft on a 79 Yamaha XS1100, got a bike with a chain, CB500, even changed the rear sprocket and chain itself, but it felt like a pain in the ass. Now I'm back to shaft, R NineT, and no longer need to mess with gearing, or chain oil, or chain tension, etc.
I've owned all three. Prefer the belt overall. Then the shaft. Belt is the least cost for power and lasts just as long as the chain. The shaft drive is the strongest by far but tends to lift the back of the bike under acceleration (at least mine have) so not ideal for performance but fine for a cruiser. I would tell my buddy when his chain needed to be adjusted after riding down the highway near him. He had R6. I had XB12R
I had a shaft and the whole bike feels like it jumps up when you crank on the gas. I will take a belt all day long. Chains are too much work and with no center stand on a Harley a pain in the ass to lube.
My Can Am Spyder RT Limited uses a belt. When I picked it up from the dealer brand new, I had a hole in the belt caused by a stone from roadworks within 700km. I was livid - it cost NZ$800 to replace the belt.
Sprocket ⚙️size and changes is also a big part or motorcycle chain drives which was completely forgotten. I change mine for stunting and back for highway. The closer ratio to 1:1 the more torque. A 3:55 ratio is highway but a 4:11 is better for stunt drag or just low end torque.
@Legi0n21 you lying to yourself the backend always lifts up on a shaft drive motorcycle. it is kind of unnerving. shaft drive works on a big heavy gold wing the only way to go. as for a cruiser I prefer belt if it’s a dirtbike no other way to go but chain.
I was told by a engineer that chain drive is only more efficient than shaft when new after 750/1000 miles the chain is a lot less efficient than the shaft drive and the more miles you do the worse the chain becomes plus shaft stays at its same efficiency for life but the big downside is the weight of the shaft drive system not suitable for small engine bikes
No, I haven’t heard that from any belt or shaft drive owner, BUT have heard from chain drive owners, “Damn, I have to clean and oil the chain and adjust the chain before I go on the ride.”
My sedan has a 17% parasitic power loss, and that's with 6 gears and AWD. I'd be shocked if parasitic loss on a shaft drive bike is any more than 10%. I'm no expert on belts this is just a hypothesis, but belts require a lot of tension to stay on the pulleys, I'd go as far as to say belt drives have more power drain than shaft. I dunno with all the UV joints tho. I'd love to hear from an expert on this
for every hour you ride, how much of that is with the throttle WFO? when the throttle is not wide open, what do you care how much power is being lost? at cruising speed nearly ALL your power is being lost to wind drag. SO WHAT?!
Love chains primarily becasue of the maintenance. Nothing like getting your hands dirty on a weekend cleaning and oiling your chain. The direct performance advantage is just that, added advantage.
The moot point is, re-inventing a wheel just for the sake of inventing is, colorful, fun & has certain bragging potential, but not efficient enough to scale up for common use.
It depends on the used. Each has different purpose and design specification. Chain has a lower thermal expansion compare to belt chain. Which it can go longer time But will consume maintenance on rust. And adjustment The belt chain Has the advantage of direct transmission. From staring point it can have a better acceleration. Direct shaft or pto It the number of gear linkages to the developed the power, which need good materials and expensives but it has more power compare to the both chain.
My first bike was a 1984 Honda magna and I own a 1998 Suzuki intruder VL1500 now. Both are shaft drive bikes. I absolutely love it! I wouldn't buy a bike without it! Very little maintenance.
Good explanation of the difference between these three drive systems. I really would like shaft drive even for a bicycle. No need for the regularly maintainance as with chain. The significantly worse efficiency is of course a true drawback. With a motorcycle and 100hp or more this is a non issue for practical use. But when the normal operating power is 0,2-0,5hp it's more noticeable...
Rode a lot of belt-driven Harleys, and even a couple belt-driven BMW F650CS’s over the years. I’m now on a Yamaha MT-03, and if it had a belt drive too, it’d be as close to a perfect bike as I could imagine.
A major disadvantage of a chain drive system is the oil, grease and dirt is thrown against the back of the bike and the panniers. You don't want to enter a good hotel or B&B with those panniers as your luggage on your journeys. And I hate to grease and adjust a chain in the rain on a long trip. Therefore a belt or a shaft drive are to be prefered on a touring bike. A shaft drive system has much less power losses when the engine crankshaft is not transvers to the rear shaft so the power needs to be transfered only once in an 90° angle by the a worm gear pair. I own a BMW K1100RS and a Honda Pan European ST1100. Both have well designed shaft drive systems with little losses due to the motor orientation in the bike. And these worm gear drives do need some maintenance. You need to change oil in regular intervals not as often as motor oil changes but that counts as maintenance for me.
Although belt-drive has advantages that you mentioned, a disadvantage is that they're unsuitable for off-road use. If a stone or rock is caught in the drive, it could ruin the belt, & possibly the hardware as well. I don't like the hassle of chain maintenance. I'm happy w/ my shaft-drive, despite the power loss.
I can't believe that your power loss estimates are close to accurate. Imagine the heat, 8f that driveshaft alone were dissipating 25% of the power output. Lmao, it would need it's own radiator and waterpump, especially as it's largely contained and not easily air-cooled. I just can't buy that, seems crazy and I'd be interested to know the source.
Hi in INDIA some china manufacturer Introduced BELT system for Royal Enfied 500 cc . My friend buy the retro fitting set for bike. After fitting He gone 40 km away from his home for testing on Super Highway. But as he reached on Highway and powered the bike to test 0 to 140 km test the belt broke in 2 pcs and teeth wore out and belt become ribbon. He call the seller of belt. But they say we can't do any thing. He was in middle of No where with broken bike. He called us them we go to him to resue and Pulled his bike by toaging 40 km. Its tottaly bad experience. I think we should use the bike as company given.
Very long time ago in college I was told about that advantage of the shaft. When a driver accelerate a shaft driven bike, shaft causes an upward torque which causes to lift the driver up, where as the belt and chains although more common, create a negative torque which causes the front wheel to lift up. I was told the ride of a shaft driven motorcycles is more pleasant than the chain one. That's why the shafts are used in expensive motorcycles. Can somebody confirm this theory please? I have never driven a motorcycle in my life!
I have a Harley 1984 FXRT! The chain is inclosed in a boot, and there is no maintenance other tgat to be sure the boot has enough oil to float the chain. Its a great idea after AMF. It has an EVO motor!
I heard that the Belt drive is used by HD motorcycles is because of the nonlinear power distribution to the wheel. It dampens the shocks. Once man told me that the belt lasts for over 15 years.
If you have a car that is rear wheel drive it'll have power loss of right around 15 to 25% depending of how heavy and how long the vehicle and where the engine is
@@thakery5720 his figures are was off. If a shaft driven motorcycle makes 100 bhp he's claiming by the time it gets to the rear wheel it's 75bhp!!? Nonsense, at most it will loose 15bhp. So in fact I think it is you that would appear to be ill educated... You sanctimonious halfwit...
I had a Kawasaki z1000st and the shaft drive was brilliant, also it was faster than the chain driven version as I found out . So I disagree with you when you say shaft drive looses the most power , don’t forget there is no slack like chain , the drive is direct.
To achieve optimal belt tension, industrial professionals rely on a specialized tool known as a belt tension gauge. This device allows for precise measurement of belt tension, ensuring that it falls within the manufacturer’s recommended range. It is important to note that despite traditional wisdom, the “thumb test” to check the tension on a belt is not an accurate measurement and should never be used. Many businesses still use this method to measure the tension on a belt and frequently have to replace belts due to incorrect tensioning. Only a belt tension gauge can give an accurate belt tension measurement.
If ever i have money, id build my own motorcycle... 125cc engine, but looks and feels like a Sports bike, and it will have either 3wheels (reversed trike design) or 4wheels (Quad bike/ATV design)... And it will either have Belt drive or Shaft drive...
In WW II Chain drive Harleys used in African theatre failed miserably due to desert sand. A shaft drive machine was soon developed, (WL model i think) but these were not offered to the public. A shaft drive Harley is a very rare machine.
And don't forget the gear wheel train (Suzuki Burgman 650), or the double Morse chain in enclosed oil bath (First gen Yamaha Tmax). Two other solutions to circumvent a chain.
Chains are simply cool. I love cleaning replacing, tensioning etc. and is part of being a passionate biker. When you see a belt drive biker pull into a popular meeting place people kind of just look away… Bikes just have to have chains. Simply tradition…
Had a BMW 1150 and you could feel the shaft at work yet it never bothered me... I did like the fact that it was mostly maintenance free yet the bike itself was expensive to service etc - Owned many chain drive bikes and I'm not a big fan... Dirt bikes chop out chains and sprockets (Particularly in dry/dusty conditions) where lubricant attracts debris - Road bikes with chain drives tend to get neglected and end up black and greasy which is a pain to clean or work around - I know ride a HD Street Bob 114 and belt is nice... It's quiet, super smooth and never snatchy like a chain can become - I doubt anyone buys a bike based on the drive system... I can't say it's crazy important to me hence my owning all three kinds.
I find hard to believe that a shaft drive can lose up to 25% of the engine power. On a 1200 cc four cylinders engine, 25% of the max engine power is a few kilowatts. Without active cooling, that means red hot. A more correct power loss is - IMHO - less than 10%...
I agree. The claimed 25% power loss seems way too high. there are 746 Watts/horsepower. If the bike is cruising and requires 'just' 10 hp, then 2.5 hp (2.5*746= 1865 Watts) would be lost to heat. So even under non racing conditions, the implication is way too much heat would be generated for the differential and its housing to survive.
I did some calculations based on shaft drive gear efficiencies for my 2009 Yamaha VMAX, which is shaft drive. I came up with less than 10% efficiency loss. 25% is nonsense.
I had an 85 maxim and a 03 vstar… both shaft drive and i love them… they have alot of down sides but with some bikes idc to go fast….but how they load up the shocks is awesome because when you get in it the rear suspension squats and gets its… ya any 600 sportbike will out run it and a 400 sport bike will keep up but my 1100vstar was stomping 1300 harleys…. And it just feels fast even if it isn’t because it loads up that suspension and squats it which makes you feel fast… my dream bike is a harley break out… my second dream bike is a 1300 vstar… I’ll probably get another vstar before I could afford a harley
In my country, after getting upbore and upstroke, its super easy to balance the reving at top rpm using chain system. Belt system ratio adjustment were non existent, need to alter gearboxes for it.
Been riding bikes all my life-Brand new Harley Belt Drive =A small pebble got between the belt and the back gear and it BLEW the Belt.Now the Shaft Drive bikes when you give it gas the torque actually raises the bike by putting more downward pressure on the back tire.Dangerous on wet curves.Chain Drive replace the stock chain and gears to performance If you like Speed.My last bike is S-L-O-W compared to the new bikes Yamaha YZF 600 RR. That bike did over 180 MPH-2 things you need going fast performance chain/sprockets and New Soft Rubber tires for grabbing the corners.
Drove fast bikes over 50 years-Never wrecked my bikes and Never got caught to get a "Speeding Ticket" If you know how to drive the police will never catch you.Never ever get a Custom Paint job Why?If you speed alot it becomes a COP MAGNET.
