Chain, shaft, or belt. Not the BDSM kind.

Chain, shaft, or belt. Not the BDSM kind.

  • Chain

    Votes: 6 30.0%
  • Shaft

    Votes: 14 70.0%
  • Belt

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    20

argatoga

Can't Start His Wank
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
18,200
Location
Zagreb
Car(s)
'08 Pontiac Solstice GXP
Which do you prefer? I'm a shafty. I ride ~60 miles a day and have no desire to oil up a chain once a week.
 
I prefer shaft drive, but all my bikes are chain.
 
I'd like to have a shaft drive as well, but I don't have it on my bike. And that reminds me, I should give the chain some oil...
 
I have one shaft bike and one chain bike with a chain oiler. Just topped up the oil on that the other day, should still have plenty in it. :p
 
Shaft.

I've owned 3 chain bikes, and I am hopefully done with chains on street bikes for some time. It isn't too bad if you have a center stand, which my first 2 did, but my tiger didn't come with one, which makes adjusting and lubing the chain a huge pain. With a shaft, I just go, and don't even think about it. There is a reason both of my bikes have shafts and any future road or touring bikes will all be shafts if possible.
 
I prefer an enclosed shaft drive (there are some bikes that have an exposed shaft).

Many people cry and scream about the dreaded "driveline lash" which has never really bothered me. Apparently, judging by the poll here, it doesn't bother many forum members, either.
 
Apparently nobody thinks belt is a particularly good idea either. :p
 
I have an old shaft bike and I don't mind the jacking.
 
Only to Karoug. :heart:
 
I voted chain just because I've never tried anything else. A shaft would be interesting to try, it's quite maintenance free, no? How about the overall feel compared to a chain, better/worse response? I would never want a belt driven bike, a belt is used to keep your pants up, not move your bike.
 
I have one shaft bike and one chain bike with a chain oiler. Just topped up the oil on that the other day, should still have plenty in it. :p

Haven't you said you wished Honda would make a modern sporty bike with a shaft drive. :p
 
I voted shaft. It's actually one of the only things I miss about my old VT500C.

As of now, it appears that 2 out of every three FGers prefers shaft drive. I had a discussion about this on a local bike forum that I frequent. The consensus was quite the opposite. Especially because the forum I was on consisted of mostly knee draggin track rats who preferred chains for their lightness and stuff. I also got a lot of hate from former BMW owners because of what was stated in the gen moto threadas well.
 
It's probably also due to the fact most of us with bikes use them more for commuting than tearing up the road.
 
Haven't you said you wished Honda would make a modern sporty bike with a shaft drive. :p

Doesn't have to be sporty, just has to not be a cruiser. A new line of standards with shaft drives, like they offered in the 80s, would be very nice - because despite claims to the contrary, out of the box chains still aren't really low maintenance, even with XWYOMGWTFBBQ rings. If I have to clean and lube it weekly or sooner, it's not low maintenance! One recommendation is to wipe the chain clean and re-lube/re-wax it every 500 miles. For a recreational rider/track rat, that could be months.

For me, that can be two days or sometimes less.

As for the ex-roundel heads, too effing bad. The problem wasn't shaft drive, the problem was who made it. You have to maintain a shaft drive maybe once or twice a year, at most, and you can change the fluid out at the same time you're changing all the other fluids in the bike.

There's a reason most of the shaft drive Hondas are still in demand among knowledgeable commuters.
 
Last edited:
The MG 8V has a wet weight of 555lbs. A bit heavy for a standard, but not insane. The V7 is under 400lbs wet.
 
Last edited:
Top