Is shaft drive or chain drive better?

Answer 1

Go with a chain! That way you can easily change the gear ratio and do WHEELIES all the time!!! That's what I'm talkin about... WHEELIES

In addition to the comments listed above, I shall simply make one or two comments: I have ridden bikes with shaft drive up to 15 yrs and never, ever had to do any maintenance on the shaft whatsoever. If you're a "gearhead" that likes tinkering with your machine, get a chain. If you don't like to do mechanical work, get a shaft. I personally love my shaft drive. One less thing to break down on the road when I'm 80 miles from the nearest town. Having said that, the bike itself is more important to me than what type of drive it uses. I am a big fan of fluid-cooled engines, however, which I strongly prefer to air-cooled.

Timberwoof's Motorcycle FAQ lists these advantages and disadvantages of shaft drive and chain drive:

• Chain Drive is light, highly efficient, inexpensive, and allows you to relatively easily change your motorcycle's final drive ratio. However, it requires regular lubrication, cleaning, and tension adjustment.

• Shaft Drive is heavier, almost but not quite as efficient, somewhat expensive, and makes it impractical to change the final drive ratio. However, the maintenance intervals are much farther apart.

One other negative with chain drive is it is easy to lose a finger tip (between chain and rear gear) if you try to clean the chain with a rag while the letting the rear wheel spin in gear, on centerstand-equipped bikes - ouch!

From what my friends tell me traction is better with the shaft drive. but shaft drive has a smoother ride.

I think the question is how much time do you want to put into maintenance, tempered by how much you want to pay for repairs when the shaft breaks or has a problem. Does the time and effort for maintenance of a chain outweigh the cost of fixing a break on a shaft drive that perhaps could come on a long ride out in the middle of nowhere? Chain is easier to find & fix than a shaft drive system, you might even be able to do it yourself. Little chance of a do it yourself job on a shaft drive.

I'm on my third shaft drive bike and I wouldn't go back to chain drive. The reasons being the smooth, quite ride and the minimal maintenance of these systems.

One respondent to this debate mentioned the cost and inconvenience of a breakdown with shaft drive vs. that of a chain. I have had a couple of chain repairs and cost is minimal to get back on the road. I'm sure cost to repair a shaft drive would be considerably more. But, I have not had a single problem with any of the shaft drives that I have owned. And I have ridden them pretty hard at times, almost to the point of being abusive.

Chain drives are somewhat more efficient than the shaft drive, and also somewhat cheaper. Means better fuel mileage, and more efficient transfer of power to the wheel. There is more maintenance on a chain than Shaft Drive, but it's rediculously easy. I consider the only real positive side to the shaft drive would be, that they are smoother.

2 centsI just switched to a chain driven bike and regret it; the chain part that is. Overall upgrade in motorcycle, but I prefer the shaft drive. Low maintenance and not a noticable change in ride... the seat lifts up under acceleration, but that wasn't so bad. And that earlier post of a break down on a shaft bike is bogus. I'll bet you know more riders with broken chains than those with broken shafts. Keep the reservoir full and watch for leakage and you won't have any problems.

The answer

Chain versus shaft, well, who is to say.

If you like the idea of being able to quickly adust your final drive, go with a chain. There aren't any problems with a chain, in fact, most modern bikes have auto chain tensioners, like the GPX250.

Personally, I would go with a chain, simply because I grew up with them. In addition I have found that the kind of bikes that I like are all chain driven. You usually dont have a choice, a sports bike is a chain, while big tourer is a shaft.

Another negative aspect of chains is that they are dirty, both from spraying grease around and in the maintenance. Shafts are clean, quiet and neat. They are also costly both in the chains themselves and the sprockets, which wear out over the life of the bike, although probably not as expensive as the initial cost of shaft drive.

an ANSWER you haven't see yet...Hey kids, consider the alternative - BELTS. In addition to being long lived (life/100k miles on Buells), they are quieter, cleaner and lower maintenance due to no lubrication requirements, they are much lighter (~1 pound in weight versus 4.5+ pounds for chain). This means lower unsprung weight, and advantage in both handling and ride comfort. Also, they do possess a certain capacity for vibration damping. Another answer that continues the legacy.....I prefer chain drive Shaft Drive: Shaft drive is more reliable and easier to keep than chain, but is heavier and more expensive.Chain drive: Used scince the early 1900's, Chain drive is easier to "tinker" with but can slip or break..oh something you may not have heard yet...there are 2 chains used.