shaft vr. chain

[Billy Ricks]

Maybe there should be some kind of sticky thread, so newbies like me could find out that these shaft drive GS's are not prone to troubles?

Hopefully they'll find all the threads on torn up splines.

[Planecrazy]

Hopefully they'll find all the threads on torn up splines.

All the threads? That would cover what ... maybe a half a page to a page at best? For the record, if you search "stripped splines" you get two pages with most threads being about clutch problems. If you search "broken chain" you get TEN pages covering a variety of issues. I didn't go to the trouble of counting all the directly relavent threads for either issue but one quickly gets the idea as to which drive type experiences more reported problems just from this simple search...

So, comparing "stripped splines" with the many pages of threads discussing problems with chains (broken, worn, misaligned, rusted, etc, etc, etc,) and we quickly arrive at the correct conclusion - GS shafties are FAR more reliable in the driveline area than any chain driven GS, especially when one considers that if both are properly maintained the chain still needs to be replaced due to normal wear and tear several times before the shaftie guy even has to think about checking the splines for any wear at all.

I've owned both, and there's nothing wrong with either choice. My 1100 shaftie is much more fun (to me) than my 550 chain was (for reasons that go beyond the driveline), but "fun to drive" applies to either choice. At the end of the day (as I already mentioned) there is very little actual difference in the riding experience from one to the other. I carve up the twisties with the best of them and I've never felt the need to replace my smooth reliable shaftie with a chain driven alternative...

Regards,