The point of this thread is to lay bare some of the various numbers that get thrown around and what they mean and how Chain and Shaft drive hp numbers for 1100's compare. Extension to other bikes is prudent based on a reasonable assessment of similarity, but over extension to comparison that is far from those similarity is suspect.
This is NOT a theoretical discussion, although it is based on the a first principle of physics, "conservation of energy" and a principle analytic method in mechanical engineering for power conversion "efficiency" determination.
The principle analysis approach used here is to take available measured data (rear wheel dyno) and specif iced manufacturer (Suzuki) data (at the transmission output) to develop an empirical approximation that matches the above. In order to compare Chain Drive v.s. Shaft Drive systems, we have to do further decompose losses into those that are common to both system and those that are dissimilar. We use additional engineering data from an independent source for that purpose.
Note: This is not the usual detail that engineers use to perform analysis as in many cases the steps that I indicated are accepted without justification as they are so obvious. However, that is not to say that the methodology is invalid. It is just a bit over cooked for the simplicity of this problem. That being said, I found it necessary to demonstrate each step as when I did this in the previous post, the many details I took for granted made it appear as if I was just guessing. To a certain extent I was but, it should be clear that it is an educated guess and based on years of successful experience and analysis in engineering, doing the same thing on similar and as well as much more difficult problems.
The conclusions are:
- Common Losses for Chain and Shaft beyond the transmission are 7.5%
- Secondary Drive losses are 7.5% and 15-16% for chain and shaft drive respectively.
- Chain Drive Total RW %loss => 15% of Suzuki Rated
- Shaft Drive Total RW %loss => 23% of Suzuki Rated
The Analysis which deduced the above conclusion follows:
IIRC, I have read that Suzuki measures the transmission output shaft for rated power on Chain drives (it was from an article on GS1100E's). This therefore includes the transmission loss. So rated is not at the crank but includes a loaded transmission. I would ASSUME that the Suzuki also measure the Shaft drive engines in a similar or equivalent way. Assuming the above being the case, we can compute percentage power loss according to standard engineering practice between chain drive and shaft drive. This should estimate the total DRIVE losses from transmission output to the tractive effort as the rear tire. The following Equation is easy to derive:
% DRIVE LOSSES = 100% x ( 1 - Dyno_rwhp / Rated_hp )
As it follows directly from the definition of transmission efficiency.
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...78&postcount=5
I have included some information from Cycle April 1982 review of the GS110EZ
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