Shaft or Chain... that's the question...

What's the best oil to run in my GS ? (i'm bored, and it's been a while since I read a good opinionated internet war..

Weren't the yamaha XJ's or XS's known for blowing threw shafts like hot cakes?
I think that's were some of these "shaft-phobias" began.

I absolutely love my 650G, just hop on and GO!
The 750E...I gotta check the chain and inspect everything...

I have one bike with a shaft, one with a belt. I have owned another shafty and a chain driven bike too. I don't really care what race bikes use because I don't race. As long as I like the bike I don't really care what it uses except that I don't like the mess and hassle of chains. Wouldn't stop me from buying one if I liked it enough though.

I have a Harley with a belt and I really like it. The belt lasts for ages and needs very little maintenance. I'm doing up a GS1100G and like that it has a shaft because as I am taking a lot of stuff off the bikes the shaft helps keep the lines visually simple. I used to ride a Kawasaki Meanstreak 1500 which was a shafty and never noticed any problems with the shaft. No jacking or jerking or whatever that I ever noticed. It was a bloody quick bike too!

Ok, first off wow. I never had any idea about needing to adjust the rear wheel alignment. It's a pain on my bicycle, I wouldn't much like it on my motorbike! Anyway...

On my chain drive bikes, you remove one nut, and the rear wheel is off. Not so with a shafty.

+

Ah hah, just as I suspected, shafties have more nuts than chains.

+

I'll bite that it may be easy, but it cna't be easier than on one of the chain GSes. It literally takes three minutes to remove the rear wheel, and about five to reinstall it.

Reading the "official" procedure in the Suzuki GS1000G owner's manual, there's no way the rear wheel can be removed in three minutes, unless maybe you are a former NASCAR pit crew boss.

=
Mine took me about 20 minutes the first time. I bet I could do it in under 10 this time, so long as I remember to do things in the right order.

Nope. But i dont know exactly how far my reserve will get me either. Most ive ever put in it was 5gal, but i dont hit reserve untill about 4.5 is gone. BTW you'll never get that last 1/4-1/2 gallon out of the tank before the bike is sucking air, so throw that out the window...

Haha, I wish I could say I DIDN'T know exactly how far my reserve gets me. I got exactly to the offramp for the gas station I was aiming for That was a nasty ride with 20-45mph winds for 200 miles. Blegh.

The only thing that ever caught me off guard with a GS shaftie was the inherent tendancy (as every shaftie has) to "climb the gears" when rolling on throttle in a corner. Its very subtle on the GS, but ....

What do you mean? What's the climbing the gears? The tendency for the bike to lift on hard acceleration?

Geez, all this talk has made me realize that I need to clean and lube the GS's chain before the West Virginia rally. Where the heck is my WD-40?

Hehe...

......
Noise is another thing... you NEVER know if something's wrong until it's too late, because the noise is so grating, loud...

And when it leaks oil, you are perhaps screwed.....

Are steel-braided brake lines really that much better than rubber?

First:
Stainless steel brake lines are more rigid and don't stretch/bloat (even over time) as rubber ones do.
Second:
Noise? I don't notice ANY noise from my shaft. I rode a chain-y dirtbike and the only thing louder on my GS is the engine (Much nicer than that 99cc I had )
And third: I have a post up about oil leaking onto my rear tire.
[QUOTE=doctorgonzo;1044929]

I've always had thoughts of taking a goldwing and stripping it to the bone just to see how that big engine would perform if it wasn't carrying around 800 pounds of luggage racks, running lights, and cup holders.

Mmmmmm Tasty! Now, If only it weren't a Honda They make good Generators...

This thread has been interesting, and I've learned a bit.

The thing I notice the most is the way that the shaft itself spins and the bike counter-moves side to side. A little bit like torque roll from a RWD car (we all know FWD vehicles aren't really cars but I thought I'd be extra clear)
The frankenbike I rode offroad didn't have any of that going on, but it wasn't very healthy. It takes some adjustment, and I can see it being distracting.

Happy riding

[marvinsc]

What's a chain? And furthermore why were you playing with it George? ( Note that I would NEVER ask why You were playing with your Shaft)

Reviving a not-so-old thread:
Chains are for men! Shafts should be reserved for (not men), (no sexism here, please, just motorcycle facts)
And as I cleaned, lubed, and quieted my chain this weekend, she told me that I would enjoy thousands of powerful, pain-free miles ahead. When did you get that from your shaft? (This is a light-hearted question, at best, and should be treated as such.)

It may be true that it was the rider, rather than the 1000G, that was slower in the curves, all I know is that it was no fun catching up to him mid-curve! In an acceleration contest, I'm sure that the 1000G would be much faster, but this was all about MAINTAINING speed through curves, not drag-racing.

Well that's any big bike, not just a G. That's why Care Racers are 500s, 750's etc, not 1000s or 1100s. Not gonna throw a bike that size around as easily as a smaller bike. Bike bikes = straight line speed.

[jknappsax]

I had a real bug to buy a 1000G, then I rode with a guy who had one, tricked out as I would have (Dyna S and coils, Progressive fork springs, IKONs, K&N pods, V&H header), and he was riding in front of me on a spirited group ride. I was riding my 1978 GS 750, and I would constantly catch up to him in the curves, and have to carefully brake to avoid rear-ending him. I'd go into the twisties following at a reasonable distance, and catch up to him every time. He seemed like a good rider, so I'm attributing it to the shaft; I've never experienced this with any other GS 1000s. Now I have a 1979 GS 1000.

It may be true that it was the rider, rather than the 1000G, that was slower in the curves, all I know is that it was no fun catching up to him mid-curve! In an acceleration contest, I'm sure that the 1000G would be much faster, but this was all about MAINTAINING speed through curves, not drag-racing.

Fat guy in a little cooooaaat....

One of the best movies ever. =)



I know where you live and I've seen where you sleep. I swear to everything holy that your mothers will cry when they see what I've done to you!

hahahahahaha, the kid looks just like him hahahaha

One day, she'll grow up and be living in a van....DOWN BY THE RIVER!

Fat guy in a little cooooaaat....

It doesnt matter to me chain or shaft, but evidently this lady preferred Chris Farley's Shaft.

hahahahahaha, the kid looks just like him hahahaha

[awjonesii]

It doesnt matter to me chain or shaft, but evidently this lady preferred Chris Farley's Shaft.

Why a turbo? Why NOT a turbo?
Actually the 1500 engine in the picture only puts out about 100 hp in stock form. Couple that with a bike that is just over 800 pounds (the one in the picture might be down to 600 or so), and you have a very low power-to-weight ratio. Imagine if your GS1000 only made about 60 hp. That would be about the same power-to-weight ratio. Not much fun in that for sporting use.

The Goldwing you saw in the race with the CBR must have been one of the latest series, the GL1800. They have about 120 hp and weigh a little less than the GL1500, so they are considerably quicker. Not sport-bike quick, though, so a lot of that is up to the rider.

.

It's not about the horse power man, it's about the torque. Horse power isn't the deciding factor in acceleration, Nm are. And a 1500 cc machine has got to have lots of it. And 1500's are sparky as they are which means the engines have a lot of torque, to shed 200 kilos of weight would make them into rockets.

Man, was I off base. Somehow I was thinking you were taking the chain off to clean it. I don't do that either, just do it on the bike and then clean the entire bike after.

Anyway, centerstands don't work with the exhausts I like, so off they come. There are obviously some who swear by, and will never remove their center stands, but I get by just fine without one. When the bike needs work it's in the shop (garage) and I could care less if it has a stand, and if it's just oiling the chain I use the sidestand. Give it a try - tilt the bike on it and the rear wheel will leave the pavement - that's all you need other than another set of hands to rotate the tire and apply the lube of your choice.

Sometimes they will. Not all exhaust brands. I have the V&H street megaphone, and no need to remove centerstand.

What makes me think about it is the CRAZY handling improvement from losing the stock exhaust (made of lead) for the much lighter 4 to1. My thinking being wow losing that 20 lbs made an awfully big difference, wonder what losing 10 more would do. If I did it I'd buy a garage stand.

[Steve]

Why would anyone need a TURBO on top of that engine!? It's already powerful enough. Saw a Goldwing beat a CBR in a race from green light to red light even though it's twice as heavy. Imagine what it must be capable off with only half it's weight, turned into a sports bike.... No need for a turbo there.

Why a turbo? Why NOT a turbo?
Actually the 1500 engine in the picture only puts out about 100 hp in stock form. Couple that with a bike that is just over 800 pounds (the one in the picture might be down to 600 or so), and you have a very low power-to-weight ratio. Imagine if your GS1000 only made about 60 hp. That would be about the same power-to-weight ratio. Not much fun in that for sporting use.

The Goldwing you saw in the race with the CBR must have been one of the latest series, the GL1800. They have about 120 hp and weigh a little less than the GL1500, so they are considerably quicker. Not sport-bike quick, though, so a lot of that is up to the rider.

.