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

[Odinist]

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!

[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.

[doctorgonzo]

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.

[koolaid_kid]

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.)

[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)

[WilliamGLX81]

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

[JimmyR]

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!

[1_v8_merc]

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...

[Road_Clam]

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..

[koolaid_kid]

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..

Oh, c'mon, get a life. Everyone knows to use straight 30 weight non-detergent. If you like, make it half and half with ATF, just like your forks.

[jetta90]

uh oh..........

I'm gonna go make me some popcorn.......this should be entertaining.

[Suzuki mad]

I always preferred chains to shaft drive bikes. Maybe that because of riding a Moto Guzzi Le mans Mk11 that always wanted to through you in the tarmac on right handers and pick you up from the tarmac on left handers.

Partly pistons being a V twin across the frame and party the shaft spin.

Hated riding a GS850, I could feel the difference between that and my GS550 when out for a ride. Probably why I went for the GS1000E, lived the power hated the through.

[mrbill5491]

Road Clam, I have 4 quarts of vintage 0-40wt Royal Purple with ummm 3,000 miles on it, I'll even strain it for ya lol

[platinum2]

i have had both bikes chain ,and shaft, i would honestly say chain is better, as long as you keep it maintained, you can always change sprocket sizes for speed or cruising with lots of bottom end, the bikes are lighter,and look better, so i choose chain drive

[Baatfam]

What is going on here? I thought this was settled back in 2009