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

  • Thread starter Thread starter TCBeard
  • Start date Start date
Dave8338 said:
Ever had a shaft let loose and wrap up into a rear wheel skid at 60mph+ ?
No, me neither. :-k
Click to expand...
Ever had a chain let loose and wrap up into a rear wheel skid at 60mph+ ?
No, me neither. But I may be a rookie with only +150k miles on chain bikes. ;)

How am I doing, Brian? ;)
 
Dave8338 said:
Had them both. If you're looking for light weight get a chain. Looking for smooth quiet power buy a shafty.

Ever had a shaft let loose and wrap up into a rear wheel skid at 60mph+ ?

No, me neither. :-k
Click to expand...
My step dads buddy had that happen, at about 30mph...killed him. Kinda a freak thing, but it HAS happened....
 
Dave8338 said:
Had them both. If you're looking for light weight get a chain. Looking for smooth quiet power buy a shafty.

Ever had a shaft let loose and wrap up into a rear wheel skid at 60mph+ ?

No, me neither. :-k
Click to expand...

Actually, I believe dpep had a drive shaft lock up on him and send him into a skid. I don't remember all the details of what he found when he examined it. Maybe he'll see this thread and chime in on it.
 
Griffin said:
Actually, I believe dpep had a drive shaft lock up on him and send him into a skid. I don't remember all the details of what he found when he examined it. Maybe he'll see this thread and chime in on it.
Click to expand...
I would bet he lost the oil in the secondary box. Steve's sons 850 had a leak in the secondary, locked up on him on a test ride. We put it up on the centerstand in the garage, and I ran it thru the gears, letting it spinn untill it did it again. Without oil, or with low oil, the gear box will function untill it gets hot, then it seizes up. Stopped it dead. Could be dangerous depending on where and when it happened, as Don found out. Yet another reason to take a chain drive bike... :p:rolleyes:
 
Griffin said:
Actually, I believe dpep had a drive shaft lock up on him and send him into a skid. I don't remember all the details of what he found when he examined it. Maybe he'll see this thread and chime in on it.
Click to expand...

I would like to know as well. That is one maneuver that I care not to repeat. :eek: :-\\\
 
Chains perform better, but wear out, and have to be heavily maintained.

Shafties are heavier and inflexible (can't change sprockets), but they are low Maint and last pretty much forever.

Pick your poison.
 
To me, the biggest advantage that one drive has over the other is that you can inspect a chain and sprockets in a few minutes, and instantly know if something is wrong.

Not so with a shafty.
 
Performance oriented riders (and usually mechanically inclined) will vote for chains. Convenience oriented riders (and usually high mileage riders) will vote for shaft drives. Some riders will just argue, err, debate no matter what.
 
Dave8338 said:
You need to spend more time in the dirt! :p
Click to expand...
I had a 77 CanAm 250 (rotary engine model) and a 78 RM125C. Rode until 1984 when I went back to college to get my engineering degree. Never lost a chain on either of them, either. Did a lot of air time (WOOHOO) and spent a lot of time wrenching, cleaning the sand out of bearings and changing rings and such. But not rewrapping or unwrapping a chain. My biggest problem was that I sucked as a motocrosser, plus it is expensive to stay current, so I spent a lot of time just off-roading it.
 
MacGyver said:
Performance oriented riders (and usually mechanically inclined) will vote for chains. Convenience oriented riders (and usually high mileage riders) will vote for shaft drives. Some riders will just argue, err, debate no matter what.
Click to expand...
No we won't! Yes we will!
I agree.
 
TheCafeKid said:
The 850G was the HEAVIEST GS ever produced (not including the GK with all that added baggness) Even heavier than its 1000 and 1100cc counterparts...why? I dunno...:confused:
Click to expand...

The 850 engine had the kick starter in '79, and the head has more material than the 1000 and 1100 (smaller bores on the 850, same sized engine).

These two differences added about 15 lbs to the bike. The later version of the 850G was essentially the same weight as both the 1000G and 1100G.

Dry weights of each bike (from Suzuki brochures and magazine tests):

'79 850G - 557 lbs
'80 1000G - 543 lbs
'83 850G - 540 lbs
'83 1100G - 545 lbs
 
Griffin said:
The 850 engine had the kick starter in '79, and the head has more material than the 1000 and 1100 (smaller bores on the 850, same sized engine).

These two differences added about 15 lbs to the bike. The later version of the 850G was essentially the same weight as both the 1000G and 1100G.

Dry weights of each bike (from Suzuki brochures and magazine tests):

'79 850G - 557 lbs
'80 1000G - 543 lbs
'83 850G - 540 lbs
'83 1100G - 545 lbs
Click to expand...
Well there ya have it. Plain and simple black and white facts ladies and gents... Cant do better than that.

So where does that leave us?

850 shaftie= overweight, yet stupendously durable while not quite as nimble, yet suprisingly so, Caddy of the GS world

1100E= sleek, deadly, might end you in a back brace, dont take it for long trips (unless you LIKE that sort of thing..i do) MIGHT end you in the morgue, cat like Ferrari of the GS world...

Pick your poison..
 
By the way, the dry weight of the '83 GS1100E is listed by Suzuki at 522 lbs., only 35 lbs lighter than the original 850G. However, once you add in the larger tank capacity and the drive train oil of the 850G (hopefully nobody tries to ride one dry), the wet weight of the 850G is about 50 lbs more than the 1100E.
 
Last edited:
Griffin said:
By the way, the dry weight of the '83 GS1100E is listed by Suzuki at 522 lbs., only 35 lbs lighter than the original 850G. However, once you add in the larger tank capacity and the drive train oil of the 850G (hopefully nobody tries to ride one dry), the wet weight of the 850G is about 50 lbs more than the 1100E.
Click to expand...
I thought the tank caps were the same at 5.8??
 
TheCafeKid said:
I thought the tank caps were the same at 5.8??
Click to expand...

Have you ever actually put 5.8 gallons into your 1100's tank? I've put 6.1 gallons into my 1000G's tank when it was bone-dry. I know my brother ran his 1100E's tank dry (I had to ride to a gas station and fetch him a gas can full of gas) and as I recall, he only got a total of 5.4 gallons into it.

I'll have to call and double check with him, but I believe those numbers are correct. He'll remember, he keeps a log book of every drop of gas he's ever put into every vehicle he's ever owned.

I remember he was ****ed because he couldn't get the "full" rating amount into it, and blamed the shortness of capacity for his calculational error :rolleyes: .
 
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...
 
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