What are the advantages to belt/chain/drive shaft motorcycles and which is best?

Question

Is there any major difference in the ride or durability between these?

Answer 1

Ive come to like shaft-drive....couple of squirts of grease every now an then, there good for 100,000

Answer 2

There isn't one to speak of. Except perhaps that chain final drive bikes do tend to be cheaper than shaft and a little lighter. The maintenance on a chain isn't anything to get worried about and shouldn't stop you getting a bike with chain final drive if that's what you want. Shafts are pretty much maintenance free.....people harp on about changing the hypoid gear oil yearly but we've had shaft driven bikes for years and don't do it and never have. If you keep a bike long enough to change the shaft oil then it's easy enough but you can forget about having to do it every year. Our 29 year old shaft drive Honda tells us you don't need to.

Answer 3

Chains and shafts can transmit the most power to the wheel of the motorcycle... but shafts add alot of weight, and suffer from 'shaft lag' from the shaft having to spin the hub of the wheel also... so they don't accelerate as fast as the other two...

Chains need constant maintenance to stay safe, you have to lube them, and make sure they don't have alot of stretch in them, and that the seals are good.

Belts are the lightest (weight reduction is always a good thing) and Buell has proven they can make good rwhp also, and with the Idler Pulley's on the Buells, the belts never have to be adjusted and are guarenteed for 100,000 miles.

I've heard shaft drives are durable, and don't break often, but simple economics tells me that, IF/WHEN they do break they are going to be alot more expensive to fix (more parts to fix)...

So it all pretty much goes by what you're looking for in a motorcycle... LOTS of SPORTYNESS, and don't mind maintenance go with the chain (even Buell's racing bikes use chains). If you want to do less maintenance go with the belt, but at SLIGHTLY decreased performance... the shaft drives are usually on your cruisers/tourers, so that would probably be your cup of tea there anyways.

Answer 4

One thing no one else has all ready posted is that if you are looking to use one system over the other for a performance application (over say 100 hp) chain should be your only option. A belt drive would have to be too wide too handle it plus belt drives do not work well with a longer suspension travel. I honestly do not know a whole lot about shaft drive so cannot give you anything on them.

Answer 5

Your best bet would probably be a belt. That is why most bikes use them. Chains are a little more maintenance. You have to oil them every once in a while but it isn't too bad. Shafts are pretty much zero maintenance. They provide less power, though. I had a Honda Shadow 1100 with a shaft drive and it was pretty slow.

Belts are low maintenance and provide as much power transfer as a chain. You have to get them adjusted now and then but you can do that when you go in for regular maintenance (belt adjustment will probably be included). Also, if the belt breaks, they are cheap.

Answer 6

chains are noisy, they require a lot of maintenance as far as keeping them lubed and adjusted. Shaft drives are quieter, require the addition of lubricant at set intervals and have less vibration than a chain drive, but are ungodly expensive to repair. Belt drives have the better of all three in my opinion. They are tough, vibration free, have zero maintenance and wear very well. If replacement is needed it is much more cost effective to replace by far than repair on a shaft drive.
I have owned several of all three drive types. I have no specific problem with any of the three as long as they are taken care of. I will just add that my last 5 have all been belt drive.

Answer 7

belt:
+ very durable, no maintinence
- hard to change gearing by going up or down a sprocket

chain:
+ very strong, quick to change, allows for easy gearing changes by altering sprocket size
- highest maintenance, parts wear down and must be replaced

shaft:
+low maintenance, most durable
- heavy, shaft spins longitudinally creating a torque effect that rocks the bike to the side a little when revved...like a car

Answer 8

chains can break can be dangerous , belts can slip but don't happen often , and shaft is a little heavier but you don't really notice it it is really what your into and the type of bike that you want that should make your mind up for you they all are good in their own way

Answer 9

i am not very clear about that.I advise u to have a try on a asite called bikeriss. There are many motorcycle experts. I think they can give u a satisying answer.

Answer 10

you can get a good expensive o ring chain and never have to tighten it they cost a lot tho if u get a good one