Taffy Bear Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Hi all Im in the process of getting a xvs650 custom bike, and i know its shaft driven. i have a question, "what is the best drive system belt, chain or shaft and why" ? i was going to get a belt driven bike but ppl say to stay away from them, others say go with a chain, then ppl say go with the shaft..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Horses for courses, mate. I know feck all about belt drives. Chain systems are used mostly for saving weight, hence every "rilly rilly fast" sportsbike will probably have one. On a bike as heavy as a Cruiser, the extra weight of a shaft makes little difference. I'm sure there will be many other arguments but, aside from personal preference, I doubt many of them will be relevant to the average rider. Shaft transmissions deliver the power directly, so you get a more immediate response. However, unless you are a professional racer, the actual difference is unnoticable. The big one about shafties is that they don't need continual tension adjustment and re-lubing like chains and (presumably) belts. One less thing to feck up while cornering at 60!! I just prefer the look of a shaft, myself. BTW - Good choice on the Custom - Much prettier than the Classic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taffy Bear Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 thx for that m8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Welch Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Horses for courses, mate. I know feck all about belt drives. Chain systems are used mostly for saving weight, hence every "rilly rilly fast" sportsbike will probably have one. On a bike as heavy as a Cruiser, the extra weight of a shaft makes little difference. I'm sure there will be many other arguments but, aside from personal preference, I doubt many of them will be relevant to the average rider. Shaft transmissions deliver the power directly, so you get a more immediate response. However, unless you are a professional racer, the actual difference is unnoticable. The big one about shafties is that they don't need continual tension adjustment and re-lubing like chains and (presumably) belts. One less thing to feck up while cornering at 60!! I just prefer the look of a shaft, myself. BTW - Good choice on the Custom - Much prettier than the Classic!! Actually the racing bikes use chains because there is less power loss in a chain drive system. Shaft drive has at least 3 additional rotational direction changes over a chain. Shaft drive is more reliable and lower maint but less efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forest Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 used to have belt driven kawaski 250 scorpion great bike all round found it to be a lot better than a chain drive 250 got a chain drive fj1200 now. so its down to personal choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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