![]() 04/03/2017 at 10:46 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
This bike’s been sitting in the scrap metal pile at the local dump for the last week. I didn’t know shaft drive bikes were a thing. Cool.
I kinda want to bring it home with me but it’s missing a ton of stuff. And it got tossed for a reason...
![]() 04/03/2017 at 10:49 |
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shaft drive was pretty much the done thing on the old UJM, and is still used by the metric cruisers.
![]() 04/03/2017 at 10:54 |
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While low maintenance, shaft-drive bikes have unique properties which give them a unusual ride. The strangest thing is the rear end jacking up under acceleration instead of down like a chain-driven bike. It does this because of how the torque is transferred from the rotating shaft into the rear gear. It makes the handling just a bit odd.
![]() 04/03/2017 at 14:33 |
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My Honda Shadow is shaft driven. It’s very reliable, but adds a bit of weight
![]() 04/03/2017 at 18:27 |
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...and it makes a rider fully appreciate how important smooth throttle control is in the corners. Of course, a rider should always practice proper throttle control through the curves, but the driveshaft induced rise-on-throttle & dip-off-throttle of the back end puts it in a whole new light!
My old Vulcan 1500 had a shaft drive. I really liked the low maintenance part aspect, and the quirky ride characteristics were acceptable on a cruiser.