1500 Classic Shaft Drive Bike Question

[chuck1]

Hi everyone,
Im getting a good deal on a 900 Classic or a 1500 Classic. I have driven several bikes all my life but never a shaft drive bike. My buddies are telling me to stay away from shaft drive. 1 guy at work had a Shadow Sabre and never had a chain bike and said he dont know the difference how it feels but the shaft felt ok. The other guy drove an early 80's KZ Shaft bike and A V-65 Magna back in the day and said he would never get a shaft drive bike cause when you hit the throttle the rear end feels like it wants to "pull" the bike off to the side and it made the bike feel real funny. He said turning a shaft drive bike made the rear wheel feel like it was "skipping" on turns. And a few guys said "you cant lay into the throttle of a shaft drive bike like you can with a chain drive, it will tear up the gears". I gave the dealer the ok to put together the 1500 he has and Im supposed to pick it up Thursday, but Im starting to "have buyers remorse" cause of the shaft drive. I hate to buy the bike and in 5 minutes of pulling away regret buying a shaft drive bike.

Thanks

[Classic]

I've noticed no weirdness or any strange doings going from a chain drive bike to the current shaft drive 1500 Classic. No "pulling" or "skipping" and I just don't feel anything unusual. My guess would be what your friend felt was something in the design of the final drive of his bike or there was something wrong with it like a badly worn rear tire.

What I do notice is I never have to clean chain lube from all over the rear wheel and I never worry about a belt breaking.

[Spok]

I call BS

I have an 04 1500 classic, shaft drive, and love it. I lay it wide open in the corners all the time, i never get any drive shaft lash or shaft jacking at all. the driveshaft is less maintenance, but some is needed, and is quite.

i also have a v2k, belt drive and it pulls just fine as well but the belt is a noisy thing, i have a belt squeel that took some getting used ot

either 900 or 1500 would be a great bike.

[dannyg40]

Thanks Classic,
I spoke with the dealer about the shaft drive and he said the same thing. Im thinking the way he said....... early 80's were like when they first pushed front wheel drive cars. Technology was different. That was the early days of shaft drive on bikes. I do remember my dad having an older 1980's Checy Citation that had front wheel drive and it felt a lot different from todays front wheel drive cars. It pulled to the right on hard acceleration and slamming the brakes on during a turn made the car want to go in a straight line. And I remember him having a lot of problems with CV Joints and such. Todays front wheel drive cars are a lot better.

[bigjohnyeti]

Chuck-first off,welcome to the forum.good bunch of people here.
As far as the shaft drive is concerned,put your fears off to the side..I have experienced none of those tendencies on my Meanie...the only time I feel torque is maybe in 1st or 2nd on absolute full throttle.The back end rises a little,but never pulls to the side,and the bike goes straight..If you`re planning on a constant full throttle charge into the twisties where shaft reaction could make such a difference,get a sportbike,not a cruiser..no mess,nothing to adjust, smooth and silent.Nothing to worry about.
Enjoy that classic,you`re gonna love it...read the sticky threads,and go to Gadget`s website for a wealth of helpful information.
Ride safe and post often...oh yeah-one more thing- Post pics of your new ride when you get it....it`s sort of a rite of passage around here...
John

[Classic]

Originally Posted by dannyg40

I spoke with the dealer about the shaft drive and he said the same thing.

Put another way, if shaft drives did exhibit all that weirdness then no one would ever buy a shaft drive bike, manufacturers wouldn't be making them and BMW would have abandoned the technology a very long time ago.

[bluestringer]

Same here. Went from a chain to a shaft and I can't tell any real difference, certainly no problems like skipping, pulling, etc.

[Blooze]

Originally Posted by bluestringer

Same here. Went from a chain to a shaft and I can't tell any real difference, certainly no problems like skipping, pulling, etc.

+1.

[Crystalship1]

Same as the other guys here!!! I've owned 2 chain drives and 4 shaft. I'd never go back to chain. Welcome and ride safe!!!

[VNgeezer]

Chuck,When I bought my first shaft drive bike I loved it. It was an 86 VN750. I don't think you will have any problems that you have heard about. So don't worry. The best thing is you won't have to adjust and lube the chain and there won't be any chain lube mess to clean up. Good luck with the 1500 I think you made a wise choice.

[Shield]

Welcome Chuck,
My 1500 is my first bike so I cannot compare it to anything else. But I can say that I love my bike and am very happy with my selection. I changed my final gear oil around 1000mi per owner’s manual. I used synthetic gear oil and the change took about 10min. You will not be disappointed. The fine members in this forum along with Gadget’s page will help you with just about anything you can think of.

[ppark]

Originally Posted by chuck1

Hi everyone,
Im getting a good deal on a 900 Classic or a 1500 Classic. I have driven several bikes all my life but never a shaft drive bike. My buddies are telling me to stay away from shaft drive. 1 guy at work had a Shadow Sabre and never had a chain bike and said he dont know the difference how it feels but the shaft felt ok. The other guy drove an early 80's KZ Shaft bike and A V-65 Magna back in the day and said he would never get a shaft drive bike cause when you hit the throttle the rear end feels like it wants to "pull" the bike off to the side and it made the bike feel real funny. He said turning a shaft drive bike made the rear wheel feel like it was "skipping" on turns. And a few guys said "you cant lay into the throttle of a shaft drive bike like you can with a chain drive, it will tear up the gears". I gave the dealer the ok to put together the 1500 he has and Im supposed to pick it up Thursday, but Im starting to "have buyers remorse" cause of the shaft drive. I hate to buy the bike and in 5 minutes of pulling away regret buying a shaft drive bike.

Thanks

Shaft drives tend to have more driveline lash than chain or belt drive bikes. However, once you get used to riding a shaft drive bike you will learn to use the clutch in a way that it will ride as smooth as any chain or belt drives.

"when you hit the throttle the rear end feels like it wants to 'pull' the bike off to the side and it made the bike feel real funny" - I have not encountered this experience with my Mean Streak.
"He said turning a shaft drive bike made the rear wheel feel like it was 'skipping' on turns". -Also have not encountered this experience with my Mean Streak.

"And a few guys said 'you cant lay into the throttle of a shaft drive bike like you can with a chain drive, it will tear up the gears'". - I believe the shaft drives are stronger than chain or belt drives. No amount of cranking the throttle has hurt my MS.

[Ryguy]

I had a 1985 Virago 700 shaft drive, had a 1992 Kawasaki VN1500 shaft drive, had a 99 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 shaft drive, and had a 2001 Kawasaki Nomad shaft drive. Never ever a problem with any of them. Smooth shifting, quite, reliable, low maintenance. I pulled the front tire off the ground on my 01 Kawasaki Nomad a few times, If that isn't high torque and really tearing into the throttle, then I don't know what is, Also did a few burnouts with that girl, holding the brake and roaching the tire, and I never stripped out any gears or broke a shaft or Ujoint. All old cars and trucks had drive shafts, how many of those broke under hard acceleration or fast and hard driving

Just my observation. The shaft drive is really a bullet proof reliable way to get the power of the engine to the ground it's been tried and true. I also have never noticed any side torque, or any of the things you mentioned. I've always been happy with the shaft drive bikes.

On another note, my V2K is belt drive first one I have ever owned, The belt is definatly noisier than the shaft drive. Power and torque is a little better. You lose more power with a drive shaft VS a belt, but the shaft drive has more power than most people will need. The belt drive has been on HD for years, and is also a tried and true system. You won't go wrong with either one. I would say this should boil down to which bike you like the best. The 900 or the 1500.

[2WheelFun]

Shaft drives are awesome!

I've had chain drive bikes and shaft drive and I'll not go back to a chain. Currently I'm enjoying my belt drive bike but sometimes wish it was shaft drive also.

[Spok]

Originally Posted by 2WheelFun

Shaft drives are awesome!

I've had chain drive bikes and shaft drive and I'll not go back to a chain. Currently I'm enjoying my belt drive bike but sometimes wish it was shaft drive also.

how big does the shaft have to be to harness the torque of the v2k?

i really enjoyed applying said torque up lost trail pass

[2WheelFun]

Originally Posted by Spok

how big does the shaft have to be to harness the torque of the v2k?

i really enjoyed applying said torque up lost trail pass

I really don't know...but I'd guess you'd want a BIG SHAFT to harness THAT power!

[BikerEm]

My other bike is a Honda 750 Aero which was specifically bought because of the shaft drive. Both my wife and myself ride it and I love it. Based on the the overrun noise that my new Vulcan 900 makes evan after slackening the belt, I'm not sure if i've got buyer's remorse! I'm hoping it'll quiet down after break in. My next bike will definitely be a shaft drive.

[BigJohn]

Your "friends" are full of it. I'm on my 2ND shafty. first was an '86 Yamaha Venture Royal and now an '00 Nomad. The shaft if problem free. Have a hard tome convincing myself to go with anything else.

[stevebtx12]

Originally Posted by 2WheelFun

Shaft drives are awesome!

I've had chain drive bikes and shaft drive and I'll not go back to a chain. Currently I'm enjoying my belt drive bike but sometimes wish it was shaft drive also.

+1 - on my second shaft drive, wouldn't have anything else...

[RichLockyer]

I think a lot of these issues arise from very early shaft drive bikes where the crankshaft was inline with the shaft... much like a conventional RWD cage.
These early bikes would tend to "lay over" on hard throttle.

Modern inline crank bikes (BMW, Goldwing, Moto-Guzzi, Valkyrie) have countershafts that counteract the engine torque and reduce the impact.