Twigg
Just an old, bald man!
Sorry ... This isn't even close to being true!Yes, you are missing something. Don't even think of LD riding with a chain drive M/C unless you want to do a lot of maintenance in route. I think it's only a certain, ahem, brand that's having trouble. And the last guy didn't say he had FD problems, to give him some credit. Go to the Standings page and count the number of Honda's (all models) and FJR's compared to everybody else. That should make it clearGood luck Glenn...wish I was closer!
...and I don't want to sidetrack this thread any but it seems to me that shaft-drive motos may actually be faring worse that chain-drive motos! When I start asking questions about LD riding one of the standard answers is to get a shaft-drive ride. This does not seem to be the case this week, or am I missing something here?
Dave
Accepted, a well set up shaft drive involves less maintenance but ...
A decent chain and sprocket set, with an automatic oiler will go tens of thousands of miles with no more than routine adjustment, which takes minutes.
Additionally, the whole set up can be changed out pretty fast and at modest cost. Shaft drives have their clear advantages, but if they break then, in most cases, you are toast.
Personally, I would choose a shaft drive, but I wouldn't necessarily think that it gave me much of an advantage over a good bike with a decent chain, and a rider who knew how to look after it.