2017 Moto-Guzzi Shaft Drive Motorcycle Line-Up

There is only one remaining motorcycle manufacturer 100% comitted to the shaft drive paradigm, and that is the Italian marque Moto-Guzzi.

Moto-Guzzi V7 Stornello

Their 2017 lineup features every kind of chain-free motorcycle imaginable, from adventure bike to sports cruiser with most things inbetween. Models are based around the same engine configuration, a 90 degree V-Twin mounted accross the frame, with displacements between 750cc and 1400cc.

BMW R Nine T - a practical Hipster dream machine

BMW have stepped off their high tech high horse and thrown a bone towards the section of motorcycle buyers looking for a more retro, trendy people might say pure, machine.
Drawing on 90 years of engineering experience, and a considerable parts bin, the R 90 R nineT takes its inspiration and styling cues from various R-Bikes of old, as well as recent retro attempts from other manufacturesrs like Guzzi or Ducati.

2017 BMW R nineT Pure

2017 Honda Shaft Drive Motorcycle Line-Up

For the upcoming 2017 model year, Honda Motor Co remain the undisputed kings of shaft drive bikes by retaining more than a dozen shaft drive models in their lineup, based upon five distinct drive train configurations.

2017 Honda ST1300

In the touring segment, venerable GoldWing leads the charge in the guise of the GL1800 and F6C six cylinder models, while the Pan European model line offers the ST1300 and CTX1300 four cylinders.

The shaft drive UJM isn't dead, it just retired to Italy

In the glory days of the mid 1970s through to later 1980s, every single one of the "Big Four" Japanese manufacturers had at least a couple of UJM's in their line-up.
If you never heard the expression, UJM stands for "Universal Japanese Motorcycle" - a no bullshit, unpretentious, basic street bike that's just as good at getting you work every day, as it is for a coast to coast adventure trip. Such bikes came in many configurations - 2, 3 or 4 cylinders, air or water cooled, engine size varying from "medium" to "massive" - but most had one thing in common: they were available with a reliable, easy to maintain shaft drive option.

official Moto-Guzzi V7 promo image

2015 Kawasaki Shaft Drive Motorcycle Lineup

Shame on you, Kawasaki Heavy Industries!

With a history of legendary shaft drive models like the Drifter 1500, KZ1300 and KZ1100 Spectre, the 2015 lineup contains but a single such machine, the Kawasaki Concourse 1400.

Are motorcycle enthusiasts really on course for a purely belt- and chain-driven future?

2015 Yamaha Shaft Drive Motorcycle Lineup

In the current model year, Yamaha Motor Co. are only offering three shaft drive machines, namely the FJR1300, the V-Max and the Super Tenere.

Let's say this again: the second largest manufacturer in the world, with a palette of some 30-odd models, offers a mere three types of shaft drive machine.

2015 Honda Shaft Drive Motorcycle Lineup

In the current model year, Honda Motor Corp. are offering the following shaft drive machines:

• GL1800 Gold Wing Grand Tourer
• Gold Wing F6B and F6C Baggers
• ST1300 Pan European
• VT1300CX Fury
• CTX1300
• VT750 Shadow

Yamaha Super Ténéré XTZ1200

Yamaha have been making large dual purpose motorcycles under the (Super) Ténéré banner for something like 20 years now, but none of the earlier models have a lot in common with the new monster that is the Super Ténéré 1200. Clearly the crew from Iwata are dead set to seize the "big bore dualsport" crown from BMW's R 1200.

The new Super Ténéré sports its own unique high-tensile steel backbone frame and fuel injected 270-degree parallel twin engine, which work together to centralise the bike’s mass and lower its centre of gravity. 

Suzuki GSX 1100G - the Shaft Drive Gixxer

When the GSX1100G was introduced in 1991, the bike press didn't really know what to make of it. Here was a derivative of the mighty GSX-R1100 "slingshot" engine, in a heavyweigt touring chassis with distinctive retro styling reminiscent of the VX800 model introduced around the same time.

Just like the earlier GS Suzuki models, ”G” after the model name tells that GSX1100G was shaft driven. The package was completed by 5-speed gearbox, oversize disc brakes front and rear, and 6-spoke light alloy wheels.

Simson AWO 425

The AWO 425 has the distinction of being the only four stroke motorcycle manufactured in the former East Germany. In production from 1950 to 1961, the AWO was a popular base for choppers and custom bikes during the 1970s and 1980s,  retains a cult following both as custom bike and classic restoration right through to the present day.
Following WW2, the gun factory in Suhl was converted into the Soviet controlled Avtovelo bike company, in order to raise funds for war reparation payments. Later, Avtovelo turned into the German-owned Simson company (more famous for making 50cc mopeds) and to distinguish from the mopeds, enthusiasts always referred to the large bikes as AWO.
Despite the 425 in the model number, the Simson has a 250 cc engine, foot-operated 4-speed gearbox with auxiliary hand shift, and shaft drive to the rear wheel. Popular legend has it that the machine was originally planned with chain drive, however in the post-war economy there was a lack of good quality chain so shaft drive was used instead.

Honda NTV, Revere and Deauville

The Honda NTV was introduced in 1988 as a follow-up model for the VT 500, to recapture some of the success of the legendary CX 500 series. In a way this makes the NTV the last shaftdrive UJM.
The original NTV650 (sold in some markets as "Honda Revere") was a naked bike with a 57 horsepower 650cc water cooled V-Twin engine, mounted in the traditional position with one cylinder in front of the other, and a technologically advanced single-sided swingarm suspension known as "Pro Arm".
The engine shares many similarities with those in other Honda V-Twin models like Africa Twin, Shadow or Bros/Hawk. In fact, the Bros/Hawk series sold in North America and Japan is in many ways simply a chain-drive version of the NTV.
The bikes have a reputation for extreme reliability, with many examples covering in excess of 250,000 miles without any major repairs. Once things go wrong however, the revere is not an easy bike to work on! How about removing the water cooling system just to change a spark plug?

MZ BK 350 Two Stroke Flat Twin

The MZ BK 350 (short for "boxer kardan 350 cc") was produced from 1952 to 1959, by Motorrad Werk Zschopau in East Germany. The BK 350 was the first new design to come out of the former DKW factory after World War 2, and was initially offered under the IFA (Industrieverbad Fahrzeugbau) brand.

Contrary to the popular claims, the two cylinder oppossed piston two stroke engine isn't a Nazi-era aircraft donkey engine (jet starter), even though DKW had designed a 250 cc boxer donkey engine that never reached production.

Yamaha XS750 and XS850 Triples

The three-cylinder, shaft drive Yamaha XS750/850 was produced between 1976 and 1981, and while it was one of the most technologically advanced motorcycles of its day, the XS Triple never enjoyed the success of comparable bikes from other Japanese manufacturers.

Driven from the superbike market after the Yamaha TX750 twin proved unreliable, Yamaha faced the challenge of producing a new bike that was unique but not too radical for the mainstream market. Their solution was a 750cc DOHC inline three cylinder engine, producing 65 hp in standard form, in a fairly run-of-the mill "big bike" chassis.

Triumph Tiger 1200 - a Step in the Right Direction

The brand new Explorer 1200 is the flagship model of Triumph's Tiger range of adventure bikes. With a 1.2 liter 140 horsepower engine and 1 kW electric generator the bike is perfectly suited to long distance rides in excess of 1000 kilometres per day - and after 14 hours in the saddle, who wants to adjust a dirty greasy drive chain?
That's why Triumph sensibly fitted the Explorer with a shaft drive transmission - a first in the Triumph range of sporty across-the-frame triple cylinder machines. Maybe we can hope that this set-up will eventually trickle down to Triumph's road-oriented touring machines such as the Sprint ST. Hell, even the Speed Triple/Street Triple range would benefit from Shaft Drive - while they are fast motorcycles they hardly are race bred sports machines where chain drive would offer a real benefit.

official photo by Triumph Motorcycles Ltd

The Moto-Guzzi CARC System

CARC: Cardano Reattivo Compatto (Compact Reactive Diveshaft)

On powerful motorcycles, the forces created by the spinning driveshaft and differential can severely affect the suspension and handling, an effect known as "shaft jacking". Moto-Guzzi first offered an anti-jacking system in the 1990's on the Daytona, and this system was developed over the years into what is now known as CARC. Broadly similar to the BMW Paralever or Kawasaki TetraLever setups, CARC is available on all larger engined bikes throughout the current Moto-Guzzi lineup. The smaller 750cc machines are not powerful enough to be badly affected by shaft jacking and are offered with a traditional driveshaft and swingarm.

Yamaha V-Max

The Yamaha V-max inhabits a category of its own. Is it a sportsbike, a cruiser, a musclebike? Who knows. All we know is that since it's launch in 1985 the V-Max has polarized the biking community like no other.
With an insanely powerful V-4 engine, shaft drive and monster looks the 1200cc machine never was for the faint hearted. While some criticise the cornering ability and general handling, that's completely beside the point - motorcycles like the VMAX are not about being safe or in control!

Honda CX 500 - The Plastic Maggot

Unlike today, with 1,800cc 150 horsepower machines ruling the road, the 1970s were the era of the medium displacement, middle weight motorcycle. While there were a number of litre bikes even then, the most hotly contested category was the 400 - 600cc range with each of the Big Four Japanese manufacturers officering several distinct models.

Honda's leading middleweight bike at the time was the CB550, a bike based on the venerable CB750 SOHC, and by 1977 the CB550 had become decidedly old fashioned. Keen to preserve their status as a leading bike manufacturer, Honda put pen to paper and working from a clean sheet came up with one of the most unusual designs of the decade: a water-cooled, shaft drive, transverse mounted, pushrod V-twin with twisted heads and an integrated transmission located below the engine.

Wartime Oddballs: Indian 841 and Harley-Davidson XA

Not many people are familiar with the Indian 841, or Harley-Davidson XA. See one in the flesh and you'd most likely mistake it for an older Moto-Guzzi or a BMW.

Both are unique in the profile of their respective manufacturers in that they use a shaft drive coupled with a transverse twin cylinder engine layout, and both were inspired by the well-known BMW and Zündapp military sidecar bikes used in great numbers by Nazi Germany and its allies.

While both the XA and the 841 were promising at prototype stage, neither bike saw large production numbers due to the introduction of the Willis Jeep which turned out to be a much better battlefield vehicle than any sidecar motorcycle.

BMW invents the Shaft Drive Dual-Sport

When BMW launched the R80 G/S (the G/S stood for "Gelände/Straße", that is "Dirt/Street") in 1980, it elicited a lot of head-shaking in the motorcycle community.

After all, it was by far the largest capacity and heaviest offroader available; and it came with such street touring bike features like boxer twin engine, and Monolever single swingarm with integrated kardan driveshaft. However, the original G/S managed to single-handedly pave the way for an entirely new market segment of "Reiseenduros" (big touring dirtbikes).

Introduction to Shaft Driven Motorcycles

Drive shafts have been used on motorcycles almost as long as there have been motorcycles. As an alternative to chain and beltdrives, drive shafts offer relatively maintenance-free operation and long life. A disadvantage of shaft drive on a motorcycle is thatgearing or a Hobson's joint or similar is needed to turn the power 90° from the shaft to the rear wheel, losing some power in the process. On the other hand, it is easier to protect the shaft linkages and drive gears from dust, sand and mud.

The best known motorcycle manufacturer to use shaft drive for a long time is BMW. Among contemporary manufacturers, Moto Guzzi is also well-known for its shaft drive motorcycles. The British company, Triumph and all four Japanese brands, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha, have produced shaft drive motorcycles. All geared models of the Vespa scooter produced to date have been shaft-driven. The automatic models, however, use a belt.