shaft driven bikes

Merch

Am looking at buying a bike and have seen a few shaft driven bikes,
Yamaha xv's
Just wondering if there any specific problems to be on the lookout for or is anyone aware if they are known to have problems?

Im assuming its some form of bevel gear, where does it get its lubrication? does it run down the shaft or is it contained at the bevel gear at the rear axle?

Merch

Merch wrote: »

Am looking at buying a bike and have seen a few shaft driven bikes,
Yamaha xv's
Just wondering if there any specific problems to be on the lookout for or is anyone aware if they are known to have problems?

Im assuming its some form of bevel gear, where does it get its lubrication? does it run down the shaft or is it contained at the bevel gear at the rear axle?

On the yamaha xvs the oil is contained at the bevel gear at the end of the axle. Don't know about other bikes though. Never had any issues with mine when I had it.

Merch

Cool, I like the look of the xv's, have seen some that are a bit too pricey but I've seen some lately that are nearer my limit

Chippy01

Where the shaft leaves the engine area, there should be a universal joint. Ideally at tyre changes the final drive housing should be removed, the drive shaft extracted and the U-joint greased, and everything reassembled.
There may also be a damper canister half way down the shaft, which contains a dog-tooth affair and this should be filled with oil as well. I say may be, because there is such a canister on my Magna, but none on my Valkyrie.
The final drive unit itself should be filled with gear oil, to the bottom of the fill hole on the side. I'm sure different manufacturers will have different ideas as to the amount and type of oil and the position of the fill hole, so checking on other specific forums might help.
Also the final drive bevel gears should be cleaned and regreased at every tyre change.
Other than that, shafs are fairly bulletproof; but if you do your own work you will need a lift or some means of jacking the bike up to do the work.
Good luck in your search.

Merch

Cheers, I'll see how it goes, shaft drive may be on the cards, either way I'll probably invest in a lift (If a hand or foot hydraulic pump one is available) as I'd plan to do most/all work myself.

Tigger

Im thinking og getting a shafty cos I'm getting old and they are sedate yokes