I disagree. I don't intend to start an argument here but only share my thoughts. I really don't much care whether my motorcycle is chain, shaft, belt or direct drive electric. Any further discussion from me will have to take place over a beer at a picnic table in Spearfish. Can't wait to see who shows up for that.
Rear tire changes are much easier on my Tiger than they were on my NT. Removing the wheel is easier because it is not necessary to remove/loosen the exhaust or deal with getting the wheel out from under the fender. There is no need to worry about the O-rings and messy moly paste either. New chains have an undeserved bad reputation. The sealed o-ring/x-ring chains last much longer than the old roller chains as do the sprockets. (My first chain/sprocket change the Tiger was over 30,000 miles.). New/replacement chains are commonly available and chain repair is pretty easy with a quality chain tool and repair kit. Some engineer friends tell me that a chain is still then most efficient way to drive a motorcycle wheel (by up to 10% for some). Chain drives are generally less expensive, but who cares how much our motorcycles cost.
I've owned several shanties - Honda Shadow (1980s), Kawasaki Vulcan 750 91990s), Concours 1000, and the NT 750 and the drive lines have always been trouble free. And in between those shaft drives I've had chain drives as well. I did an engine swap on the Concours and the shaft drive made that chore lots more difficult than if it had had a chain drive. I used to prefer the shaft drives but the new chain drives have really leveled the playing field for me. But I'd gladly trade my Tiger for a BMW RT unless I had to pay for it (or even for a GS unless it was blue). [Sorry, just wanted to see if you were paying attention Mellow]
