Darn you Honda

[Tev62]

I would never buy a chain drive sport tourer.

You might think again, shaft drive maintenance is becoming a thing now

The Shaft Drive Maintenance on my 2018 Triumph Tiger 1200 was replace the oil in it on first service only then sealed thereon.

The Shaft Drive Maintenance on the 2023 Triumph Tiger 1200 is to replace the oil in it every two years regardless of mileage.

The Shaft Drive Maintenance on my 2023 BMW GS1250 is to replace the oil in the rear bevel gears every 12,000 miles.

The Shaft Drive Maintenance on the 2024 BMW GS1300 is to replace the oil in the rear bevel gears every 12,000 miles. and open up the shaft drive and visually inspect & lubricate the universal shaft every 12,000 miles and Replace the Shaft Drive at 48,000 miles.

There's progress for you.

None listed are Japanese.

Never had to worry about a Japanese final shaft drive. I had many and they never failed, leaked, nor did any of my riding peers who had one experience any sort of failure. I usually neglected the shaft drive maintenance schedule, and sometimes the oil coming out looked really decomposed. Nonetheless, new oil in and riding continued.

I expect the same from my V85TT.

The said bikes don't have sophisticated final shaft drives perhaps compared to the ones you listed Tev. Maybe simplicity has something to do with it. Dunno.

I think you may be right on the simplicity front plus the fact they were not mated to 150HP engines!

I cannot believe BMW intentionally meant for the shaft to be changed at 48K miles when they first conceived the new bike but found out once long term testing confirmed the excessive wear. The whole engine/gearbox/drivetrain is new and that long travel suspension must put some amount of strain on it.