2017 cb1100

[Greg Davis_imp]

To be clear, I said if I were designing the perfect bike for ME..it would have shaft drive. I never said nor implied I thought the CB1100 should have shaft drive. Chain drive is how the CB1100 SHOULD be (Although a shaft drive version of this bike, with hydraulic valves, a 6 gallon gas tank, a small factory fairing, factory hard removable side bags and a luggage rack would be awesome)

and if you put a lot of miles on a bike, then the true advantage of a shaft shows itself. I have 67,000 miles on my ST with shaft and all it has cost me is 5.2 oz of 80 wt rear end oil once a year ($14 over an 8 year span and there's enough left in the bottle for 3 more years). You never know the shaft drive is back there, and you never have to think about it....no jacking, no handling issues, no noise and if it robs horsepower you never feel it. You don't have to carry adjustment tools or a can of lube on a trip, and you don't have to check adjustment or lube it at the end of a 500 mile day that included riding in some rain. If the ST were a chain drive bike, at 67,000 miles I would be on my 3rd set of chains and sprockets at $250 per set plus labor (unless I did the work myself), plus a bunch of adjustments, lubings, chain cleanings and rear wheel cleanings.

In one and half years I an 2/3 of the way thru a set of chain and sprockets on my CB. By the end of this summer I should be ready for a set.

Like I said all systems have their pluses and minuses.

This is what it's all about. we each like different things. I bought my CB because I liked the looks of it. ( would loved to have had spokes and 4 into 2 pipes) I will sacrifice some technical features for looks. i.e. shaft, big tank, etc. There are other models with shaft dirve and bigger tanks and removable bags. Everyone is different.