Belted Vs Shafted
Q I'm looking at buying a Suzuki Boulevard or a Kawasaki Vulcan. Reading articles comparing the two bikes, I found it interesting that the authors preferred belt drive to shaft. I always thought that shaft was the way to go. I am officially confused; could you shed some light on the subject for me?
Bob
Via e-mail A In the days when the choice was between a greasy chain that needed frequent adjustment and lubrication, shafts were indeed the way to go due to their cleanliness and low maintenance requirements. However, shaft drives do have their faults; they're expensive to build, which adds cost to the bike, they're relatively inefficient, so they absorb horsepower that might be put to better uses, and they can affect handling for the worse. Because alternative gear sets are rarely available, changing the final drive ratio is difficult if not impossible as well. That being said, they're certainly a viable way to drive a motorcycle's rear wheel, especially on a cruiser or touring bike, and I'd never turn my nose down at a particular bike simply because it was shaft driven.
On the other hand, belt drives are clean, quiet, need little attention, and are inexpensive to design and build. They also make it easier, at least compared to a shaft, to install the large tires that are commonly found on cruisers. They're also lighter than shafts and don't impact the handling, so the bottom line here is that while a shaft is a fine way to drive a motorcycle, it does fall short in some respects when compared to a belt, which generally manages to combine the efficiency of properly maintained chain with the reliability and ease of maintenance of a shaft. That being the case, it's easy to see why they've become so popular.
Shimmy-Shimmy shake
Q My 2006 Honda VTX1300 with 6,000 miles on it has a severe shimmy in the front end at a steady speed and while decelerating, which is very noticeable if I relax my grip on the handlebars. I have had the bars, triple tree, and shocks aligned with the front wheel and even removed the windshield, but the shimmy is still there. My front tire has started to wear more to the left of center. I bought the bike used but I can find no evidence of any collision on it. Could you give me any ideas of what might be the cause and how to remedy it?
John McGraw
Via e-mail
A What you're describing is a fairly common VTX1300 issue, though fortunately one that's easy to resolve. My suspicion is that you've got two things going on here. First, chances are better than good that your VTX's steering head bearings are either out of adjustment or quite possibly shot. The ball-type bearings are a bit of a weak point with these bikes so many owners simply replace them with something more robust at the earliest opportunity. Tapered steering head bearings are available from the aftermarket, and I also understand that the VTX1800 tapered bearings will drop straight in if you'd prefer to use OEM parts. Regardless, your first move should be to inspect and adjust the steering head bearings.
Secondly, with 6,000 miles on it the front tire is probably displaying a good deal of wear, and it's highly doubtful it's still in balance so while you've got the bike in the shop, make sure to have it balanced or replaced if necessary.
I should also add that it's normal for tires in this country to display more wear on their left side for the simple reason that we drive on the right side of the road here, hence left hand turns are longer than rights, so the tires tend to wear on their left sides.
Gasping for gas
Q I have an '07 Honda Shadow Spirit 750 VT DCA. I ran it out of gas the other day while already on reserve. I've ran out before but it was always on the main tank so I'd switch to reserve no problem. This time I forgot I was already on reserve so I barely made it to a station. Filled it up and rode on like before, but this time a couple of miles down the road it began to act as if it were running out of gas again, popping and cracking through the exhaust and losing power. I was only a couple of blocks from the house so I was able to limp it on home. Now when I start it up it is still running bad. I've checked the filters (air, fuel, even the one in the tank) and turned up nothing, and the bike also has a brand new fuel tank on it. I put in new spark plugs but it still acts the same. Any help would be great!
Gary in Texas
Via e-mail
A A couple of things come to mind, First, it certainly sounds like a fuel issue so I'd open the float bowl drain and see what comes out, especially since the tank was run down so low. If significant crud is present it'd be a good idea to remove the float bowl and give everything a good cleaning.
If no dirt or water is found, check the fuel flow; if it seems restricted, than you'll need to find out why and rectify the problem. There's also the chance that you simply picked up a load of bad gas. It does happen, so if nothing else you might want to drain out what's in there and replace it with some fuel you know to be good.
Lastly, if you eliminate the potential fuel-related issues, and the bike still doesn't run right, I'd take a long hard look at the ignition system, and make sure that includes things like the kickstand safety switch or anything else that might cause a misfire.