Item — HN Reader

Another point: BMW Motorrad has used driveshafts on their bikes since the 80s. In a conventional setup much like a automobile. The only real majntaining is to lube the end gear which sits in a kind of differential housing (there's no diff, but imagine how a car's driveshaft connects to the rear axle).

My bike (a k75) has it and well it's pretty cool!

2 comments

That's only on the touring models, where the lower maintenance intervals justify the weight and inefficiency. The smaller off-road models like my F750GS and the performance-oriented models like the S1000R use chains for durability/repairability and efficiency.

It’s every K and R bike they’ve make since the 1930s (for the R models), including touring bikes but also the GS (which perhaps is a tourer these days, granted), R Nine T (street/sport), R18 (bobber/cruiser), and R1250R roadster.

Since the 80's? Much further back: 1923 to be precise.