shaft drive motorbikes?

[nicebutdim]

Anyone know of any motorcycles that are small capacity (100cc, 125cc) SHAFT DRIVES (not scooters). I can only seem to find larger cc ones! Any age, back to 70's considered?

[Toureman]

I might be wrong but I do not think you will find any under 500cc, the main reason being that a shaft drive does drain power from the engine unlike a chain drive.

[Loosehead]

yes Toureman is correct, too much power loss to make it viable. For example a shaft drive 125 would have the same power (at the back wheel) as a lawnmower.

[alan30]

Think Velocette produced a 200cc shaft drive up until 1970.

An attempt to develop a 149cc (later 200cc ) shaft-driven, liquid-cooled scooter (the LE) in the late post-war 1940s proved unsuccessful and costly. While advanced, it was sedate and economical - and unpopular. Despite its flaccid sales, the LE remained in production from 1949 until 1970. The company went out of business in 1971.

Seem to recall local police using them in rural areas.

[clancyblob]

There was the Yamaha T80 Townmate, like a Honda 50/70/90 but with shaft drive, in the late 80's early 90's. Still a few about, I think.

[JudgeJ]

Yes, alan30 is quite right. Velocette, a Birmingham motor cycle manufacturer, made the Velocette LE between 1948 and 1971. It was a lightweight twin cylinder machine with a 200cc side valve horizontally opposed water cooled engine and shaft drive.

Known as the "Noddy Bike" it was extensively used by police forces and the Metropolitan Police employed officers on these bikes for traffic duties. These officers did not wear proper crash helmets but instead were protected by ordinary police helmets, reinforced and with additional straps.

The bikes were notoriously slow and any decent bike or scooter of 150cc+ could easily give them the slip. (Not that I'd know, you understand!)