imported post
If pain free, long-distance touring is your goal, the shaft is the only way to go (well, a HONDA shaft, anyway!)
I put 13K on a CB750 in 4 months touring the eastern seaboard, and after running in the freezing rain etc. for far too many miles, I was heartily sick of it, by the time I traded up to a GL1000. There's nothing like oiling your completely dried-out chain on the side of the road, in inclement weather, to put you off chains.
Shafts don't fail; U-joints fail. I know a number of folks who ride steadily and gently (even two-up) who've basically worn out GL engines (200K range; minor/major rebuild required) who've NEVER "broken" a shaft.
I had my first one fail at 90K (the U-joint) and the beauty is, they still don't really fail...they start to go "klunk klunk" because the U-joint bearings are breaking up, and you have many many miles to replace them, without being stranded, although the sound of it is disturbing.
On my CX500, which has a far lighter drive hub, the hub splines failed before the u-joint did. (70K). I would note that the older BMW boxers have a shaft that runs in an oil bath; if the seals fail, so does your shaft. Not that they often do, but a friend's did, and I'm just pointing out that the GL's original competition wasn't so perfect, after all.
If you like to be sporty (I believe the current term is a "zoom-splat" :shock
I'd probably stick to a chain...a shaft does have a "jacking" action...if you want max clearance, you need to come into a corner hard on the brakes, and then "power through it", which lifts the rear end. I can't explain the physics, but I know it to be true, at least with any I've ever ridden. :waving: