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R-18
- Thread starter AKsuited
- Start date
Ah yes, the open drive shaft. Very cool and very dangerous. Maybe a good idea not to wear your bell bottom Jordache disco jeans on this bike. Ps I can still fit in mine from the 70's. Just in case John Travolta makes a comeback in Saturday Night Fever II. Just Stayin Alive!
Anyname
Active member
I don't think that the open shaft drive is much of a risk. It's a smooth surface with nothing to grab a pant leg. Anyone who has ever used a woodworking lathe is used to reaching out and touching workpieces while they spin. It's accepted practice and just doesn't seem to incur any risk. Also, nearly all early shaft drive bikes had open shafts and there isn't any history of gory rider to shaft contact. Given how much we all like a gory story, if it happened, it would be part of the lore.
jandhumphreyme
Member
Cant wait to see more of this. Open shaft is really cool idea,.
36654
New member
Ah yes, the open drive shaft. Very cool and very dangerous. Maybe a good idea not to wear your bell bottom Jordache disco jeans on this bike. Ps I can still fit in mine from the 70's. Just in case John Travolta makes a comeback in Saturday Night Fever II. Just Stayin Alive!
Thank you for the laugh. While I salute your ability to fit into your disco wear, for love the of God and all that is sacred, please dont.
36654
New member
PTO shaft accidents come to mind
riderr1150gsadv
Well-known member
Can't wait to see it in the flesh. Great looking machine!
crucian
New member
One does have to consider this. I work frequently with a Kubota tractor with PTO attachments and am well aware of accidents occurring with this equipment. There are however significant differences I think, between a tractor PTO and an exposed shaft on a motorcycle.
Diameter, shape and surface finish - A PTO Shaft outer diameter is 3" plus, not truly round with a grippy surface finish and has a coupler at the output end and a U-Joint at the working end. From photos the bike has a small diameter, highly polished shaft with no fabric "catchers" at either end.
Inertia - Most PTO implements operate with tremendous inertia. The gearbox on a rotary cutter (bush hog) increases rpm from 540 at the tractor output to over 15,000 at the tip of the heavy blades. The inertia of this heavy mass creates a "wrap" force on the shaft that continues even after power to the shaft is removed and even as it spins down to very low rpm. This force is vastly reduced on a motorcycle application, it seems to me.
Testing - One can be very sure that BMW has done extensive testing which would include attempts to entangle, and come up with a safe system.
Visian
look out!!!
Anyname
Active member
Tell it to Isadora Duncan.
Friedle
Ms Duncan wore a long scarf which became tangled in the open spoke wheels of the car she was riding in. Way more hazardous than pants and a smooth driveshaft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amilcar_CGSS
weschmann
Kawa Afterthought
Yes but there Is always the exception out there with an accident just waiting to happen. I worked around conveyors and rotating shafts for several years and have viewed several shaft drive injuries. The worst was a young female operator operating a air gun with a long shaft and screw bit to getting to a hidden screw in a van assembly in an auto plant. Was holding the gun above her shoulder waiting for the next van to come into station, clicked the trigger and her long hair tangled onto the shaft. Being a torque air drive,it didn’t stop until it reached torque against her scalp. Painful but not as much as wen the repairman forgot to reverse the travel before hitting the trigger to back out. Tore the hair and scalp right off her head leaving a large jagged bald space. Ouch. Point is, it more like a six sigma probability of 4 parts per million opportunities.......statistically small, but definitely within the realm of reality.
