With riding all year round and not wanting to spend too much time on bike maintenance, then a bike with shaft drive and not a chain is a must.
So when considering a bike one of the first options I check is whether its a chain, belt or shaft drive.
Chain is out completely. Maybe for a sunny Sunday bike only but not for a daily workhorse. Belt drive is something I would consider.
Because of this my options are fairly restricted. A few Honda’s, the big Yamaha FJ Tourer, but mainly its BMW’s.
Luckily for me the shaft drive BMW GS is one of the best bikes on the planet, but it came to my attention a few weeks ago that the Triumph Tiger Explorer is now shaft drive. The Tiger has always been a great British bike but has always been shaft drive.
The standard Tiger is still chain but the new Tiger Explorer version, a GS ‘wannabe’ is now shaft drive, so its a valid option to consider for when I decide to replace the big GS.
