Don't hate me for this...

[crazy steve]

...Now here's the real question: I would like to highlight the shaft drive by ditching the housing, and chroming or powder coating the shaft. Can I do this without compromising the integrity of the driveline?

It's been done, so the answer is a qualified yes. There's an upside and a downside (as always!) with doing this.

The upside is you can fit a wider tire (up to 6.25" wide) with the stock tube gone.

The downside is the FD end of the shaft has no seal, so retaining the grease in there (and keeping out contaminates) becomes an issue. It may be possible to address this, as the XS750/850 does have a seal in there, so that might be something to look at. I'll also note that you can get longer driveshafts (if you want to do a stretch), as there's a company making replacement shafts for the V-Max and you can get custom lengths. The main drawback to these is the shaft is considerably larger (it seems the V-Max is known for breaking these), so larger-than-stock tires again become a problem.

[cywelchjr]

Didn't someone find a CV boot or something that fit onto the shaft and over the outside of the FD shaft joint that sealed that area up good that did the job? And if I were going to do that I'd think about something to make that shaft pretty, like cleaning it up and chroming it or something (maybe powder coating it since you could mask off the engagement areas of the shaft).

And almost all my objections to most mods are safety related. That's why I don't care for removing lights, cause I light to see them lit up light a christmas tree, and even that's not enough most of the time. I had an idiot turn left in front of me today, and the only thing that saved me was that I was already turning right, and I hugged the corner and got on it, and it was still close (I took the corner at almost 40, NOT the normal speed I take street corners at). If I had done ANYTHING else I would not have been able to avoid him (not sure it was a him, couldn't see through the heavily tinted windshield, which is illegal even here in Ca).

[XSLevi]

Ya Cywelcher, That's exactly the plan: Chrome or powder coat. I like the c.v. boot idea.

Steve, If I went with a seal from a 750 I assume I would have to use a 750 rear end. That would mean a taller FD ratio correct?

[cywelchjr]

I think a 750 seal would also require a 750 driveshaft as I think it's shaped a little different at the end to accommodate the the seal which I don't think will work on the 1100's shaft. The CV boot however I believe would work with either FD so if you desired a higher ratio you could still do it that way.

[DGXSER]

OK, Just because no one else has I will point out the inherant safety issue of getting your pant leg or shoe lace caught around the drive shaft. May be a very slight possibility, but noen the less, a consideration.

The dirt and debris issue, about any kind of a boot would need to have the shaft rotate inside it, or it rotate around the stationary parts. This seems very hard to get to seal correctly and not wear out alot.

[crazy steve]

Steve, If I went with a seal from a 750 I assume I would have to use a 750 rear end. That would mean a taller FD ratio correct?

No, the mounting is the same between the 750 and 1100 FDs. I was thinking that you would cut the end off the swingarm (the part that contains the seal) and just use that. Cy is correct, there are differences in the shafts, but it might make a good jumping off point for a solution. The CV boot is a decent idea too, but doesn't protect the pinion seal on the 1100 FD.

[cywelchjr]

No, the mounting is the same between the 750 and 1100 FDs. I was thinking that you would cut the end off the swingarm (the part that contains the seal) and just use that. Cy is correct, there are differences in the shafts, but it might make a good jumping off point for a solution. The CV boot is a decent idea too, but doesn't protect the pinion seal on the 1100 FD.

I'm pretty sure the CV boot would work fine. The FD has to be mounted to the bike at the front somehow, but the area where the CV boot would fasten to spins with the shaft, and the pinion IIRC has it's own seal in there, you just need to keep everything out of the shaft to FD interface and keep the grease from slinging everywhere from that joint which is what the CV boot does. Someone on here that did a hardtail with an exposed shaft I'm pretty sure did exactly that. And yes, just like with a chain drive, you would want some sort of guard to keep your pant leg out of the shaft when going down the road, but unless you have a pillion most of the time your legs would be nowhere near the shaft when in motion.

[TomB]

The other alternative is to run the standard XS11 shaft without any cover or swing arm or rubber boot/cover.

A mate of mine has an XS11 chop, just like the video chop, without any cover on the shaft, its been Ok for the last 25 years I've known him and he is terrible at maintaining/servicing his bike so its not like he's got the thing in bits re-greasing it every week.

[fredintoon]

- - - Now here's the real question: I would like to highlight the shaft drive by ditching the housing, and chroming or powder coating the shaft. Can I do this without compromising the integrity of the driveline?

Hi Levi,
if you insist on leaping 70 years into the past by hardtailing the bike, ditching the swingarm entirely and thus exposing the driveshaft is a more elegant way to go.
(Research 1920s BMWs to see the look.)
However, chroming and powdercoating both have the potential to weaken the driveshaft.
Best is to simply polish the shaft and then clearcoat it.

[crazy steve]

However, chroming and powdercoating both have the potential to weaken the driveshaft..

Fred, I'll agree that chroming will cause issues (hydrogen embrittlement, plus the problem of keeping the plating off the splines), but powdercoating should have no effect. The temps used aren't high enough (450F for 'flow out', then 400 or less for cure) to do anything to steel parts...