I have a yamaha xs850: shaft driven motorcycle. From what I‘ve seen on sport bikes with chains the rear wheel is supposed to be able to spin freely when the bike is on a stand and in neutral. My bike however does not.The wheel spins but very difficultly. I can hear something rubbing when I turn the wheel with my hands. It is also very hard to push on the ground in neutral its a pain backing out of a parking spot. Is this normal for a shaft driven motorcycle or is there something wrong with the brakes or bearings?
shafts should be free as a chain; XS850 is now old stock and if your miles are 100k pus, the hub could be wearing dependent on the trans oil change regime. But first, whip off the brake callipers they are the first culprit and you can wheel her along to see the difference; warped disc, sticky calliper sliders etc are the first port of call. If without calliper it still wont turn, you have a hub job on your hands; not a home amateur fix, loads of tricky shimming in there else the new parts will wear disastrously; take the wheel and swing arm to a good mechie.
No, not normal at all! First, put the bike on the central stand and loosen the axle (remember to tighten it back up later) and try spinning the wheel again, if it spins easier than you have some wheel bearing problem or a spacer/washer or two may be missing. If it does not get easier, disconnect the shaft drive at the engine and check the shaft drive by turning the back wheel, it should be the same resistance as before if the shaft drive is in need of repair/overhaul. If it is easier, than try turning the shaft that is on the engine in neutral, there's the problem. ADDED- I must be getting old, bOb is right, check the brakes first!
True, the rear wheel on shaft drives should not drag enough to make pushing it hard work, but no, they do not spin as freely as a chain ddrive. Not even close. I agree with the others, probably the brake.
