Interestingly, despite a shaft being a more direct form of drive, a well adjusted and lubricated chain drive is more efficient at transferring energy.
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Equations or it didn’t happen.
article in MCN many moons ago, so it must be right…right?
Think that was just him showing his working out, doubt there’s many people that checked it. You can either just assume that someone with a Physics degree can handle something that simple, or that ‘the internet’ would soon point out errors 
Me too, 
Though Horse Power and RPM are ubiquitous. You’ll see kW for power, but I doubt there’s revs/second documented anywhere
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Probably the weight between crank and rear wheel…maybe?
I expect if I paused the video between equations I could pick it up, but I’m sure he’s right. It would on;y be for my education, not to check his working out.
I may start quoting things in revs/second to avond being hoisted on my own petard.
Chain drive’s are essentially interrupted shaft drive… whereas most shaft drives are jointed shaft… so both have an element of play and increased power loss in the system… the system itself (design and maintenance) will determine how good or bad the efficiency is I guess
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Thats why bicycles have chains instead of shaft… but I’ve seen some motorbike chains in shocking condition on commuter bikes, usually small capacity, where the rider isn’t a “biker”, rather a user of a motorcycle… rusty, baggy and dry chains hanging limply off a worn sprocket… probably with seized links making the ride awful. 
Edit - there’s a Chinese bike I sometimes see at work… i’ll Have to get a photo of…
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Yeah, seen allsorts best one being mini cable ties through roller pin holes holding chain together and second prize was fuse wire to replace a missing snap clip, genuine get you home bodges.
I confess that I did experience my chain falling off the sprocket on occasion when I was a youngster tearing up the streets of Wiltshire on my GP100.
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