from a reliability standpoint, i'm all for the shaft drive. its well hidden on this bike too, which wont make it take away from anything. i think the look is definitly gonna kill this bike, although if you go by cycle worlds evaluation, its a really nice riding cruiser. without any of the quirks a chopper has. honestly if i could get the loan i would buy one. the motors are dead reliable (hell ask texas ron lol) i don't know what performance parts are made for the vtx 1300's, but i assume all will work on the fury. one thing i can't get over is the 100mph top speed, not that you NEED to go that fast, but its nice to have.