Cardan shaft cover cutout?

Hi
This might be far out, but anyway, here goes...
What is the clearance between the cardan shaft and the cardan shaft cover?
In case theres ex. 15 mm. there could be room for a cutout in the cover to add clearance for a wider tire. Could'nt help noticing that this "Wider-tire-thing" is a reaccuring topic in this forum.
So is it possible?
can't make attachments work so try my drawing of the idea here
Andersen

 

Since the driveshaft carrier and the opposing side are the actual swingarm structure, cutting out a chunk of it could potentially lead to integrity issues. That being said, If one was to either brace it after hacking it, or build an entirely new design it could probably be done.

If someone came up with a good design, I'd want to incorporate it into my bike as well. A wider rear tire would be nice for a variety of reasons.

 

Nice drawing, looks like it would work. You would need to ensure that you used appropriate tube stock and that the indentation did not impact the drive line but it should work otherwise.

 

If your going to that much trouble, why even bother with a shaft cover? Just design a straight shaft.

 

Well, I think you may find that the cover is more than just a cover.
It is important to keep the distance between the wheel hub and the engine(gearhousing outlet) and at the same time absorbe the axial force between these parts. If the shaft was to pick up this load on its own, belive you would soon have some issues with the bearings, drive pinion aso.

And worst of all: it would be too Harley-like, with their open beltdrives-remember this is not an american antique it is a elderly japanese high quality superbike..
On the other hand, the old fantastic danish motorcycle Nimbus(1919-1960) was built with and open shaft. This bike was also one of the worlds first in-line fours - take a look at it.

Andersen