Eurastus, you'd never work for me! You don't sound "harsh," you sound narrow-minded.
The education process is far more than creating "cool stuff." The creative process is too often handicapped by taking your attitude that all the creative stuff has already been done before. The creative process is also crippled by clouded or misplaced thinking (such as yours).
With regards to chain drive versus shaft drive. Motorcycles have traditionally used chains as they were the easiest and quickest way to design them at the start. As with many early innovations, they stick not because they are best, but because they are so well intrenched (e.g. the QWRTY keyboard versus more efficient designs). Motorcycles also get away with this as the chain isn't shifting position through a derailer to change gears. [NOTE: Knowing some of the BMW insiders, there is little corporate emphasis on Beemer racing versus Bimmer racing. If they wanted to, BMW could easily dominate the sport as they have in other areas of motorsports.] If chains were so good, why don't we use them on automobiles?
Gibber should obviously take into consideration some of the practicalities of finding the simplest design to accomplish what it is he wants to accomplish. Given your line of logic, A.G. Bell should never have bothered trying to develop the telephone (a view you actually shared with his father-in-law). Those foolish Wright brothers, what were they thinking? Or that other Wright (Frank L.), where did those stupid designs come from? Dyson, what a dope! 5,000+ prototypes to come up with a bagless vac (they are fantastic by the way) - vacuums have already advanced as far as they can go!
Gibber, as a designer, inventor, and student of human behavior, my advise is to ask a lot of questions. If it makes sense, use it. If it doesn't, determine if it is because you don't understand or simply disagree. Take small steps. If you succeed, take another. If you fail, small steps are easier to recover from. Chances are you will also learn more from your mistakes (assuming you are paying attention) than your successes.
If you haven't already discovered it, here is a link to a great direct drive system
www.sussex.com.tw/se2.htm
Best of luck with your project. I'd be interested in learning how it comes out as I'm interested in a tandem tadpole myself.
Regards,
James