I haven't pulled apart the gearbox yet, but I was wondering the same thing. Dr Joe, care to give an answer to this?
While picking up the KOP at the Manchester Kickoff, I noticed that FIRST had built a couple practice bots. One robot used the new Banebot Trannies, and left the drive shaft fully cantilevered. Below you can find a picture. I was quite surprised to see if used in this configuration.
I don't think I'll be using it in this configuration, but YMMV.
BEN