1997 BMW R1100 RT

Routine

Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the fuel system, gasoline › fuel injection system. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Power Train › Driveline1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Fuel Injection System1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine and Engine Cooling
Filed Jan 14, 201156,000 milesAZ

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 BMW R1100 RT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL POPPING NOISE AND HE NOTICED A LEAK OF UNKNOWN FLUIDS. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER AND INFORMED HIM THAT THE VUE PORT HAD FRACTURED AND CAUSED THE ENGINE OIL TO LEAK. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED FOR A REDESIGNED VUE PORT OF THE ENGINE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 56,000.

Power Train › Driveline
Filed Sep 5, 200736,000 milesPA

I HAVE HAD 2 FAILURES OF THE FINAL DRIVE BEARING ON MY 1997 BMW R100RT. FIRST WAS AT 36K MILES,BEARING FAILED AND POURED OIL ALL OVER REAR WHEEL WHEN SEAL DESTRUCTED BECAUSE PIECES OF THE BEARING ATE IT UP. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL,AS WHEEL WAS COVERED WITH 80W90 GEAR OIL,ALSO WHEEL WAS WOBBLY. I HAD A SECOND FAILURE AT 60K MILES. O WAS RIDING THE BIKE AND FELT A VIBRATION. I THOUGHT I WAS GETTING A FLAT TIRE,SO I PULLED OVER TO CHECK IT. I COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG SO I KEPT RIDING. THE VIBRAATION KEPT GETTING WORSE TO THE POINT WHERE I COULD NO LONGER RIDE THE BIKE,FEARING FOR MY SAFETY.I CALLED FOR A TOW,BROUGHT THE BIKE HOME WHERE I FOUND THE FINAL DRIVE BEARING FAILED,BUT DIDN`T HARM THE SEAL YRT. BOTH TIMES I REPLACED THE FINAL DRIVE BEARING AND OIL SEAL.IF I WAS A LESS EXPERIENCED RIDER,I FEEL THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED A MAJOR CRASH WITH SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH. UPDATED 01-16-08. *KB UPDATED

Fuel System, Gasoline › Fuel Injection System
Filed Feb 14, 2001OH

FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM CAUSES DANGEROUS SURGING OF SPEED WHILE RIDING MOTORCYCLE. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED PROBLEM RELATED TO THIS MODEL AND THE MANUFACTURER REFUSES TO ADDRESS IT. UNANTICIPATED CHANGES IN SPEED CAN CAUSE LOSS OF CONTROL AND AN ACCIDENT. *AK

3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1999
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20013000Routine
20005010Routine
19996000Routine
1997 — this page3000Routine
19963100Routine

Compare every R1100 RT year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.