THIS IS A PROBLEM WHICH APPEARS TO AFFECT ALL SINGLE PIN CRANK ENGINES PRODUCED BY HONDA BETWEEN 1990 AND 2001. WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THE GUIDE PIN PLUG ROTATES AND LOOSENS CAUSING AN OIL LEAK AND SUBSEQUENT SHIFTER RATTLE. THE OIL LEAK IS A POTENTIAL HAZARD SINCE THE LEAK ONLY OCCURS WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE IS MOVING AND THE OIL BLOWS BACKWARDS TO THE REAR TIRE. UNKNOWINGLY, A RIDER COULD END UP IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF THIS IS NOT FIXED DUE TO THE OIL CAUSING THE TIRE TO NOT ADHERE TO THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION THE POTENTIAL FOR ENGINE FAILURE SHOULD THE LEAK DRAIN THE CRANKCASE. HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM, AS IT WAS WRITTEN UP IN THE SEPTEMBER 1999 ISSUE OF THEIR PUBLICATION CALLED THE "WRENCH". THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A RECALL ISSUED TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM DESPITE THE NUMEROUS MOTORCYCLES NOW ON THE ROAD WITH THIS PROBLEM. THE SHIFTER RATTLE ALTHOUGH BOTHERSOME IS NOT CATASTROPHIC.
1998 Honda VT1100
Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the vehicle speed control. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Power Train › Manual Transmission | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsMOTORCYCLE STOPPED AT STOP SIGN, WAITING AND IT TOOK OFF, MOTORCYCLE GAS ENGAGED, EMERGENCY BUTTON PUSHED AND MOTORCYCLE WOULDN'T SHUT OFF. DRIVER LOST CONTROL. CLUTCH AND THROTTLE APPEARED DEFECTIVE, DRIVER SUFFERED INJURIES; BROKEN BACK/PELVIC BONE/TAIL BONE, AND FIVE RIBS. MOTORCYCLE NOT TOTALLED. DEALER NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, DRIVER UNABLE TO CONTACT. PROVIDER FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
MOTORCYCLE JUMPS OUT OF LOW GEAR, CAUSING THE MOTORCYCLE TO GO INTO NEUTRAL.*AK
3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.
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.