1998 Yamaha Yamaha

Routine

Owners filed 10 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the fuel system, gasoline › storage › tank assembly. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Power Train › Manual Transmission2
101
Power Train › Axle Assembly2
000
Unknown or Other1
000
Tires › Tread/Belt1
000
Power Train › Clutch Assembly › Pedal/Hand Lever(motorcycle)1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly1
000
Electrical System › Ignition1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly
Filed Jun 28, 2002AK

HI, I DONT KNOW IF THIS AFFECTS R1S IN YOUR COUNTRY BUT WE WERE TOLD ABOUT IT HERE ,THE CLIP ON THE COOLANT HOSE UNDER THE TANK IS NOT TIGHT ENOUGH FROM THE FACTORY AND THE HOSE COULD POSSIBLY DETACH....NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM WITH A CAR BUT A PROBLEM ON A BIKE ,HOT COOLANT SUDDENLY WHERE YOU LEAST WANT IT=LOTS OF PAIN!

Power Train › Manual TransmissionCrash1 injured
Filed Apr 19, 200231,435 milesCA

SECOND GEAR DOES NOT FULLY ENGAGE OR POPS OUT. I WRECKED ONCE BECAUSE THE LOSS OF POWER TO REAR WHEEL ON A CORNER.**** DIMS 11 IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT-OVER TO ARTEMIS*****760931.*AK *JB

Electrical System › Ignition
Filed May 15, 2001MA

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

Tires › Tread/Belt
Filed Oct 6, 2000GA

THREE OF FOUR TIRES PURCHASED ON 6/26/98 HAD TREAD SEPARATION WITHIN 28 MONTHS OF PURCHASE. THE FOURTH TIRE WAS REPLACED AT THE FIRST FAILURE TO HAVE A BALANCED SET ON THE FRONT OF THE CAR. THIS OCCURRED IN MARCH, 2000. THE SECOND TIRE FAILED IN AUG 2000 AND THE THIRD FAILED IN OCT. 2000. (DOT NUMBER: CC9L8KL068 TIRESIZE: 205/65R15)

Power Train › Axle Assembly
Filed Jul 12, 2000IL

THE CUSH DRIVE HUB IS BASICALLY A SPROCKET CARRIER THAT FITS INTO THE REAR WHEEL. IT IS MADE OF CAST ALUMINUM, AND IS APPARENTLY VERY FRAGILE. WITH ONLY 1500 MILES ON MY MOTORCYCLE, I NOTICED THAT THE HUB WAS CRACKED VERY BADLY, WITH PIECES MISSING FROM IT. IT EVEN GOUGED A SPIRAL IN THE SWINGARM, WHICH WASN'T REPLACED. THE DEALER ACCUSED ME OF ABUSING MOTORCYCLE, ALTHOUGH I HADN'T. HOWEVER, THEY FIXED IT UNDER WARRANTY BUT GAVE ME NO RECEIPT. ABOUT ONE YEAR LATER, BEFORE LEAVING ON A LONG TRIP, I NOTICED THAT THE PART HAD CRACKED AGAIN, AND I CALLED YAMAHA USA AND THEY AGREEED TO REPLACE IT FOR FREE SINCE THEY HAD REPLACED IT ONCE ALREADY. THEY DENIED ANY KNOWLEDGE OF A DEFECT, EVEN THOUGH MY DEALER HAD CLAIMED FIXING ABOUT SEVEN OTHERS AT THIS POINT. I WAS NOT GIVEN ANY RECEIPT AT THIS TIME EITHER.THERE HAD ALSO BEEN MANY REPORTS OF THIS FAILURE AT HTTP://WWW.YZF-R1-FORUM.COM. YAMAHA HAS MADE AN UPGRADED PART TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL, BUT THE FIRST REPLACEMENT PART I RECEIVED WAS THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL. THE NEW PART IS STILL FINE AT 9000 MILES. NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT IF THIS PART HAD BROKEN FURTHER AT A CRUISING SPEED, THE REAR WHEEL COULD HAVE EASILY LOCKED, CAUSING THE BIKE TO CRASH. THERE HAS BEEN A WORLDWIDE RECALL ON THIS PART EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THE US AND CANADA. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS MATTER, AND I WILL HELP WITH ANY OTHER INFO YOU MAY NEED. I HAVE SEVERAL PHOTOS OF THE PART IN QUESTION, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT MY OWN, I AM WILLING TO SEND THEM TO YOU. *AK

Power Train › Axle Assembly
Filed Feb 10, 2000MI

I'M FILING THIS COMPLAINT DUE TO THE CUSH-DRIVE RECALLS THAT HAVE OCCURRED ON THIS MOTORCYCLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, EXCEPT FOR THE USA. I AM NOT AWARE OF THE CUSH-DRIVE FAILING ON MY MOTORCYCLE, BUT AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SITUATION. CANADA HAS APPARRENTLY RECALLED THE CUSH-DRIVE ON THE MOTORCYCLE IN THEIR MARKET. WHY HASN'T THE USA? NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK

Power Train › Manual Transmission
Filed Feb 8, 2000MI

MOTORCYCLE TRANSMISSION JUMPS IN AND OUT OF 2ND GEAR, RENDERING THE MOTORCYCLE UNSAFE. WHILE OPERATING THE MOTORCYCLE, THE TRANSMISSION JUMPS IN AND OUT OF GEAR, UNLOADING THE MOTORCYCLE'S SUSPENSION, AND CAUSING THE MOTORCYCLE TO LOSE DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AND STABILITY, WHEREBY CAUSING THE MOTORCYCLE AND RIDER TO ENTER ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND THE UNPAVED RUN-OFF AREA OF THE ROADWAY--ENDANGERING THE LIFE OF THE MOTORCYCLE RIDER AND OTHER MOTORISTS IN THE VICINITY OF THE DEFECTIVE MOTORCYCLE. I HAVE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM OF DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSIONS IN THE 1998 AND 1999 YAMAHA YZF-R1. YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE RESPONDED TO COMPLAINTS OF THE CLUNKY AND UNRELIABLE TRANSMISSION BY REPAIRING IT FREE OF CHARGE UNDER WARRANTY. ADDITIONALLY, IN RESPONSE TO THE OUTPOURING OF COMPLAINTS BY CONSUMERS, YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION MADE EXTENSIVE CHANGES TO THE 2000 MODEL YEAR YZF-R1, NOTED BY..."THE TRANSMISSION RECEIVE[ING] EXTENSIVE ATTENTION, PARTIALLY TO LIGHTEN THE SYSTEM, PARTIALLY TO IMPROVE TRANNY PERFORMANCE(SHIFTING AND LONGEVITY)..." (ROADRACING WORLD, FEBRUARY 2000, PP 15-16) AND "THERE WERE SOME COMPLAINTS WITH THE PREVIOUS R1 ABOUT THE CLUNK BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR, SO YAMAHA MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT AREA - CLEANING UP THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE TWO COGS TO MAKE SHIFTING SMOOTHER. THERE'S ALSO A NEW SHIFT SHAFT, AND ADDITIONAL BEARING AND DIFFERENT LINKAGE IN THE SHIFT MECHANISM." (CYCLE NEWS, JANUARY 26, 2000, P.21) AND "...YAMAHA AL

Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly
Filed Oct 29, 1999TX

THE TANK MATERIAL IS TOO THIN AND WEAK CAUSING THE GAS TANK TO CRACK RESULTING IN GAS ODOR AND FUEL TO BE EXPELLED FROM THE VEHUCLE WHILE DRIVING. NLN

Unknown or Other
Filed Jul 19, 1999TX

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

Power Train › Clutch Assembly › Pedal/Hand Lever(motorcycle)
Filed Feb 1, 1999CA

CLUTCH FAILED PRIOR TO RECALL NOTICE. MJS (98V-236).

10 of 10 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2002
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20041000Routine
200329010Routine
200260010Routine
200132000Routine
200012000Routine
199916000Routine
1998 — this page10000Routine
19973000Routine
19965010Routine
19951000Routine
19941000Routine
19939000Routine
19911001Fatalities reported

Compare every Yamaha 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.