Total Complaints
3 filings
BMW R1100 · model year
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1998BMWR1100 carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1998 R1100 is vehicle speed control:cables with 1 filings, followed by power train:clutch assembly (1) and power train (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 1998 R1100. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CABLES | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
FINAL DRIVE FAILURE, COMMON TO THE SINGLE SIDED SWING ARM. REPLACED CROWN BEARING AND SEAL. $610.78. *KB
Mileage: 67,801
CLUTCH FAILS WHICH CAUSES MOTORCYCLE TO REMAIN DISENGAGED WHILE CHANGING GEARS. ALSO, GEAR COMES OUT OF SECOND AND INTO THIRD GEAR, BUT CAN NOT GO FORWARD. CONTACTED DEALER AND THEY WILL NOT FIX.*AK *YH
WHEN TRAVELING AT CERTAIN SPEED THE MOTORCYCLE WILL ACCELERATE AND DECELERATE WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED THE DEALER WHO IN TURN SAID THAT THIS CONDITION IS NORMAL. *AK *TT
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.