1978 BMW R100RS Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1978 BMW R100RS, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Other / unspecified1100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Other / unspecified
Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.
From owner reports, verbatim
I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO REQUEST HELP ON THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE A 1978 R100RS BMW MOTORCYCLE (NOT LISTED IN YOUR DATA BASE, SO I CHOSE THE R100 9999 ENTRY FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU.) VIN [XXX] I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THESE MOTORCYCLES, HAVING OWNED 5 BMWS. THIS BIKE WAS KNOWN TO HAVE A RECALLED FRONT WHEEL (MAG WHEEL COULD FRACTURE). WHEN I BOUGHT THIS BIKE, I ASSUMED IT HAD BEEN REPLACED. IT HAD NOT. WHEN I CONTACTED BMW CORPORATE IN NEW JERSEY THEY TOLD ME THEY WERE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO REPLACE THE WHEEL, AS HAD BEEN THE CASE DURING THE RECALL. IS IT TRUE THAT THEY WERE RELEASED FROM THE RECALL? A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THESE OLD BMWS ARE STILL ON THE ROAD. THEY ARE OF INCREASING VALUE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE RIDDEN. I CAN'T BELIEVE BMW WOULD BE RELEASED FROM ITS REQUIREMENT TO MAKE GOOD ON A DEFECTIVE PART WHICH COULD CAUSE SERIOUS, EVEN FATAL, ACCIDENTS. IS THIS TRUE? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .