RoadVitals

1998 Buell S1 White Lightning Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
4
Latest Nov 6, 2000
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Oct 4, 1999

What this page shows

Our database holds 4 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 Buell S1 White Lightning. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–4 of 4

Brakes
Filed Nov 6, 2000
Crash reported1 injury reported

BRAKE LEVER LIGHTLY TOUCHED AS I WAS GOING INTO THE THE TURN @ 25 MPH, NO BRAKE CONTROL BIKE LEANED INSTEAD OF DOWN, AND I WENT INTO THE DITCH AND FRACTURED MYN PELVIS. THERE ARE 4 KNOW ACCOUNTS OF THE EXACT SAME INCIDENT, ONE WAS BY A DEALER MECHANIC OF WHICH I PURCHASED THE MOTORCYCLE FROM HAD LOST CONTROL OF THE BIKE AND BRAKES HE HAD SERVICED. HE HAD A CAR BRAKE INFRONT OF HIM AND HE TOUCHED THE BRAKES A LITTLE AND THE BIKE WENT DOWN, MY BEST FRIEND HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO HIM AND I HAVE READ ARTICLES @ WWW.BADWEATHERBIKERS.COM ON SIMILAR INCIDENTS. THE SAME MODELS AND MAKES OF THE EQUIPMENT ARE THE SAME.*AK

NHTSA ID
735838
Incident
Oct 22, 1998
Suspension
Filed Jun 8, 2000

RECALL 99V106000/SWING ARM, AND 99V107 000/REAR SHOCK ABSORBERS: BOTH RECALLS RECEIVED AND REPORTED TO DEALER, BUT STILL BOTH RECALLS HAVE NOT BEEN HONORED. DEALER IS STILL WAITING FOR PARTS FROM MANUFACTURER. OWNER WISHES FOR DEALER TO REPURCHASE VEHICLE. *ML

NHTSA ID
863261
Incident
Apr 15, 1999
Engine
Filed Jun 5, 2000

MAIN BELT DRIVE BROKE WHILE MOTORCYCLE WAS IN MOTION..COULD HAVE LOCKED UP THE REAR WHEEL CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. *AK

NHTSA ID
723573
Incident
Apr 28, 2000
Transmission
Filed Oct 4, 1999

WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. *AK

NHTSA ID
849865
Incident
Jul 1, 1999

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .