2002 Yamaha XVS1100 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 2002 Yamaha XVS1100, 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
- Powertrain (other)3100.0%
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
Powertrain (other)
Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.
From owner reports, verbatim
I WAS OUT RIDING MY 2002 YAMAHA V-STAR 1100 CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE THAT I OBTAINED FROM MY STEPDAD. WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 55-60MPH ON A 2-LANE STATE HIGHWAY APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT I BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN. UPON DECELERATION THE MOTORCYCLE SUDDENLY MADE A LOUD WHINING NOISE FROM THE TRANSMISSION AND I FELT THE REAR WHEEL START TO BIND UP. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND TOOK THE BIKE HOME ON A TRAILER. I LATER PUT IT IN MY SHOP TO INSPECT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS MYSELF. INSPECTION REVEALED A SNAPPED MIDDLE DRIVE SHAFT WHERE THE YOKE/U-JOINT CONNECT WITH IT. THE U-JOINT IS HELD ON BY A NUT. THE END OF THE SHAFT WITH THE NUT STILL ON IT WAS LAYING INSIDE THE U-JOINT AND WAS FREE TO MOVE AROUND CAUSING IT TO BIND UP WITHIN THE JOINT. RESEARCHING ONLINE SHOWS MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE THAT LEAD TO A BROKEN SHAFT. THE MAIN CAUSE IS THE NUT DOES NOT HAVE AN EFFECTIVE "LOCKING" METHOD (SUCH AS A PIN) TO KEEP IT FROM LOOSENING UP OVER TIME. THIS THEN CAUSES THE U-JOINT TO MOVE ON THE SHAFT UNTIL THE ASSEMBLY SNAPS. SEEING AS THIS IS A MOTORCYCLE WITH ONLY TWO (2) WHEELS THIS HAD THE POTENTIAL TO SERIOUSLY INJURE OR KILL ME HAD THE REAR WHEEL LOCKED UP COMPLETELY WHILE TRAVELING AT THOSE HIGHWAY SPEEDS. I AM VERY LUCKY THE REAR WHEEL DID NOT LOCK UP COMPLETELY. I WILL BE CONTACTING YAMAHA CORP. ABOUT THIS ISSUE IMMEDIATELY AS I FEEL IT IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT THAT IS BACKED BY A LOT OF ONLINE REPORTS AND HOPE IT WILL BE ADDRESSED BEFORE ANYONE CAN BE HURT OR KILLED BY IT IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY HAPPENED. THE NUT THAT IS KNOWN TO LOOSEN UP IS NOT A MAINTENANCE ITEM MEANING THIS ISSUE IS NOT CAUSED BY A LACK OF MAINTENANCE! THIS MOTORCYCLE WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW BY MY PARENTS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE YAMAHA DEALER FOR SERVICE SINCE IT WAS NEW. IMAGES ATTACHED SHOW THE BROKEN SHAFT AND DAMAGE TO THE NUT FROM GETTING CAUGHT IN THE U-JOINT AFTER BREAKING. *TR
I WAS RIDING ALONG ON US 380 IN MCKINNEY, TX AND AS I APPROACHED A SIGNAL LIGHT, I BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN AND THAT'S WHEN I HEARD A MYSTERIOUS WINING SOUND. THE SIGNAL TURNED GREEN AND AS I BEGAN TO ACCELERATE, THE WINING PROGRESSED TO A LOUD CLANKING AND GRINDING SOUND SO I STOPPED TO CHECK THE DRIVE SHAFT, IT WAS FINE. I CALLED FOR A TRAILER AND TRANSPORTATION OF THE MOTORCYCLE BACK TO MY HOMETOWN OF DENISON, TX, 52 MILES ONE WAY. UPON RETURNING HOME, I DISMANTLED THE MOTORCYCLE AND FOUND THAT THE NUT ON THE OF POWER SHAFT (MIDDLE DRIVE GEAR) HAD BROKEN OFF. IN, DOING SO IT DESTROYED A FEW OTHER PARTS INSIDE THE GEARBOX AS WELL. I WAS QUOTED $3000.00 AT MY LOCAL YAMAHA DEALERSHIP. IF I PURCHASE THE PARTS AND DO IT MYSELF I'M LOOKING AT ABOUT $1500.00 TO FIX IT. EITHER WAY, I DO NOT HAVE THE FINANCES AT THE TIME TO FIX IT, THIS IS MY ONLY TRANSPORTATION. I HAVE TALKED TO SEVERAL PEOPLE IN PERSON AND THROUGH YAMAHA FORUMS THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE! YAMAHA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND REFUSES TO MAKE IT RIGHT BY THEIR CUSTOMERS. *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 .