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2001 Yamaha Yzf-R1 Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
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Latest Dec 11, 2025
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
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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.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2001 Yamaha Yzf-R1, 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

  • Engine1100.0%

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

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

The problem is the oil pump has a chain that stretches over time and gets stuck causing the motor and back tire to seize. ON or about 12/31/2012 I was riding my 2001 Yamaha r1 down the 10 freeway by the 10/57 incherchange. The oil pump chain had about 20k miles on it and stretched getting stuck on the gear teeth and causing the motor and rear tire on the Yamaha r1 to seize. Luckily I heard a voice in my head to pull over to the right lane and be prepared. So I locked up the rear tire and motor and then slid on my tires to the shoulder with out being struck by the vehicles behind me luckily. (there was a huge semi behind me at the time) I looked up this design and I found that all Japanese and some Europe bikes have this design flaw in their motor. The Ducati has a gear to gear oil pump so its better and safer than the Japanese sport bikes. I also did some research on the Porsche Panamera and that has a similar design chain driven oil pump but it has a tensioner on it to prevent stretching and lock up

NHTSA ID 11704392 · filed Dec 11, 2025

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

Data on this page last refreshed .