2004 BMW R1150 RT Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 12about this part
- Share
- 67%of 18 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 34,388miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 12 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2004 BMW R1150 RT, 67% of the 18 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 34,388 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“The was no warning that a failure was about to occur. I was traveling at high speed on a limited access highway in downtown atlanta ga when the failure occurred. Had I been in a middle lane, this could have been a life endangering situation. Luckily I was in the far left lane and coasted to a stop on the left shoulder of the highway. The clutch splines of drive system stripped out at 50,000 miles. According to other owners of the same vehicle, these failures can occur as often as every 10-15k miles but most frequently around 20-25k. …”
NHTSA complaint #10296529, filed 2009-12, 50,720 miles“On I-5 southbound in bellingham wa, left lane at 60mph. Up shifted transmission and heard grinding noise, on clutch release. Managed to get to right road shoulder and push bike to next exit. Found clutch disk splines stripped and transmission input shaft splines very worn. There was no warning of problem until the splines stripped. Upon research of this problem, found it was a common problem of the Bmw r1150rt.”
NHTSA complaint #10442853, filed 2012-01, 35,680 miles“2004 Bmw r1150rt failure of final drive bearing. This is a common problem, denied by Bmw, and could cause a potentially fatal crash if it locked up at speed. Out race fails, eventually the bearing retainers fail, and bearing collapses, potentially locking up the rear wheel.”
NHTSA complaint #10235119, filed 2008-07, 38,612 miles“Lost transmission splines and clutch disk splines going down the road shifting between 2nd and 3rd gear. Lost all drive to rear wheel and had to coast to side of road, thankfully traffic was light.”
NHTSA complaint #10437234, filed 2011-11, 16,491 miles“Premature failure of the clutch / transmission input shaft splines potentially causing motorcycle to loose forward drive in traffic. Failure occurred with 28,210 miles on the odometer. Riding slightly up grade at 50 MPH. Sudden and unexpected failure caused lose of forward drive and being stranded in traffic. This required pushing the motorcycle out of traffic to a safe location and being towed to the repair location. This is not unpresidented in this series of motorcycles and appears to be related to the misalignment of the engine / transmission interface at the time of manufacture. …”
NHTSA complaint #10239865, filed 2008-08, 28,200 milesTransmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 12 | 67% |
Other parts of the 2004 BMW R1150 RT
← All problems reported for the 2004 BMW R1150 RT
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology