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When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 0 of 1 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
Engine. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
1 reports
Mileage unknown · Dec 11, 2025
Engine
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 th…
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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 ODI #11704392
Official recalls
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NHTSA investigations
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No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
2001 Yamaha Yzf R1 Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year
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