The 2004 BMW R1150 Rt has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 181 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 19 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, AN INCORRECT SEALING RING WAS MOUNTED TO THE PISTON OF THE REAR BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER.
IF ONLY THE REAR BRAKE WERE APPLIED DURING RIDING, INSUFFICIENT BRAKING PRESSURE WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO SLOW THE MOTORCYCLE, WHICH COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE REAR BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. THE RECALL BEGAN JULY 16, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-831-1117.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Total brake failure .I could not stop the motorcycle.I went rite through an intersection,thank god there was no vehicles driving through the intersection at the same time.”
“My motorcycle kept losing fuel. I never leave it low on gas, but on numerous occasions went to ride it and the tank was empty. Since then I found a youtube video showing how to replace what bmw never should have installed, saying this is common in ca because bmw did not use metal quick disconnects…”
“Fuel line quick disconnects on both supply and return failed causing fuel leak on to engine and exhaust. Extreme fire potential. Quick disconnect seals and components are insufficient to handle exposure to raw fuel, it is a poor design and bmwna should recall r1150rt's due to this failure and fire…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw r1150rt motorcycle. The contact stated that the final drive assembly failed. The failure caused the rear end to severely knock. The contact stated that oil spilled out from the vehicle as well. The contact was told by the dealer that there was a 3-6 month back order…”
“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…”
“Shinko raven 009 size 120/70 zr 17 developed blisters around 75% of the circumferance of the tread. The blisters range from 1 to 2 inches in size and are evenly spaced along the tread on the left side of the center line of the tire. Fortunately the tire did not fail before the problem was…”
“Motorcycle final drive gear bearing failure. Gear oil leaking from final drive. *kb”
“Final drive failed on my 2004 bmw r1150rt. Motorcycle has 31,000 miles. *tr”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2004 BMW R1150 Rt as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.