1998 Honda VTR1000F: complaints, problems and recalls
Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.
Key facts
5 owner complaints analyzed
0 distinct recall campaigns
35,000 mi median reported failure mileage
Scope: 1998 model year. Data updated: . 1 complaints include usable failure mileage. View data status.
This selection has limited data. It remains available for lookup but is excluded from search indexing.
Most common problems
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline is the most frequently named component, appearing in 4 of 5 complaints (80.0%). A complaint can name multiple components.
Component breakdown
Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline | 4 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine | 1 |
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline: 4; Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine: 1
Reported problems by failure mileage
Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Under 25,000 | 0 |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 1 |
| 50,000 to 74,999 | 0 |
| 75,000 to 99,999 | 0 |
| 100,000 to 149,999 | 0 |
| 150,000 and above | 0 |
Under 25,000: 0; 25,000 to 49,999: 1; 50,000 to 74,999: 0; 75,000 to 99,999: 0; 100,000 to 149,999: 0; 150,000 and above: 0
25,000 to 49,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (1). 4 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.
Complaints over time
Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 4 |
| 2006 | 1 |
2002: 4; 2006: 1
Pattern summary
Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline leads the component reports. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.
Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.
Examples from the source records
Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.
Owner report 10166498 · 2006-08-25 (August 25, 2006)
THE CAM CHAIN TENSIONER SKIPPED AT AROUND 35000 MILES ON MY 1998 HONDA SUPERHAWK. THERE IS MUCH DISCUSSION ON THIS TOPIC AT SUPERHAWKFORUM.COM. MY ENGINE WAS DESTROYED. *JB
Owner-reported narrative. 35,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10166498 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 764046 · 2002-07-10 (July 10, 2002)
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 764046 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 769057 · 2002-10-29 (October 29, 2002)
THIS CAM CHAIN TENSIONER PROBLEM IS POPULAR AMONG VTR1000F OWNERS, PARTICULARLY 1999 MODELS AND EARLIER. FAILURE OF THE TENSIONER COULD CAUSE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF ENGINE AT SPEED, CAUSING LOCKUP OF REAR WHEEL AND PROBABLE ACCIDENT WITH INJURY. DT
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 769057 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 769088 · 2002-10-30 (October 30, 2002)
THIS PROBLEM IS FAIRLY COMMON WITH THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE. THE CHAIN DRIVING THE CAMS GOES LAX AND THE ENGINE DIES. SOMETIMES THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING AND POSES A DANGER TO THE OPERATOR. I WAS FORTUNATE IN THAT MINE FAILED WHILE THE ENGINE WAS WARMING UP.
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 769088 at NHTSA ↗
Owner report 769157 · 2002-10-31 (October 31, 2002)
SECOND FAILURE OF CAMCHAIN TENSIONER WITH ENGINE BREAKDOWN OCCURRED AT 25720 MILES. THIS WAS ALSO REPORTED TO HONDA WITH HONDA AGAIN DENYING THAT A CAMCHAIN PROBLEM EXISTS. DT
Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 769157 at NHTSA ↗
Recall history
0 distinct campaigns affect this selection. Announcement dates below are different from vehicle model years. A campaign may cover multiple years.
No recall campaigns are recorded in this snapshot.
Vehicle analysis explorer
Inspect model-year patterns, reported mileage, monthly activity and the evidence behind each signal.
Data completeness
5 unique complaints in this selection. Analysis snapshot: 2026-10-01.
Missing, zero and invalid mileage is excluded. Dates after the snapshot are excluded. Examples are limited selections, not a representative sample.
Problems by model year
Model-wide comparison of the eight most reported components across the model. Cells show counts and shares within each model year. Open a cell for source examples.
| Component | 1998 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline | 480.0% | 1100.0% |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine | 120.0%ODI 10166498 · 35,000 miTHE CAM CHAIN TENSIONER SKIPPED AT AROUND 35000 MILES ON MY 1998 HONDA SUPERHAWK. THERE IS MUCH DISCUSSION ON THIS TOPIC AT SUPERHAWKFORUM.COM. MY ENGINE WAS DESTROYED. *JB | 00.0%No examples available for this selection. |
Darker cells indicate a larger share of submitted complaints. Components overlap. This measures complaint composition, not failure probability.
Failure mileage by component
Median and middle 50% of usable owner-reported mileages. Ranges require at least five records.
| Component | Mileage range (25th–75th percentile) | Median | Usable records | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine | Too few reports for a range | 35,000 mi | 1 (sparse) | ODI 10166498 · 35,000 miTHE CAM CHAIN TENSIONER SKIPPED AT AROUND 35000 MILES ON MY 1998 HONDA SUPERHAWK. THERE IS MUCH DISCUSSION ON THIS TOPIC AT SUPERHAWKFORUM.COM. MY ENGINE WAS DESTROYED. *JB |
Complaint and recall timeline
Explore monthly filing activity alongside recall announcements. Up to ten years of monthly history is available.
Solid line: filed complaints. Dashed amber lines: recall announcement dates for this vehicle selection; markers include all recall components. The latest month is partial. Temporal proximity does not establish causation.
Monthly counts, recall campaigns and complaint examples
| Month | Complaints | Campaigns announced | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2024-12 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-01 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-02 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-03 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-04 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-05 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-06 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-07 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-08 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-09 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-10 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-11 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2025-12 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-01 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-02 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-03 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-04 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-05 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-06 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-07 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-08 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-09 | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
| 2026-10 (partial) | 0 | None | No examples available for this selection. |
Emerging complaint spikes
Complete months in the latest six months with at least 10 complaints, at least twice the preceding 12-month average, and at least three square-root deviations above that average.
This is a descriptive screening rule, not a statistical defect finding. Publicity and reporting changes can increase submissions.
No complete months meet the spike thresholds for this selection.
Equal-age model-year comparison
Model-wide cumulative reports during the first three or five calendar years, starting with the model year (age 0). Only fully elapsed windows are compared.
1998: 2 complaints · 2005: 1 complaints
| Model year | Through age 0 | Through age 1 | Through age 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2005 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Date coverage across each selected cohort
| Year | Incident dates used | Filing date fallbacks | Excluded dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Incident date is preferred when valid and no later than filing; otherwise filing date is used. Model year approximates age. Equal observation time does not adjust for sales, distance driven or reporting delays. One complaint linked to multiple model years can appear in each cohort.
Components reported together
Each cell counts unique complaints naming both components. Open a nonzero cell for examples.
| Component | Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline | Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Gasoline | — | 0 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine | 0 | — |
Co-reporting does not establish that one component caused another concern.
Recurring narrative patterns
Specific keyword mentions beyond broad component labels. Matching includes negations and comparisons and does not confirm a diagnosis.
0 patterns with matching reports.
No narratives match the published patterns.