BMW of North America submitted a safety recall report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on October 15, 2025, and it concerns the 2026 BMW R 1300 RT. What's the issue? According to the company's records, approximately 3 bikes that were manufactured between April 23, 2025 and May 7, 2025 may have a cardan shaft that "may not have been sufficiently hardened according to specifications."
This incorrect manufacturing process could, in turn, result in universal joint slippage within the shaft. And that, in turn, could result in a sudden loss of propulsion while a rider is operating the bike, which could increase the rider's risk of a crash if this were to happen.
According to the company's chronology, BMW in Germany (the parent company of BMW of North America) first received a report of a universal joint slipping within the shaft on a 2025 BMW R 1300 RT. The company then initiated an investigation to find the root cause. That's when it discovered that a very small batch of these parts had been insufficiently hardened during their production process, and identified the batch of parts that had already been installed on motorcycles. This investigation started on July 2, 2025.
