This paper investigates the accuracy of the linear component that forms part of an overall Hammerstein model-structure estimate, and a key finding is that the process of estimating the non-linear element can have a strong effect on the associated estimate of the linear dynamics. Furthermore, this effect is not explained simply by way of considering how the input spectrum is changed by the non-linearity. Instead, it arises that the linear model-estimate variability may be dominated by a term that depends on the frequency response of the linear system itself. Amongst other things, the main results derived here have experiment design implications for Hammerstein system estimation.