Most motorcycle MOT advice is somebody's opinion about what garages look for. This is not. The table below is the official DVSA breakdown of initial test failures for MOT classes 1 and 2, full financial year 2024 to 2025, published as part of the MOT testing data series.
Read the last two columns against each other, because that is where the story is.
| Defect category | Share of all defects | Share of dangerous defects |
|---|---|---|
| Lamps and reflectors | 40.80% | 18.94% |
| Brakes | 18.62% | 25.72% |
| Structure and attachments | 11.30% | 10.10% |
| Suspension | 9.79% | 3.34% |
| Tyres | 8.83% | 34.12% |
| Steering | 5.87% | 6.70% |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3.85% | not recorded as dangerous |
| Wheels | 0.70% | 1.09% |
| Horn | 0.25% | not recorded as dangerous |
Source: DVSA, MOT class 1 and 2 vehicles, initial failures by defect category, financial year 2024 to 2025 total. Figures checked August 2026.
Lamps and reflectors are the loudest number and the least important one. A blown bulb, a headlamp aimed wrongly after a fork rebuild, a reflector that fell off. Annoying, cheap, and it says almost nothing about the state of the motorcycle.
Tyres are the opposite. They cause about one defect in eleven, but more than a third of everything a tester grades as dangerous. A dangerous defect means you are not supposed to ride the bike away, and 4.39% of all motorcycle tests in that year produced one. So roughly one rider in twenty-three turned up on a bike the tester judged unfit to leave on.
If you take one thing from the data, it is this: spend your pre-test attention on the tyres and the brakes, and fix the bulbs in five minutes the night before. Our guide to what dangerous, major and minor actually mean explains why that grading matters more than the pass or fail line.
This catches out people who have driven cars for twenty years and then bought a motorcycle. The 1.6mm figure everyone knows is a car figure. It does not apply to your bike.
| Vehicle | Legal minimum tread |
|---|---|
| Car, van, light trailer | 1.6mm across the central three quarters, all the way round |
| Motorcycle over 50cc | 1mm across three quarters of the breadth, with visible tread on the remaining quarter |
| Motorcycle or moped up to 50cc | All the grooves of the original tread pattern must be clearly visible |
Two practical points. First, the bike limit is lower, which sounds generous until you remember that a motorcycle has two contact patches the size of a credit card and no fourth wheel to save it. Legal and sensible are a long way apart here, and most riders change well before 1mm.
Second, on a small moped there is no depth figure at all. The test is simply whether the original pattern is still visible. A worn scooter tyre can be legal on depth on a 125 and illegal on a 49cc machine with the same tread left.
Tyre age is not part of the MOT, and there is no legal age limit for a private motorcycle tyre. A tyre with plenty of tread and hard, crazed sidewalls will pass. Worth knowing before you buy a low mileage bike that has stood for six years.
An MOT is a roadworthiness test at a moment in time. It is not an inspection, it is not a service, and it is not a mechanical opinion. The things it does not cover are exactly the things that cost the most to put right.
Chain and sprockets sit in between and confuse people. The tester does look at the final drive: excessive slack, a badly worn chain, worn sprockets or a missing guard can all fail a bike. What the tester is not doing is measuring how much life is left. A chain right at the edge of acceptable will pass and then need replacing a month later.
So a fresh MOT is not a guarantee about anything except the day it was issued. Anyone selling a bike on the strength of "twelve months MOT" is telling you about the certificate, not the motorcycle.
Split the same DVSA data by quarter and a clear pattern appears.
| Quarter | Initial failure rate |
|---|---|
| April to June 2024 | 13.47% |
| July to September 2024 | 14.04% |
| October to December 2024 | 15.51% |
| January to March 2025 | 13.92% |
| April to June 2025 | 12.85% |
Source: DVSA MOT class 1 and 2 initial failure rates by quarter.
The autumn quarter is consistently the worst, and brakes are the category that moves most: 19.76% of defects in October to December against 17.73% in April to June. That is corrosion. A bike that has been ridden through a wet British autumn, or one that sat all summer with the discs going orange, arrives at the test with seized calipers and pitted discs.
The practical version: if your MOT falls in October or November, do not book it the week it expires. Book early enough that a brake failure does not leave you off the road, and take the bike for a proper ride first so the brakes clean themselves up rather than presenting the tester with a surface rusted disc.
The full DVSA record is free, goes back to 2005, and the seller cannot edit it. Put the registration into the free MOT history checker and read it in this order.
If you are deciding between two bikes you can compare their records side by side before you travel to see either.
Be clear about what this does not cover. A free MOT history will not tell you whether a motorcycle has outstanding finance, has been written off, or is recorded as stolen. That data comes from lenders, the insurance industry register and the police, and no free service has it. On a cheap bike the MOT trail plus a careful look covers most of the risk. On anything expensive, pay for a full vehicle history check as well.
| Vehicle | MOT class | First test | Maximum fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle up to 200cc | 1 | 3 years | £29.65 |
| Motorcycle over 200cc | 2 | 3 years | £29.65 |
| Motorcycle with sidecar, up to 200cc | 1 | 3 years | £37.80 |
| Motorcycle with sidecar, over 200cc | 2 | 3 years | £37.80 |
| Three wheeled vehicle up to 450kg unladen | 3 | 3 years | £37.80 |
Source: GOV.UK maximum MOT test fees. Checked August 2026.
Those are maximums, not prices. Most garages charge well under them, and you should not pay the cap without ringing round first. The full picture on fees and free retests is in what an MOT actually costs.
Two exemptions worth knowing.
A motorcycle manufactured or first registered more than 40 years ago, and not substantially changed in the last 30 years, is exempt from annual testing as a vehicle of historical interest. You declare it on form V112. The bike still has to be roadworthy, and you can still test it voluntarily, which some owners do because it helps when selling.
Northern Ireland works to a different clock. In Great Britain a new motorcycle needs its first MOT at three years. In Northern Ireland, where testing is done by the DVA at its own centres rather than by private garages, cars and motorcycles are tested from four years old. If you are buying a three year old bike with a Northern Ireland history and no MOT on the record, that is why, and it is not a warning sign.
If your bike is under three years old you do not need to do anything yet. If it is not, the honest pre-test list is short: check the tyres properly, ride it far enough to clean the brakes up, and walk round it with the lights on. Those three cover the categories behind most of the defects and nearly all of the dangerous ones.
And when you are buying, remember what a certificate is. Twelve months MOT means the bike met a minimum standard on one morning. The history, which is free and which the seller cannot touch, tells you what it has actually been like to own.
How to read a van MOT history before you buy: the mileage trail, the advisories that actually matter on a working van, the gaps sellers never mention, and what a free check cannot tell you.
The legal maximum MOT fee is 54.85 pounds for a car and 29.65 for a motorcycle, unchanged since 2010. What garages really charge, the free retest rules, and five ways to pay less.
Seven charging zones in England plus London ULEZ. Only three charge private cars. The full table, the Euro standards that decide it, and why Scotland works completely differently.
A write-off is an insurance decision, not a mechanical verdict. What each category means, which can never be driven again, what it does to value and insurance, and how to find out.
When a van stops getting an ordinary MOT and starts getting a DVSA annual test, the 2026 fees for lorries and trailers, the electric van exception that runs to 4,250kg, and the 14 day retest window that is worth real money.
Cars, vans and motorcycles over 40 years old can stop having an MOT, but it is a declaration you make, not a status you are granted. The 40 year rule, what counts as a substantial change after the May 2026 guidance update, why the road tax date is different, and what an exempt vehicle does to its own MOT history.
A trailer under 3,500kg has no MOT and no history. What cars, vans and lorries that tow really need in 2026, and what the MOT towbar check covers.
Most bikes are laid up over winter, so a motorcycle MOT history is full of holes that mean nothing. Which gaps are normal, which one should stop you, why low mileage is not automatically good, and how to read the trail. Free checks for cars, vans, motorcycles and lorries.
An MOT advisory is not a fail and has no legal deadline. What the common advisories mean on a car, van or bike, roughly what each costs to put right in 2026, and how to read the pattern before you buy.
The first MOT is due three years from first registration in Great Britain, four in Northern Ireland, one year for taxis and lorries. Fees, the one month early rule, the £1,000 fine, what fails at three years, and how to buy a car that has no MOT history yet.
An imported car, van or motorcycle has no UK MOT history before its DVLA registration, and its readings may be in kilometres. The 14 day NOVA rule, the £55 registration fee, the £199 IVA test, the 10 year exemption, the write-off trap, and how to read an import's record without being fooled.
What a DVSA or police roadside stop covers for a van, the fixed penalties and prohibitions from GOV.UK, the 2024 to 2025 prosecution figures, and how a cleared prohibition shows up in the MOT history of a car, van or lorry before you buy.
What the MOT emissions test does to a diesel car or van, the smoke limits by age, the DPF removal fines, 2026 repair costs from £85 to £3,500, and how to spot DPF trouble in the free MOT history before you buy.
What the DVSA motorcycle manual actually says about aftermarket exhausts, NOT FOR ROAD USE cans, LED headlamp bulbs, tail tidy indicators and number plates, what the roadside law says instead, and how a modified bike shows up in the MOT record. Free MOT history checks for cars, vans, motorcycles and lorries.
Brakes are the most common dangerous MOT fail on UK cars and vans. What each brake defect line means, what it costs to put right in 2026, and how to read it in a used vehicle's MOT history.
Suspension is the biggest single MOT defect group on UK cars and vans. What each suspension fail line means, what a spring, shock absorber, bush or ball joint costs to put right in 2026, and how to read suspension advisories in a used van's MOT history.
Tyres are 6 in 10 of every Dangerous MOT defect on UK cars and vans. What the tester checks, the 1.6mm rule, 2026 tyre prices, the free next-day retest, and how to read tyre lines in a used car's MOT record.
Lamps are 24.89 percent of every MOT defect on UK cars and vans, the biggest category of all. What each lamp defect line means, what a bulb or a headlamp aim fix costs in 2026, why the retest is free for bulbs but not for aim, and how to read lamp lines in a used vehicle's MOT history.
Bikes fail 13.40 percent of MOTs against 27.51 percent for cars and vans. What actually fails a motorcycle, what each repair costs in 2026, and the GOV.UK retest rule that gives cars a free tyre retest but not motorcycles. Free MOT history checks for cars, vans, motorcycles and lorries.
Roughly one in four cars fails its first MOT attempt. Here is what really causes it, using DVSA data, and what each repair usually costs.
Mileage fraud is legal to commit and illegal to profit from. The MOT history is the cheapest way to catch it. Here is exactly what to look for.
The three year rule, the one month early rule, the £1,000 fine, and the handful of exemptions that actually apply. Sourced from GOV.UK.
The four MOT result categories, which ones fail you, which one means you must not drive the car at all, and how to read a defect list.
Official DVSA MOT testing figures for Great Britain, laid out plainly. Test volumes, initial failure rates by class and by vehicle age, and the defect categories behind the failures.
Something wrong or out of date? Email support@jagatitlimited.com and a person will read it.
MOT Check UK is a trading name of Jagat IT UK Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17474995. Registered office: 164 High Street, London Colney, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 1QF.