BIKERELIABILITY Reg check
League table/ BMW/ R100/By year
Registration-year report · 2005–2025

Data as of: DVSA MOT results to 2025

BMW R100: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which R100 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 87.0% average, from 23,125 DVSA tests.

1997
highest-passing year · 92.5%
1976
lowest-passing year · 81.0%
11.5pp
spread across 21 years

Pass rate by registration year

first-time pass rate · cohorts with 50 or more tests · registration year from first use date

Highest pass rate: 1997 (92.5% of 53 tests). Lowest: 1976 (81.0% of 116). Years more than two points below the model average: 1976, 1979, 1980, 1985.

79%87%95%1976: 81.0% pass (116 tests)1977: 86.1% pass (624 tests)1978: 86.5% pass (906 tests)1979: 84.4% pass (1,329 tests)1980: 84.8% pass (1,528 tests)1981: 85.0% pass (2,537 tests)1982: 86.4% pass (1,725 tests)1983: 85.4% pass (2,041 tests)1984: 85.0% pass (646 tests)1985: 81.8% pass (110 tests)1987: 88.1% pass (603 tests)1988: 89.1% pass (1,429 tests)1989: 88.2% pass (1,726 tests)1990: 87.6% pass (1,382 tests)1991: 90.3% pass (1,631 tests)1992: 87.7% pass (1,474 tests)1993: 88.4% pass (1,132 tests)1994: 89.9% pass (416 tests)1995: 89.4% pass (895 tests)1996: 91.2% pass (441 tests)1997: 92.5% pass (53 tests)197619871997
RegisteredTestsFirst-time passvs model (87.0%)
1976 116 81.0% -6.0 pp
1977 624 86.1% -0.9 pp
1978 906 86.5% -0.5 pp
1979 1,329 84.4% -2.6 pp
1980 1,528 84.8% -2.2 pp
1981 2,537 85.0% -2.0 pp
1982 1,725 86.4% -0.6 pp
1983 2,041 85.4% -1.6 pp
1984 646 85.0% -2.0 pp
1985 110 81.8% -5.2 pp
1987 603 88.1% +1.1 pp
1988 1,429 89.1% +2.1 pp
1989 1,726 88.2% +1.2 pp
1990 1,382 87.6% +0.6 pp
1991 1,631 90.3% +3.3 pp
1992 1,474 87.7% +0.7 pp
1993 1,132 88.4% +1.4 pp
1994 416 89.9% +2.9 pp
1995 895 89.4% +2.4 pp
1996 441 91.2% +4.2 pp
1997 53 92.5% +5.5 pp

Older cohorts are survivors: the worst examples have already left the road, which tends to lift the earliest years. A first-time MOT pass is a roadworthiness check, not a full mechanical inspection.

Pass rate over time

first-time pass rate by test year · 2005–2025
83%89%94%2005: 86.6% pass (343 tests)2006: 87.3% pass (1,840 tests)2007: 86.2% pass (1,765 tests)2008: 85.3% pass (1,681 tests)2009: 85.4% pass (1,632 tests)2010: 85.8% pass (1,517 tests)2011: 84.9% pass (1,487 tests)2012: 85.9% pass (1,351 tests)2013: 87.5% pass (1,317 tests)2014: 85.4% pass (1,337 tests)2015: 88.4% pass (1,277 tests)2016: 86.7% pass (1,244 tests)2017: 88.4% pass (1,161 tests)2018: 87.2% pass (858 tests)2019: 87.4% pass (817 tests)2020: 90.5% pass (651 tests)2021: 89.8% pass (800 tests)2022: 91.1% pass (660 tests)2023: 89.3% pass (587 tests)2024: 90.2% pass (410 tests)2025: 92.3% pass (390 tests)20052025

Questions

Which R100 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?
1976, 1979, 1980, 1985 registered examples pass first time less often than the BMW R100 overall (87.0%); the 1976 cohort is lowest at 81.0% from 116 tests.
Which R100 year has the highest MOT pass rate?
1997, at 92.5% of 53 first tests (2005–2025). Years more than two points above the model average: 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997.
How much does the R100 pass rate vary by year?
11.5 percentage points between the highest (1997, 92.5%) and lowest (1976, 81.0%) cohorts with at least 50 tests. Older cohorts are survivors: the worst examples have already left the road, which tends to lift the earliest years.

Full report: BMW R100 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1910 of 5428 models· other BMW models: R1200, R1150, S1000, F800, K Series, K1200