BMW R75/5: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which R75/5 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 90.2% average, from 1,002 DVSA tests.

1971

highest-passing year · 92.1%

1970

lowest-passing year · 86.9%

5.2pp

spread across 4 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: 1971 (92.1% of 394 tests). Lowest: 1970 (86.9% of 61). Years more than two points below the model average: 1970, 1972.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (90.2%)
1970	61	86.9%	-3.3 pp
1971	394	92.1%	+1.9 pp
1972	177	87.0%	-3.2 pp
1973	289	90.3%	+0.1 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 · 2006–2017

Questions

Which R75/5 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 1970, 1972 registered examples pass first time less often than the BMW R75/5 overall (90.2%); the 1970 cohort is lowest at 86.9% from 61 tests.
Which R75/5 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1971, at 92.1% of 394 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the R75/5 pass rate vary by year?: 5.2 percentage points between the highest (1971, 92.1%) and lowest (1970, 86.9%) 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 R75/5 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #884 of 5428 models· other BMW models: R1200, R1150, S1000, F800, K Series, K1200