BMW R90/6: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which R90/6 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 90.1% average, from 556 DVSA tests.

1971

highest-passing year · 95.2%

1976

lowest-passing year · 86.0%

9.2pp

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 (95.2% of 104 tests). Lowest: 1976 (86.0% of 172). Years more than two points below the model average: 1974, 1976.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (90.1%)
1971	104	95.2%	+5.1 pp
1974	68	86.8%	-3.3 pp
1975	167	92.2%	+2.1 pp
1976	172	86.0%	-4.1 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 R90/6 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 1974, 1976 registered examples pass first time less often than the BMW R90/6 overall (90.1%); the 1976 cohort is lowest at 86.0% from 172 tests.
Which R90/6 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1971, at 95.2% of 104 first tests (2005–2025). Years more than two points above the model average: 1971, 1975.
How much does the R90/6 pass rate vary by year?: 9.2 percentage points between the highest (1971, 95.2%) and lowest (1976, 86.0%) 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 R90/6 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #921 of 5428 models· other BMW models: R1200, R1150, S1000, F800, K Series, K1200