Buell M2: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which M2 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 86.5% average, from 3,474 DVSA tests.

1997

highest-passing year · 88.5%

1998

lowest-passing year · 85.4%

3.1pp

spread across 6 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 (88.5% of 304 tests). Lowest: 1998 (85.4% of 452).

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (86.5%)
1997	304	88.5%	+2.0 pp
1998	452	85.4%	-1.1 pp
1999	688	86.0%	-0.5 pp
2000	637	87.9%	+1.4 pp
2001	831	86.0%	-0.5 pp
2002	517	86.1%	-0.4 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

Questions

Which M2 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: none: no registration year of the Buell M2 falls more than two points under the model's 86.5% overall pass rate.
Which M2 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1997, at 88.5% of 304 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the M2 pass rate vary by year?: 3.1 percentage points between the highest (1997, 88.5%) and lowest (1998, 85.4%) 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: Buell M2 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #2052 of 5428 models· other Buell models: XB12S, S1, XB12R, XB9R, X1, XB9SX