Buell XB9SX Lightning City X: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XB9SX Lightning City X years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 86.1% average, from 933 DVSA tests.

2004

highest-passing year · 90.2%

2006

lowest-passing year · 83.0%

7.2pp

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: 2004 (90.2% of 123 tests). Lowest: 2006 (83.0% of 100). Years more than two points below the model average: 2006, 2008.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (86.1%)
2004	123	90.2%	+4.1 pp
2005	458	86.5%	+0.4 pp
2006	100	83.0%	-3.1 pp
2007	102	84.3%	-1.8 pp
2008	65	83.1%	-3.0 pp
2009	85	85.9%	-0.2 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 · 2008–2025

Questions

Which XB9SX Lightning City X years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 2006, 2008 registered examples pass first time less often than the Buell XB9SX Lightning City X overall (86.1%); the 2006 cohort is lowest at 83.0% from 100 tests.
Which XB9SX Lightning City X year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 2004, at 90.2% of 123 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the XB9SX Lightning City X pass rate vary by year?: 7.2 percentage points between the highest (2004, 90.2%) and lowest (2006, 83.0%) 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: Buell XB9SX Lightning City X reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #2173 of 5428 models· other Buell models: XB12S, S1, M2, XB12R, XB9R, X1