Harley-Davidson Forty Eight: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which Forty Eight years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 88.8% average, from 2,341 DVSA tests.

2014

highest-passing year · 89.7%

2013

lowest-passing year · 85.7%

4.0pp

spread across 3 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: 2014 (89.7% of 1,749 tests). Lowest: 2013 (85.7% of 384). Years more than two points below the model average: 2013, 2015.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (88.8%)
2013	384	85.7%	-3.1 pp
2014	1,749	89.7%	+0.9 pp
2015	127	85.8%	-3.0 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 · 2017–2025

Questions

Which Forty Eight years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 2013, 2015 registered examples pass first time less often than the Harley-Davidson Forty Eight overall (88.8%); the 2013 cohort is lowest at 85.7% from 384 tests.
Which Forty Eight year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 2014, at 89.7% of 1,749 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the Forty Eight pass rate vary by year?: 4.0 percentage points between the highest (2014, 89.7%) and lowest (2013, 85.7%) 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: Harley-Davidson Forty Eight reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1332 of 5428 models· other Harley-Davidson models: XLH 883, Flstf, Flstc, XL, XL1200C, XL883