Harley-Davidson FXS: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which FXS years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 88.3% average, from 669 DVSA tests.

1980

highest-passing year · 95.3%

2011

lowest-passing year · 80.5%

14.8pp

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: 1980 (95.3% of 86 tests). Lowest: 2011 (80.5% of 77). Years more than two points below the model average: 1979, 2011.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (88.3%)
1979	143	85.3%	-3.0 pp
1980	86	95.3%	+7.0 pp
1981	72	88.9%	+0.6 pp
2011	77	80.5%	-7.8 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 · 2006–2022

Questions

Which FXS years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 1979, 2011 registered examples pass first time less often than the Harley-Davidson FXS overall (88.3%); the 2011 cohort is lowest at 80.5% from 77 tests.
Which FXS year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1980, at 95.3% of 86 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the FXS pass rate vary by year?: 14.8 percentage points between the highest (1980, 95.3%) and lowest (2011, 80.5%) 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 FXS reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1505 of 5428 models· other Harley-Davidson models: XLH 883, Flstf, Flstc, XL, XL1200C, XL883