Harley-Davidson XL 1200 Low Sportster: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XL 1200 Low Sportster years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 90.4% average, from 3,435 DVSA tests.

2006

highest-passing year · 91.9%

2008

lowest-passing year · 88.0%

3.9pp

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: 2006 (91.9% of 1,159 tests). Lowest: 2008 (88.0% of 667). Years more than two points below the model average: 2008.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (90.4%)
2006	1,159	91.9%	+1.5 pp
2007	986	90.6%	+0.2 pp
2008	667	88.0%	-2.4 pp
2009	617	89.8%	-0.6 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 · 2009–2025

Questions

Which XL 1200 Low Sportster years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 2008 registered examples pass first time less often than the Harley-Davidson XL 1200 Low Sportster overall (90.4%); the 2008 cohort is lowest at 88.0% from 667 tests.
Which XL 1200 Low Sportster year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 2006, at 91.9% of 1,159 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the XL 1200 Low Sportster pass rate vary by year?: 3.9 percentage points between the highest (2006, 91.9%) and lowest (2008, 88.0%) 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: Harley-Davidson XL 1200 Low Sportster reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #825 of 5428 models· other Harley-Davidson models: XLH 883, Flstf, Flstc, XL, XL1200C, XL883