Harley-Davidson XL 883 L Superlow 12: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XL 883 L Superlow 12 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 88.9% average, from 720 DVSA tests.

2012

highest-passing year · 90.7%

2013

lowest-passing year · 83.5%

7.2pp

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: 2012 (90.7% of 421 tests). Lowest: 2013 (83.5% of 139). Years more than two points below the model average: 2013.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (88.9%)
2011	160	88.8%	-0.1 pp
2012	421	90.7%	+1.8 pp
2013	139	83.5%	-5.4 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 · 2015–2025

Questions

Which XL 883 L Superlow 12 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 2013 registered examples pass first time less often than the Harley-Davidson XL 883 L Superlow 12 overall (88.9%); the 2013 cohort is lowest at 83.5% from 139 tests.
Which XL 883 L Superlow 12 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 2012, at 90.7% of 421 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the XL 883 L Superlow 12 pass rate vary by year?: 7.2 percentage points between the highest (2012, 90.7%) and lowest (2013, 83.5%) 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 XL 883 L Superlow 12 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1305 of 5428 models· other Harley-Davidson models: XLH 883, Flstf, Flstc, XL, XL1200C, XL883