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League table/ HARLEY-DAVIDSON/ XL/By year
Registration-year report · 2005–2025

Data as of: DVSA MOT results to 2025

Harley-Davidson XL: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XL years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 87.9% average, from 18,541 DVSA tests.

2011
highest-passing year · 93.5%
2005
lowest-passing year · 71.3%
22.2pp
spread across 20 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: 2011 (93.5% of 168 tests). Lowest: 2005 (71.3% of 80). Years more than two points below the model average: 1991, 1993, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013.

67%82%98%1990: 89.2% pass (74 tests)1991: 80.5% pass (128 tests)1993: 81.1% pass (90 tests)1994: 89.7% pass (116 tests)1995: 87.1% pass (70 tests)2003: 93.2% pass (74 tests)2004: 91.0% pass (89 tests)2005: 71.3% pass (80 tests)2006: 90.6% pass (128 tests)2007: 87.3% pass (102 tests)2008: 83.8% pass (111 tests)2009: 85.1% pass (114 tests)2010: 88.0% pass (83 tests)2011: 93.5% pass (168 tests)2012: 86.1% pass (267 tests)2013: 85.5% pass (393 tests)2014: 87.8% pass (4,000 tests)2015: 88.7% pass (6,303 tests)2016: 88.2% pass (5,368 tests)2017: 87.6% pass (169 tests)199020082017
RegisteredTestsFirst-time passvs model (87.9%)
1990 74 89.2% +1.3 pp
1991 128 80.5% -7.4 pp
1993 90 81.1% -6.8 pp
1994 116 89.7% +1.8 pp
1995 70 87.1% -0.8 pp
2003 74 93.2% +5.3 pp
2004 89 91.0% +3.1 pp
2005 80 71.3% -16.6 pp
2006 128 90.6% +2.7 pp
2007 102 87.3% -0.6 pp
2008 111 83.8% -4.1 pp
2009 114 85.1% -2.8 pp
2010 83 88.0% +0.1 pp
2011 168 93.5% +5.6 pp
2012 267 86.1% -1.8 pp
2013 393 85.5% -2.4 pp
2014 4,000 87.8% -0.1 pp
2015 6,303 88.7% +0.8 pp
2016 5,368 88.2% +0.3 pp
2017 169 87.6% -0.3 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 · 2006–2025
80%88%96%2006: 89.7% pass (58 tests)2007: 92.9% pass (56 tests)2008: 93.4% pass (61 tests)2009: 83.6% pass (61 tests)2010: 85.9% pass (71 tests)2011: 91.5% pass (59 tests)2012: 87.8% pass (74 tests)2013: 89.2% pass (74 tests)2014: 84.8% pass (79 tests)2015: 85.4% pass (82 tests)2016: 82.3% pass (113 tests)2017: 86.2% pass (785 tests)2018: 87.1% pass (1,402 tests)2019: 86.5% pass (2,273 tests)2020: 89.4% pass (1,996 tests)2021: 88.8% pass (2,534 tests)2022: 88.5% pass (2,475 tests)2023: 88.4% pass (2,421 tests)2024: 87.6% pass (1,893 tests)2025: 87.5% pass (1,965 tests)20062025

Questions

Which XL years have the lowest MOT pass rate?
1991, 1993, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013 registered examples pass first time less often than the Harley-Davidson XL overall (87.9%); the 2005 cohort is lowest at 71.3% from 80 tests.
Which XL year has the highest MOT pass rate?
2011, at 93.5% of 168 first tests (2005–2025). Years more than two points above the model average: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011.
How much does the XL pass rate vary by year?
22.2 percentage points between the highest (2011, 93.5%) and lowest (2005, 71.3%) 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 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1639 of 5428 models· other Harley-Davidson models: XLH 883, Flstf, Flstc, XL1200C, XL883, Fxdwg