Honda Express: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which Express years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 82.3% average, from 631 DVSA tests.

1978

highest-passing year · 89.7%

1979

lowest-passing year · 78.2%

11.5pp

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: 1978 (89.7% of 87 tests). Lowest: 1979 (78.2% of 188). Years more than two points below the model average: 1979.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (82.3%)
1978	87	89.7%	+7.4 pp
1979	188	78.2%	-4.1 pp
1980	136	81.6%	-0.7 pp
1981	94	80.9%	-1.4 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 · 2006–2017

Questions

Which Express years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 1979 registered examples pass first time less often than the Honda Express overall (82.3%); the 1979 cohort is lowest at 78.2% from 188 tests.
Which Express year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1978, at 89.7% of 87 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the Express pass rate vary by year?: 11.5 percentage points between the highest (1978, 89.7%) and lowest (1979, 78.2%) 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: Honda Express reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #3130 of 5428 models· other Honda models: CBR600F, CBR900RR, CBR1100XX, CB500, C90, VFR800 Fi