Honda FT500: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which FT500 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 80.2% average, from 682 DVSA tests.

1984

highest-passing year · 90.7%

1982

lowest-passing year · 78.8%

11.9pp

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: 1984 (90.7% of 75 tests). Lowest: 1982 (78.8% of 345).

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (80.2%)
1982	345	78.8%	-1.4 pp
1983	178	79.2%	-1.0 pp
1984	75	90.7%	+10.5 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 FT500 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: none: no registration year of the Honda FT500 falls more than two points under the model's 80.2% overall pass rate.
Which FT500 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1984, at 90.7% of 75 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the FT500 pass rate vary by year?: 11.9 percentage points between the highest (1984, 90.7%) and lowest (1982, 78.8%) 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 FT500 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #3532 of 5428 models· other Honda models: CBR600F, CBR900RR, CBR1100XX, CB500, C90, VFR800 Fi