Honda NT650: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which NT650 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 78.2% average, from 706 DVSA tests.

2004

highest-passing year · 84.9%

1988

lowest-passing year · 70.7%

14.2pp

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: 2004 (84.9% of 179 tests). Lowest: 1988 (70.7% of 99). Years more than two points below the model average: 1988, 1989.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (78.2%)
1988	99	70.7%	-7.5 pp
1989	73	74.0%	-4.2 pp
2004	179	84.9%	+6.7 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 NT650 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 1988, 1989 registered examples pass first time less often than the Honda NT650 overall (78.2%); the 1988 cohort is lowest at 70.7% from 99 tests.
Which NT650 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 2004, at 84.9% of 179 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the NT650 pass rate vary by year?: 14.2 percentage points between the highest (2004, 84.9%) and lowest (1988, 70.7%) 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 NT650 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #3881 of 5428 models· other Honda models: CBR600F, CBR900RR, CBR1100XX, CB500, C90, VFR800 Fi