Honda XBR500: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XBR500 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 86.3% average, from 8,365 DVSA tests.

1990

highest-passing year · 90.7%

1987

lowest-passing year · 85.0%

5.7pp

spread across 6 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: 1990 (90.7% of 97 tests). Lowest: 1987 (85.0% of 1,756).

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (86.3%)
1985	1,551	87.4%	+1.1 pp
1986	2,094	85.8%	-0.5 pp
1987	1,756	85.0%	-1.3 pp
1988	1,879	86.1%	-0.2 pp
1989	852	87.6%	+1.3 pp
1990	97	90.7%	+4.4 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 · 2005–2025

Questions

Which XBR500 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: none: no registration year of the Honda XBR500 falls more than two points under the model's 86.3% overall pass rate.
Which XBR500 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1990, at 90.7% of 97 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the XBR500 pass rate vary by year?: 5.7 percentage points between the highest (1990, 90.7%) and lowest (1987, 85.0%) 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 XBR500 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #2120 of 5428 models· other Honda models: CBR600F, CBR900RR, CBR1100XX, CB500, C90, VFR800 Fi