Honda XL 700 Va-A: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XL 700 Va-A years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 88.5% average, from 920 DVSA tests.

2011

highest-passing year · 90.9%

2010

lowest-passing year · 87.7%

3.2pp

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: 2011 (90.9% of 253 tests). Lowest: 2010 (87.7% of 585).

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (88.5%)
2010	585	87.7%	-0.8 pp
2011	253	90.9%	+2.4 pp
2012	81	87.7%	-0.8 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 · 2013–2025

Questions

Which XL 700 Va-A years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: none: no registration year of the Honda XL 700 Va-A falls more than two points under the model's 88.5% overall pass rate.
Which XL 700 Va-A year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 2011, at 90.9% of 253 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the XL 700 Va-A pass rate vary by year?: 3.2 percentage points between the highest (2011, 90.9%) and lowest (2010, 87.7%) 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 XL 700 Va-A reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1449 of 5428 models· other Honda models: CBR600F, CBR900RR, CBR1100XX, CB500, C90, VFR800 Fi