BIKERELIABILITY Reg check
League table/ KAWASAKI/ ZX/By year
Registration-year report · 2005–2025

Data as of: DVSA MOT results to 2025

Kawasaki ZX: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which ZX years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 89.4% average, from 34,646 DVSA tests.

2017
highest-passing year · 91.9%
1989
lowest-passing year · 64.5%
27.4pp
spread across 25 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: 2017 (91.9% of 1,526 tests). Lowest: 1989 (64.5% of 62). Years more than two points below the model average: 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011.

59%78%97%1989: 64.5% pass (62 tests)1990: 77.1% pass (70 tests)1992: 71.2% pass (66 tests)1994: 71.8% pass (71 tests)1995: 78.6% pass (140 tests)1996: 72.6% pass (113 tests)1997: 84.3% pass (83 tests)1998: 77.8% pass (63 tests)2000: 86.3% pass (51 tests)2003: 86.5% pass (52 tests)2004: 85.5% pass (110 tests)2005: 83.5% pass (212 tests)2006: 85.1% pass (175 tests)2007: 82.8% pass (128 tests)2008: 83.2% pass (167 tests)2009: 88.5% pass (96 tests)2010: 84.3% pass (159 tests)2011: 86.4% pass (236 tests)2012: 88.0% pass (266 tests)2013: 88.7% pass (1,590 tests)2014: 90.0% pass (10,620 tests)2015: 89.6% pass (9,772 tests)2016: 90.4% pass (8,504 tests)2017: 91.9% pass (1,526 tests)2018: 90.5% pass (148 tests)198920062018
RegisteredTestsFirst-time passvs model (89.4%)
1989 62 64.5% -24.9 pp
1990 70 77.1% -12.3 pp
1992 66 71.2% -18.2 pp
1994 71 71.8% -17.6 pp
1995 140 78.6% -10.8 pp
1996 113 72.6% -16.8 pp
1997 83 84.3% -5.1 pp
1998 63 77.8% -11.6 pp
2000 51 86.3% -3.1 pp
2003 52 86.5% -2.9 pp
2004 110 85.5% -3.9 pp
2005 212 83.5% -5.9 pp
2006 175 85.1% -4.3 pp
2007 128 82.8% -6.6 pp
2008 167 83.2% -6.2 pp
2009 96 88.5% -0.9 pp
2010 159 84.3% -5.1 pp
2011 236 86.4% -3.0 pp
2012 266 88.0% -1.4 pp
2013 1,590 88.7% -0.7 pp
2014 10,620 90.0% +0.6 pp
2015 9,772 89.6% +0.2 pp
2016 8,504 90.4% +1.0 pp
2017 1,526 91.9% +2.5 pp
2018 148 90.5% +1.1 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 · 2006–2025
69%83%96%2006: 80.6% pass (72 tests)2007: 86.3% pass (80 tests)2008: 74.4% pass (78 tests)2009: 76.1% pass (92 tests)2010: 80.4% pass (92 tests)2011: 81.2% pass (101 tests)2012: 73.7% pass (99 tests)2013: 80.4% pass (112 tests)2014: 73.7% pass (118 tests)2015: 74.6% pass (138 tests)2016: 91.4% pass (197 tests)2017: 89.8% pass (1,931 tests)2018: 89.8% pass (2,714 tests)2019: 89.3% pass (3,960 tests)2020: 90.6% pass (3,911 tests)2021: 89.9% pass (4,803 tests)2022: 89.7% pass (4,658 tests)2023: 89.4% pass (4,485 tests)2024: 90.0% pass (3,402 tests)2025: 89.4% pass (3,586 tests)20062025

Questions

Which ZX years have the lowest MOT pass rate?
1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 registered examples pass first time less often than the Kawasaki ZX overall (89.4%); the 1989 cohort is lowest at 64.5% from 62 tests.
Which ZX year has the highest MOT pass rate?
2017, at 91.9% of 1,526 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the ZX pass rate vary by year?
27.4 percentage points between the highest (2017, 91.9%) and lowest (1989, 64.5%) 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: Kawasaki ZX reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1147 of 5428 models· other Kawasaki models: ZX-6R, ZX-9R, ZZR600, ER5, ZZ-R1100, ZX-12R