Data as of: DVSA MOT results to 2025
Triumph Thunderbird: MOT pass rate by registration year
Which Thunderbird years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 87.8% average, from 56,312 DVSA tests.
Pass rate by registration year
Highest pass rate: 1960 (95.5% of 379 tests). Lowest: 1995 (84.0% of 5,742). Years more than two points below the model average: 1983, 1995, 1996, 1997.
| Registered | Tests | First-time pass | vs model (87.8%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 79 | 93.7% | +5.9 pp |
| 1951 | 60 | 90.0% | +2.2 pp |
| 1952 | 123 | 89.4% | +1.6 pp |
| 1953 | 68 | 88.2% | +0.4 pp |
| 1954 | 117 | 90.6% | +2.8 pp |
| 1955 | 191 | 93.2% | +5.4 pp |
| 1956 | 115 | 87.0% | -0.8 pp |
| 1957 | 164 | 93.3% | +5.5 pp |
| 1958 | 180 | 93.9% | +6.1 pp |
| 1959 | 210 | 92.4% | +4.6 pp |
| 1960 | 379 | 95.5% | +7.7 pp |
| 1961 | 359 | 91.9% | +4.1 pp |
| 1962 | 149 | 91.9% | +4.1 pp |
| 1963 | 147 | 95.2% | +7.4 pp |
| 1964 | 153 | 90.2% | +2.4 pp |
| 1965 | 245 | 90.2% | +2.4 pp |
| 1966 | 371 | 91.6% | +3.8 pp |
| 1967 | 60 | 93.3% | +5.5 pp |
| 1971 | 125 | 90.4% | +2.6 pp |
| 1981 | 74 | 86.5% | -1.3 pp |
| 1982 | 237 | 89.9% | +2.1 pp |
| 1983 | 166 | 85.5% | -2.3 pp |
| 1995 | 5,742 | 84.0% | -3.8 pp |
| 1996 | 4,648 | 84.9% | -2.9 pp |
| 1997 | 3,121 | 84.8% | -3.0 pp |
| 1998 | 5,011 | 86.7% | -1.1 pp |
| 1999 | 4,101 | 86.9% | -0.9 pp |
| 2000 | 3,964 | 87.9% | +0.1 pp |
| 2001 | 3,262 | 89.8% | +2.0 pp |
| 2002 | 3,817 | 89.4% | +1.6 pp |
| 2003 | 3,316 | 89.5% | +1.7 pp |
| 2004 | 2,183 | 88.7% | +0.9 pp |
| 2009 | 1,030 | 88.7% | +0.9 pp |
| 2010 | 1,784 | 87.8% | +0.0 pp |
| 2011 | 962 | 88.1% | +0.3 pp |
| 2012 | 928 | 89.1% | +1.3 pp |
| 2013 | 1,721 | 90.5% | +2.7 pp |
| 2014 | 2,899 | 89.2% | +1.4 pp |
| 2015 | 1,862 | 89.9% | +2.1 pp |
| 2016 | 1,023 | 87.8% | +0.0 pp |
| 2017 | 894 | 90.8% | +3.0 pp |
| 2018 | 78 | 92.3% | +4.5 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
Questions
- Which Thunderbird years have the lowest MOT pass rate?
- 1983, 1995, 1996, 1997 registered examples pass first time less often than the Triumph Thunderbird overall (87.8%); the 1995 cohort is lowest at 84.0% from 5,742 tests.
- Which Thunderbird year has the highest MOT pass rate?
- 1960, at 95.5% of 379 first tests (2005–2025). Years more than two points above the model average: 1950, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1982, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018.
- How much does the Thunderbird pass rate vary by year?
- 11.5 percentage points between the highest (1960, 95.5%) and lowest (1995, 84.0%) 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: Triumph Thunderbird reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1669 of 5428 models· other Triumph models: Bonneville, Tiger, Sprint, Daytona, Speed Triple, Trophy