Yamaha RD250LC: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which RD250LC years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 88.1% average, from 690 DVSA tests.

1981

highest-passing year · 89.1%

1982

lowest-passing year · 84.6%

4.5pp

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: 1981 (89.1% of 312 tests). Lowest: 1982 (84.6% of 65). Years more than two points below the model average: 1980, 1982.

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (88.1%)
1980	147	85.0%	-3.1 pp
1981	312	89.1%	+1.0 pp
1982	65	84.6%	-3.5 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

first-time pass rate by test year · 2009–2021

Questions

Which RD250LC years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: 1980, 1982 registered examples pass first time less often than the Yamaha RD250LC overall (88.1%); the 1982 cohort is lowest at 84.6% from 65 tests.
Which RD250LC year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1981, at 89.1% of 312 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the RD250LC pass rate vary by year?: 4.5 percentage points between the highest (1981, 89.1%) and lowest (1982, 84.6%) 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: Yamaha RD250LC reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #1574 of 5428 models· other Yamaha models: YZF-R1, YZF-R6, FZS600, YBR 125, XJR1300, FZ6