Yamaha XT550: MOT pass rate by registration year

Which XT550 years pass first time, and which fall short of the model's 80.0% average, from 1,002 DVSA tests.

1984

highest-passing year · 84.9%

1982

lowest-passing year · 78.4%

6.5pp

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: 1984 (84.9% of 106 tests). Lowest: 1982 (78.4% of 370).

Registered	Tests	First-time pass	vs model (80.0%)
1982	370	78.4%	-1.6 pp
1983	367	79.0%	-1.0 pp
1984	106	84.9%	+4.9 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 · 2006–2022

Questions

Which XT550 years have the lowest MOT pass rate?: none: no registration year of the Yamaha XT550 falls more than two points under the model's 80.0% overall pass rate.
Which XT550 year has the highest MOT pass rate?: 1984, at 84.9% of 106 first tests (2005–2025).
How much does the XT550 pass rate vary by year?: 6.5 percentage points between the highest (1984, 84.9%) and lowest (1982, 78.4%) 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 XT550 reliability, failures and mileage · ranked #3578 of 5428 models· other Yamaha models: YZF-R1, YZF-R6, FZS600, YBR 125, XJR1300, FZ6