BMW F 850 GS Adventure Te vs Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin

The BMW F 850 GS Adventure Te passes its MOT first time more often than the Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin: 96.9% vs 95.3%, a 1.6-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

first-time pass rate, outright fail rate and tests analysed · 2005–2025

Metric	BMW F 850 GS Adventure Te	Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin
First-time pass rate	96.9%	95.3%
Outright fail rate	1.5%	2.6%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+8.9 pts	+8.2 pts
Engine size	853cc	998cc
Rank among all models	#12 of 5428	#54 of 5428
Median miles at test	8,577	10,908
MOT tests analysed	262	21,673
Most common failure	suspension	brakes

First-time outcomes on normal tests, 2005–2025. "Most common failure" is the component group with the most recorded defects on failed tests. Read pass rates against test counts: a smaller sample is noisier. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT results.

"Vs comparable bikes" is the first-time pass rate minus the rate expected for each bike's own mix of age, mileage and test class, in percentage points: positive means better than comparable bikes. How this works.

Pass rate by mileage

first-time MOT pass rate by miles on the clock at test

Mileage	BMW F 850 GS Adventure Te	Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin
0k-10k miles	99.3%	97.0%
10k-20k miles	94.6%	94.8%

Bands with fewer than 30 tests for either bike are left out.

BMW F 850 GS ADVENTURE TE 96.9% pass · 262 tests HONDA CRF1000L Africa Twin 95.3% pass · 21.7k tests

See each bike's full report (trend, mileage curve, failure breakdown and rivals) on its own page.