BMW F 900 R Se vs Honda VFR800 Fi

The BMW F 900 R Se passes its MOT first time more often than the Honda VFR800 Fi: 95.7% vs 86.7%, a 9.0-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	BMW F 900 R Se	Honda VFR800 Fi
First-time pass rate	95.7%	86.7%
Outright fail rate	2.3%	8.5%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+6.8 pts	+4.5 pts
Engine size	895cc	781cc
Rank among all models	#41 of 5428	#1985 of 5428
Median miles at test	6,092	26,212
MOT tests analysed	487	89,421
Most common failure	Identification of the vehicle	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 test year

first-time MOT pass rate in each calendar year both bikes were tested

Test year	BMW F 900 R Se	Honda VFR800 Fi
2023	94.9%	88.9%
2024	95.3%	88.9%
2025	96.3%	88.2%

Each year mixes bikes of different ages, so a fleet that is getting older tends to slip.

Pass rate by mileage

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

Mileage	BMW F 900 R Se	Honda VFR800 Fi
0k-10k miles	96.2%	92.5%
10k-20k miles	93.7%	89.4%

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

BMW F 900 R SE 95.7% pass · 487 tests HONDA VFR800 FI 86.7% pass · 89.4k tests

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