BMW R90 vs Honda VFR800 Fi

The BMW R90 passes its MOT first time more often than the Honda VFR800 Fi: 87.1% vs 86.7%, a 0.4-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	BMW R90	Honda VFR800 Fi
First-time pass rate	87.1%	86.7%
Outright fail rate	5.6%	8.5%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+2.5 pts	+4.5 pts
Engine size	898cc	781cc
Rank among all models	#1884 of 5428	#1985 of 5428
Median miles at test	51,662	26,212
MOT tests analysed	372	89,421
Most common failure	lighting and signalling	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 R90	Honda VFR800 Fi
2006	86.5%	89.0%
2009	83.9%	86.3%
2011	87.1%	85.4%

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 R90	Honda VFR800 Fi
20k-30k miles	90.5%	87.3%
30k-40k miles	73.9%	85.5%
40k-50k miles	94.5%	83.5%
50k-60k miles	84.9%	81.4%

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

BMW R90 87.1% pass · 372 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.