Derbi Senda SM 125 Cross City vs Honda CBF125

The Honda CBF125 passes its MOT first time more often than the Derbi Senda SM 125 Cross City: 73.3% vs 63.5%, a 9.8-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Derbi Senda SM 125 Cross City	Honda CBF125
First-time pass rate	63.5%	73.3%
Outright fail rate	23.1%	16.5%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	-9.6 pts	+1.1 pts
Engine size	124cc	125cc
Rank among all models	#5086 of 5428	#4471 of 5428
Median miles at test	8,116	10,974
MOT tests analysed	307	84,425
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	Derbi Senda SM 125 Cross City	Honda CBF125
2011	64.9%	69.3%
2012	62.2%	73.0%
2014	51.5%	72.0%
2015	70.3%	71.8%

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	Derbi Senda SM 125 Cross City	Honda CBF125
0k-10k miles	63.8%	80.3%
10k-20k miles	63.7%	68.7%

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

DERBI SENDA SM 125 CROSS CITY 63.5% pass · 307 tests HONDA CBF125 73.3% pass · 84.4k tests

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