Honda CBR 1000 Ra-K vs Yamaha YZF-R1

The Honda CBR 1000 Ra-K passes its MOT first time more often than the Yamaha YZF-R1: 91.4% vs 84.1%, a 7.3-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Honda CBR 1000 Ra-K	Yamaha YZF-R1
First-time pass rate	91.4%	84.1%
Outright fail rate	2.5%	7.8%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+2.4 pts	-0.5 pts
Engine size	999cc	998cc
Rank among all models	#588 of 5428	#2721 of 5428
Median miles at test	5,337	16,705
MOT tests analysed	362	231,553
Most common failure	lamps and reflectors	lighting and signalling

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	Honda CBR 1000 Ra-K	Yamaha YZF-R1
2022	89.4%	86.4%
2023	90.6%	87.2%
2024	95.0%	88.2%
2025	91.1%	87.9%

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	Honda CBR 1000 Ra-K	Yamaha YZF-R1
0k-10k miles	91.1%	87.8%
10k-20k miles	93.5%	84.7%

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

HONDA CBR 1000 RA-K 91.4% pass · 362 tests YAMAHA YZF-R1 84.1% pass · 232k tests

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