Jawa 350 vs Suzuki DR-Z400S

The Jawa 350 passes its MOT first time more often than the Suzuki DR-Z400S: 84.7% vs 80.4%, a 4.3-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Jawa 350	Suzuki DR-Z400S
First-time pass rate	84.7%	80.4%
Outright fail rate	8.1%	11.1%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	-1.8 pts	-6.5 pts
Engine size	343cc	398cc
Rank among all models	#2572 of 5428	#3493 of 5428
Median miles at test	9,003	6,940
MOT tests analysed	444	26,773
Most common failure	brakes	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	Jawa 350	Suzuki DR-Z400S
2008	77.4%	80.5%
2015	78.4%	79.9%
2016	93.3%	78.4%

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	Jawa 350	Suzuki DR-Z400S
0k-10k miles	84.6%	81.7%
10k-20k miles	81.2%	78.4%
20k-30k miles	88.2%	79.2%

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

JAWA 350 84.7% pass · 444 tests SUZUKI DR-Z400S 80.4% pass · 26.8k tests

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