Kawasaki Er 400 DKF vs Suzuki DR-Z400S

The Kawasaki Er 400 DKF passes its MOT first time more often than the Suzuki DR-Z400S: 93.9% vs 80.4%, a 13.5-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Kawasaki Er 400 DKF	Suzuki DR-Z400S
First-time pass rate	93.9%	80.4%
Outright fail rate	2.0%	11.1%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+4.7 pts	-6.5 pts
Engine size	399cc	398cc
Rank among all models	#183 of 5428	#3493 of 5428
Median miles at test	4,268	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	Kawasaki Er 400 DKF	Suzuki DR-Z400S
2022	94.9%	81.8%
2023	93.4%	84.9%
2024	95.5%	84.3%
2025	92.0%	83.7%

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	Kawasaki Er 400 DKF	Suzuki DR-Z400S
0k-10k miles	95.4%	81.7%
10k-20k miles	89.6%	78.4%

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

KAWASAKI ER 400 DKF 93.9% 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.