Kawasaki Er 400 DKF vs Suzuki GS500

The Kawasaki Er 400 DKF passes its MOT first time more often than the Suzuki GS500: 93.9% vs 76.4%, a 17.5-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 GS500
First-time pass rate	93.9%	76.4%
Outright fail rate	2.0%	15.0%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+4.7 pts	-7.1 pts
Engine size	399cc	487cc
Rank among all models	#183 of 5428	#4137 of 5428
Median miles at test	4,268	21,676
MOT tests analysed	444	44,924
Most common failure	brakes	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	Kawasaki Er 400 DKF	Suzuki GS500
2022	94.9%	80.6%
2023	93.4%	78.2%
2024	95.5%	79.7%
2025	92.0%	81.5%

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 GS500
0k-10k miles	95.4%	86.4%
10k-20k miles	89.6%	78.9%

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

KAWASAKI ER 400 DKF 93.9% pass · 444 tests SUZUKI GS500 76.4% pass · 44.9k tests

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