Moto Guzzi V7 Cafe Racer vs Yamaha FZS600

The Moto Guzzi V7 Cafe Racer passes its MOT first time more often than the Yamaha FZS600: 89.9% vs 82.6%, a 7.3-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Moto Guzzi V7 Cafe Racer	Yamaha FZS600
First-time pass rate	89.9%	82.6%
Outright fail rate	3.1%	10.6%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+1.5 pts	-0.8 pts
Engine size	744cc	599cc
Rank among all models	#988 of 5428	#3052 of 5428
Median miles at test	4,653	21,612
MOT tests analysed	426	136,558
Most common failure	lamps and reflectors	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	Moto Guzzi V7 Cafe Racer	Yamaha FZS600
2015	89.8%	81.1%
2016	95.7%	82.2%
2017	88.6%	82.0%
2019	97.1%	83.0%
2021	94.6%	82.8%
2022	86.8%	83.6%
2023	81.1%	84.2%
2025	83.3%	84.0%

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	Moto Guzzi V7 Cafe Racer	Yamaha FZS600
0k-10k miles	92.6%	89.6%
10k-20k miles	81.9%	85.5%

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

MOTO GUZZI V7 CAFE RACER 89.9% pass · 426 tests YAMAHA FZS600 82.6% pass · 137k tests

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