Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer vs BMW R1200

The BMW R1200 passes its MOT first time more often than the Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer: 92.9% vs 89.5%, a 3.4-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Norton Commando 961 Cafe Racer	BMW R1200
First-time pass rate	89.5%	92.9%
Outright fail rate	6.2%	3.7%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	-0.4 pts	+8.6 pts
Engine size	961cc	1,170cc
Rank among all models	#1113 of 5428	#315 of 5428
Median miles at test	2,122	20,069
MOT tests analysed	210	299,381
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.

NORTON COMMANDO 961 CAFE RACER 89.5% pass · 210 tests BMW R1200 92.9% pass · 299k tests

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