Royal Enfield Bullit vs Suzuki DR-Z400S

The Royal Enfield Bullit passes its MOT first time more often than the Suzuki DR-Z400S: 89.5% vs 80.4%, a 9.1-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Royal Enfield Bullit	Suzuki DR-Z400S
First-time pass rate	89.5%	80.4%
Outright fail rate	3.4%	11.1%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+2.7 pts	-6.5 pts
Engine size	350cc	398cc
Rank among all models	#1113 of 5428	#3493 of 5428
Median miles at test	10,160	6,940
MOT tests analysed	466	26,773
Most common failure	lighting and signalling	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	Royal Enfield Bullit	Suzuki DR-Z400S
2006	96.9%	83.5%
2007	86.1%	83.1%
2010	88.6%	78.9%
2011	87.1%	78.3%
2012	91.7%	79.8%
2013	85.7%	77.6%
2014	93.3%	78.5%
2015	80.0%	79.9%

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	Royal Enfield Bullit	Suzuki DR-Z400S
0k-10k miles	87.7%	81.7%
10k-20k miles	88.3%	78.4%
20k-30k miles	88.6%	79.2%
30k-40k miles	95.1%	76.4%

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

ROYAL ENFIELD BULLIT 89.5% pass · 466 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.