BIKERELIABILITY Reg check
Head-to-head · 2005–2025

Data as of: DVSA MOT results to 2025

Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 E5 vs Kawasaki ZX-6R

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 E5 passes its MOT first time more often than the Kawasaki ZX-6R: 89.4% vs 78.1%, a 11.3-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

first-time pass rate, outright fail rate and tests analysed · 2005–2025
Metric Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 E5 Kawasaki ZX-6R
First-time pass rate 89.4% 78.1%
Outright fail rate 5.3% 14.0%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted) -0.5 pts -5.8 pts
Engine size 648cc 599cc
Rank among all models #1147 of 5428 #3895 of 5428
Median miles at test 2,939 19,446
MOT tests analysed 471 173,956
Most common failure lamps and reflectors 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 mileage

first-time MOT pass rate by miles on the clock at test
Mileage Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 E5 Kawasaki ZX-6R
0k-10k miles 89.4% 86.1%
10k-20k miles 90.0% 80.6%

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

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