SYM Aw vs Yamaha Nmax 125

The Yamaha Nmax 125 passes its MOT first time more often than the SYM Aw: 82.2% vs 80.5%, a 1.7-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	SYM Aw	Yamaha Nmax 125
First-time pass rate	80.5%	82.2%
Outright fail rate	11.9%	11.4%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+6.0 pts	+9.5 pts
Engine size	125cc	125cc
Rank among all models	#3478 of 5428	#3145 of 5428
Median miles at test	6,352	30,236
MOT tests analysed	395	33,779
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	SYM Aw	Yamaha Nmax 125
2017	80.3%	81.1%
2018	83.6%	86.3%
2019	87.2%	84.9%
2020	84.6%	88.4%
2021	84.2%	84.9%
2022	76.1%	83.5%
2023	69.2%	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	SYM Aw	Yamaha Nmax 125
0k-10k miles	83.3%	90.9%
10k-20k miles	76.7%	84.2%

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

SYM AW 80.5% pass · 395 tests YAMAHA NMAX 125 82.2% pass · 33.8k tests

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