Triumph Bonneville T100 Bud Ekins vs Harley-Davidson XL

The Triumph Bonneville T100 Bud Ekins passes its MOT first time more often than the Harley-Davidson XL: 94.4% vs 87.9%, a 6.5-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Triumph Bonneville T100 Bud Ekins	Harley-Davidson XL
First-time pass rate	94.4%	87.9%
Outright fail rate	1.9%	5.3%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+4.6 pts	-0.1 pts
Engine size	900cc	883cc
Median miles at test	3,125	6,108
MOT tests analysed	161	18,541
Most common failure	tyres	lamps and reflectors

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	Triumph Bonneville T100 Bud Ekins	Harley-Davidson XL
2023	94.6%	88.4%
2024	92.1%	87.6%
2025	96.7%	87.5%

Each year mixes bikes of different ages, so a fleet that is getting older tends to slip.

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T100 BUD EKINS 94.4% pass · 161 tests HARLEY-DAVIDSON XL 87.9% pass · 18.5k tests

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