Triumph Bonneville T120 Bud Ekins vs Harley-Davidson XLH 883

The Triumph Bonneville T120 Bud Ekins passes its MOT first time more often than the Harley-Davidson XLH 883: 94.9% vs 87.4%, a 7.5-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Triumph Bonneville T120 Bud Ekins	Harley-Davidson XLH 883
First-time pass rate	94.9%	87.4%
Outright fail rate	0.4%	5.9%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+4.9 pts	+1.6 pts
Engine size	1,200cc	883cc
Rank among all models	#82 of 5428	#1787 of 5428
Median miles at test	3,246	10,350
MOT tests analysed	237	41,267
Most common failure	Identification of the vehicle	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	Triumph Bonneville T120 Bud Ekins	Harley-Davidson XLH 883
2023	98.2%	87.1%
2024	94.3%	86.4%
2025	93.5%	87.4%

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

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T120 BUD EKINS 94.9% pass · 237 tests HARLEY-DAVIDSON XLH 883 87.4% pass · 41.3k tests

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