Vespa (douglas) 50 Special vs Piaggio Zip

The Vespa (douglas) 50 Special passes its MOT first time more often than the Piaggio Zip: 83.9% vs 71.3%, a 12.6-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Vespa (douglas) 50 Special	Piaggio Zip
First-time pass rate	83.9%	71.3%
Outright fail rate	10.4%	20.4%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	+0.2 pts	-1.0 pts
Engine size	49cc	49cc
Rank among all models	#2767 of 5428	#4631 of 5428
Median miles at test	5,490	8,882
MOT tests analysed	454	78,993
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	Vespa (douglas) 50 Special	Piaggio Zip
2008	85.7%	72.4%
2010	71.0%	70.8%
2011	85.7%	69.7%
2012	83.7%	69.1%
2013	79.5%	69.7%
2014	79.5%	68.8%
2017	81.3%	71.7%

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	Vespa (douglas) 50 Special	Piaggio Zip
0k-10k miles	84.6%	75.2%
10k-20k miles	79.4%	66.7%

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

VESPA (DOUGLAS) 50 SPECIAL 83.9% pass · 454 tests PIAGGIO ZIP 71.3% pass · 79.0k tests

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