Vespa (douglas) Sprint vs Piaggio Vespa

The Piaggio Vespa passes its MOT first time more often than the Vespa (douglas) Sprint: 80.7% vs 80.0%, a 0.7-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Vespa (douglas) Sprint	Piaggio Vespa
First-time pass rate	80.0%	80.7%
Outright fail rate	11.8%	12.2%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	-8.2 pts	+5.9 pts
Engine size	125cc	124cc
Rank among all models	#3578 of 5428	#3439 of 5428
Median miles at test	4,654	10,023
MOT tests analysed	424	287,482
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) Sprint	Piaggio Vespa
2009	77.4%	76.6%
2010	69.7%	77.5%
2011	88.2%	76.1%
2012	86.0%	76.2%
2013	80.6%	76.4%
2014	78.8%	76.6%
2015	77.8%	78.4%
2017	90.3%	81.0%

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) Sprint	Piaggio Vespa
0k-10k miles	78.5%	85.0%
10k-20k miles	83.7%	77.0%
20k-30k miles	84.7%	75.3%

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

VESPA (DOUGLAS) SPRINT 80.0% pass · 424 tests PIAGGIO VESPA 80.7% pass · 287k tests

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