Vespa 125 vs Honda PCX 125

The Honda PCX 125 passes its MOT first time more often than the Vespa 125: 81.1% vs 76.6%, a 4.5-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Vespa 125	Honda PCX 125
First-time pass rate	76.6%	81.1%
Outright fail rate	14.1%	12.9%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	-2.8 pts	+8.2 pts
Engine size	125cc	125cc
Rank among all models	#4109 of 5428	#3358 of 5428
Median miles at test	8,743	16,405
MOT tests analysed	411	88,608
Most common failure	lighting and signalling	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	Vespa 125	Honda PCX 125
2013	78.8%	85.2%
2014	75.0%	84.4%
2015	71.9%	83.5%

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	Vespa 125	Honda PCX 125
0k-10k miles	80.2%	88.4%
10k-20k miles	74.8%	79.3%
20k-30k miles	72.5%	78.0%

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

VESPA 125 76.6% pass · 411 tests HONDA PCX 125 81.1% pass · 88.6k tests

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