Zontes Firefly vs Honda CG125

The Honda CG125 passes its MOT first time more often than the Zontes Firefly: 72.2% vs 64.0%, a 8.2-point lead.

MOT reliability, side by side

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

Metric	Zontes Firefly	Honda CG125
First-time pass rate	64.0%	72.2%
Outright fail rate	26.2%	16.8%
Vs comparable bikes (age & mileage adjusted)	-10.7 pts	+0.7 pts
Engine size	124cc	124cc
Rank among all models	#5059 of 5428	#4568 of 5428
Median miles at test	6,332	17,460
MOT tests analysed	367	89,345
Most common failure	brakes	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	Zontes Firefly	Honda CG125
2021	62.7%	73.9%
2022	66.7%	73.5%
2023	66.2%	74.4%
2024	59.7%	73.0%
2025	69.4%	76.4%

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	Zontes Firefly	Honda CG125
0k-10k miles	67.6%	79.3%
10k-20k miles	52.8%	73.0%

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

ZONTES FIREFLY 64.0% pass · 367 tests HONDA CG125 72.2% pass · 89.3k tests

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