Insight · Great Britain
What fails a motorbike MOT?
Every recorded MOT failure defect, grouped by the part that failed. One category dominates, and it isn't brakes.
Lighting & signalling is the single most common failure area, accounting for 31.9% of all recorded defects.
| # | Failure area | Share of defects | % of defects | Defects | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting & signalling | 31.9 | 1,611,806 | worst bikes → | |
| 2 | Brakes | 20.7 | 1,047,909 | worst bikes → | |
| 3 | Steering & suspension | 19.4 | 980,737 | worst bikes → | |
| 4 | Tyres & wheels | 11.1 | 562,912 | worst bikes → | |
| 5 | Structure & body | 5.3 | 266,027 | worst bikes → | |
| 6 | Reg plates & VIN | 4.2 | 211,164 | ||
| 7 | Drive system | 3.4 | 169,997 | worst bikes → | |
| 8 | Fuel & exhaust | 3.0 | 151,155 | worst bikes → | |
| 9 | Horn | 0.6 | 32,512 | ||
| 10 | Other | 0.4 | 21,822 |
Share of all recorded failure defects across all makes and models, 2005–2025. Pre- and post-2018 DVSA category names are merged. One test can record several defects. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT results.