Bike riders throughout the UK wasted greater than £35,000 on MOT retests between April 2023 and April 2024 due to an issue they may have noticed with a easy at-home examine. New analysis from Go.Evaluate motorcycle insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed motorcycle MOTs final yr have been because of defective lamps and reflectors, making it the primary reason for failures. Regardless of being one of many best issues to examine, these points left riders footing the invoice for utterly avoidable retests.
The findings, which analysed DVSA testing figures alongside its personal survey knowledge to calculate the monetary affect of frequent MOT failures. Over the course of the yr, an estimated 15,061 motorcycle MOT failures may have been averted with fundamental checks. Greater than 11,000 of these have been right down to issues with lamps and reflectors alone. Primarily based on the share of riders who miss the free retest window — 10.5%, in keeping with a YouGov survey from December 2024 — this equates to over £35,600 in wasted prices for easy lighting points, with complete avoidable retest spend hitting £47,000 for the yr.
Brake defects have been the second commonest reason for failure, contributing to 18% of failed checks. Structural faults and attachment points adopted at 11%, with suspension issues accounting for 10%. Whereas these could also be tougher to detect with out specialist instruments, a number of different failure classes that riders can simply examine at house have been nonetheless widespread. Tyre issues made up 9% of failures, whereas car identification points have been behind one other 4%.
Go.Evaluate additionally discovered that over the previous 5 years, avoidable motorcycle MOT failures have price riders upwards of £210,000. With a normal MOT for a bike costing as much as £29.65, those that fail because of small oversights can discover themselves paying twice — as soon as for the unique take a look at, and once more for the retest in the event that they miss the grace interval.
Tom Banks, motoring professional at Go.Evaluate, urged motorcyclists to take pre-test checks critically. “Our analysis exhibits that hundreds of kilos is being wasted yearly on avoidable MOT failures, however making ready for the take a look at correctly may also help you keep away from incurring further prices. There are some easy checks you can carry out at house earlier than you e-book your bike in for its MOT, and so they may prevent money and time by stopping a failure. For instance, make certain your lights are working correctly and change any bulbs that you must, then examine the tyres’ tread depth to see in the event that they meet the minimal necessities.”
He added: “In case your motorcycle does fail its MOT, don’t fear, you’ve nonetheless acquired a 10-day window to get it in for a free retest. If you may get it fastened earlier than this, you shouldn’t have to pay for one more take a look at. Bear in mind, your bike received’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT because of a harmful fault, that means your insurance coverage will doubtless turn into invalid as properly. If it fails, you’ll have to get the problems rectified earlier than you’ll be able to trip it once more.”
All figures within the report relate to class one and two automobiles (bikes) and are based mostly on official DVSA knowledge and survey insights. Additional particulars and recommendation for riders may be discovered at Go.Evaluate.
