Motorcycle riders throughout the UK wasted greater than £35,000 on MOT retests between April 2023 and April 2024 due to an issue they might have noticed with a easy at-home test. New analysis from Go.Examine bike insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed bike MOTs final yr had been on account 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 influence of widespread MOT failures. Over the course of the yr, an estimated 15,061 bike MOT failures might have been prevented with primary checks. Greater than 11,000 of these had 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 accordance 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 had been the second most typical 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 more durable to detect with out specialist instruments, a number of different failure classes that riders can simply test at residence had been nonetheless widespread. Tyre issues made up 9% of failures, whereas car identification points had been behind one other 4%.
Go.Examine additionally discovered that over the previous 5 years, avoidable bike MOT failures have price riders upwards of £210,000. With a typical MOT for a motorcycle costing as much as £29.65, those that fail on account of small oversights can discover themselves paying twice — as soon as for the unique check, and once more for the retest in the event that they miss the grace interval.
Tom Banks, motoring professional at Go.Examine, urged motorcyclists to take pre-test checks significantly. “Our analysis reveals that hundreds of kilos is being wasted yearly on avoidable MOT failures, however getting ready for the check correctly may also help you keep away from incurring additional prices. There are some easy checks that you may carry out at residence earlier than you ebook your bike in for its MOT, they usually might prevent money and time by stopping a failure. For instance, be sure your lights are working correctly and change any bulbs you’ll want to, then test the tyres’ tread depth to see in the event that they meet the minimal necessities.”
He added: “In case your bike does fail its MOT, don’t fear, you’ve nonetheless bought a 10-day window to get it in for a free retest. If you will get it fastened earlier than this, you shouldn’t have to pay for one more check. Keep in mind, your bike gained’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT on account of a harmful fault, which means your insurance coverage will probably change into invalid as properly. If it fails, you’ll have to get the problems rectified earlier than you possibly can journey it once more.”
All figures within the report relate to class one and two autos (bikes) and are based mostly on official DVSA knowledge and survey insights. Additional particulars and recommendation for riders might be discovered at Go.Examine.
