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.Evaluate motorcycle insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed motorcycle MOTs final yr have been as a consequence of defective lamps and reflectors, making it the primary explanation for failures. Regardless of being one of many best issues to examine, these points left riders footing the invoice for fully avoidable retests.
The findings, which analysed DVSA testing figures alongside its personal survey information 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 prevented with primary checks. Greater than 11,000 of these have been right down to issues with lamps and reflectors alone. Based mostly on the proportion of riders who miss the free retest window — 10.5%, based on a YouGov survey from December 2024 — this equates to over £35,600 in wasted prices for easy lighting points, with whole avoidable retest spend hitting £47,000 for the yr.
Brake defects have been the second commonest explanation for failure, contributing to 18% of failed assessments. 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 test at dwelling have been nonetheless widespread. Tyre issues made up 9% of failures, whereas automobile identification points have been behind one other 4%.
Go.Evaluate additionally discovered that over the previous 5 years, avoidable motorcycle MOT failures have value riders upwards of £210,000. With a typical MOT for a bike costing as much as £29.65, those that fail as a consequence 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.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 check correctly may help you keep away from incurring additional prices. There are some easy checks that you could carry out at dwelling 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, ensure your lights are working correctly and exchange any bulbs you could, then test 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 will get it fastened earlier than this, you shouldn’t must pay for one more check. Bear in mind, your bike received’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT as a consequence of a harmful fault, that means your insurance coverage will possible develop into invalid as properly. If it fails, you’ll must get the problems rectified earlier than you may trip it once more.”
All figures within the report relate to class one and two autos (bikes) and are primarily based on official DVSA information and survey insights. Additional particulars and recommendation for riders might be discovered at Go.Evaluate.
