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 verify. New analysis from Go.Evaluate motorcycle insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed motorcycle MOTs final yr have been on account of defective lamps and reflectors, making it the primary reason behind 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 knowledge to calculate the monetary affect of widespread 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. 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 whole avoidable retest spend hitting £47,000 for the yr.
Brake defects have been the second most typical reason behind failure, contributing to 18% of failed exams. 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 verify 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 value riders upwards of £210,000. With an ordinary MOT for a bike 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.Evaluate, urged motorcyclists to take pre-test checks severely. “Our analysis reveals that 1000’s of kilos is being wasted yearly on avoidable MOT failures, however getting ready for the check correctly might help you keep away from incurring additional prices. There are some easy checks which you could carry out at house earlier than you ebook your bike in for its MOT, they usually may prevent money and time by stopping a failure. For instance, be sure your lights are working correctly and change any bulbs you want to, then verify 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 must pay for one more check. Keep in mind, your bike received’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT on account of a harmful fault, that means your insurance coverage will seemingly turn out to be invalid as effectively. If it fails, you’ll must get the problems rectified earlier than you possibly can experience it once more.”
All figures within the report relate to class one and two automobiles (bikes) and are primarily based on official DVSA knowledge and survey insights. Additional particulars and recommendation for riders may be discovered at Go.Evaluate.
