Motorcycle 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 verify. New analysis from Go.Examine bike insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed bike MOTs final yr have been as a result 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 utterly avoidable retests.
The findings, which analysed DVSA testing figures alongside its personal survey information to calculate the monetary affect of widespread MOT failures. Over the course of the yr, an estimated 15,061 bike 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. Based mostly 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 most typical reason behind 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 verify at house have been nonetheless widespread. Tyre issues made up 9% of failures, whereas automobile identification points have been behind one other 4%.
Go.Examine additionally discovered that over the previous 5 years, avoidable bike MOT failures have value riders upwards of £210,000. With a normal MOT for a motorcycle costing as much as £29.65, those that fail as a result 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 skilled at Go.Examine, urged motorcyclists to take pre-test checks critically. “Our analysis reveals that hundreds of kilos is being wasted yearly on avoidable MOT failures, however making ready for the check correctly will help you keep away from incurring additional prices. There are some easy checks you can carry out at house earlier than you guide your bike in for its MOT, they usually may prevent money and time by stopping a failure. For instance, be certain your lights are working correctly and change any bulbs you have to, then verify 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 obtained 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 gained’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT as a result of a harmful fault, which means your insurance coverage will doubtless change into invalid as effectively. If it fails, you’ll must get the problems rectified earlier than you’ll be able to journey 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 may be discovered at Go.Examine.
