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 examine. New analysis from Go.Evaluate bike insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed bike MOTs final yr have been resulting from 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 utterly avoidable retests.
The findings, which analysed DVSA testing figures alongside its personal survey knowledge to calculate the monetary impression of frequent MOT failures. Over the course of the yr, an estimated 15,061 bike MOT failures might have been averted with fundamental checks. Greater than 11,000 of these have been all the way 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 whole avoidable retest spend hitting £47,000 for the yr.
Brake defects have been the second most typical explanation 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 residence 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 bike 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 resulting from 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 knowledgeable at Go.Evaluate, urged motorcyclists to take pre-test checks critically. “Our analysis exhibits that 1000’s of kilos is being wasted yearly on avoidable MOT failures, however making ready for the check correctly may help you keep away from incurring further prices. There are some easy checks which you can carry out at residence earlier than you guide your bike in for its MOT, they usually might prevent money and time by stopping a failure. For instance, make certain your lights are working correctly and change any bulbs it’s worthwhile to, then examine 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 received 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 an additional check. Bear in mind, your bike gained’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT resulting from a harmful fault, that means your insurance coverage will probably turn out to be invalid as effectively. If it fails, you’ll must get the problems rectified earlier than you may journey 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 will be discovered at Go.Evaluate.
