Bike 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 examine. New analysis from Go.Examine motorcycle insurance coverage has discovered that 41% of failed motorcycle MOTs final yr had been because 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 influence of widespread MOT failures. Over the course of the yr, an estimated 15,061 motorcycle MOT failures may have been averted with fundamental checks. Greater than 11,000 of these had 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 had 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 examine at house 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 motorcycle MOT failures have price riders upwards of £210,000. With a regular MOT for a motorcycle costing as much as £29.65, those that fail because of small oversights can discover themselves paying twice — as soon as for the unique take a look at, 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 critically. “Our analysis reveals that hundreds of kilos is being wasted yearly on avoidable MOT failures, however getting ready for the take a look at correctly may help you keep away from incurring additional prices. There are some easy checks that you would be able to carry out at house earlier than you e book 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 substitute any bulbs it’s good to, then examine 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 bought a 10-day window to get it in for a free retest. If you will get it mounted earlier than this, you shouldn’t must pay for one more take a look at. Keep in mind, your bike gained’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT because of a harmful fault, which 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’ll be able to experience it once more.”
All figures within the report relate to class one and two automobiles (bikes) and are based mostly on official DVSA information and survey insights. Additional particulars and recommendation for riders might be discovered at Go.Examine.
