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 attributable to defective lamps and reflectors, making it the primary reason 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 information to calculate the monetary affect of widespread MOT failures. Over the course of the yr, an estimated 15,061 motorcycle MOT failures might have been averted 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 complete avoidable retest spend hitting £47,000 for the yr.
Brake defects have been the second commonest reason 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 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 a normal MOT for a motorcycle costing as much as £29.65, those that fail attributable to 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.Evaluate, urged motorcyclists to take pre-test checks severely. “Our analysis reveals 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 may carry out at house earlier than you ebook your bike in for its MOT, they usually might prevent money and time by stopping a failure. For instance, be sure that your lights are working correctly and substitute 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 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 have to pay for an additional check. Bear in mind, your bike gained’t be road-legal if it fails its MOT attributable to a harmful fault, which means your insurance coverage will seemingly change into invalid as nicely. If it fails, you’ll have to get the problems rectified earlier than you possibly can journey 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.Evaluate.
