Know Your MOT

MOT failure rate and common problems for the Harley-Davidson Motor, and how to check your own car by registration.

Updated 05 September 2026.

9.6%fail rate

Harley-Davidson Motor MOT failure rate

What a Harley-Davidson Motor fails its MOT on, and the part that fixes each.

What it fails on, and why

Registration plate42.9% of failures

A missing, damaged, dirty or incorrectly-spaced number plate, or one using the wrong font, will fail. A replacement plate is inexpensive.

Exhaust & emissions14.3% of failures

Exhaust failures cover leaks, insecure mountings and emissions over the limit. A blowing exhaust, a failed lambda reading or a diesel that smokes beyond the limit will fail.

Brakes14.3% of failures

Brake failures cover worn pads and discs, an imbalance between wheels, corroded or scored discs, or a binding caliper. Braking efficiency is measured on a rolling road, so a spongy or pulling brake shows up as a low reading.

The parts that fix each

If your car has just failed, you have 10 working days to fix the items and get a free partial retest. Confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying.

For the registration plate failure: Harley-Davidson Motor number plateShop Harley-Davidson Motor number plate on AmazonaffiliateFind Harley-Davidson Motor number plate on eBayaffiliate
For the exhaust & emissions failure: Harley-Davidson Motor exhaustShop Harley-Davidson Motor exhaust on AmazonaffiliateFind Harley-Davidson Motor exhaust on eBayaffiliate
For the brakes failure: Harley-Davidson Motor brake pads and discsShop Harley-Davidson Motor brake pads and discs on AmazonaffiliateFind Harley-Davidson Motor brake pads and discs on eBayaffiliate

Other models

All Harley-Davidson models MOT failure rates comparedRanked worst to bestHarley-Davidson Xl MOT failures10.1% failure rateHarley-Davidson Xlh MOT failures11.4% failure rateFord Fiesta MOT failures27.1% failure rate

Questions and answers

What is the MOT failure rate of the Harley-Davidson Motor?

It fails 9.6% of its MOT tests across the DVSA record, from 73 tests.

What do these cars fail their MOT on most?

The most common failure area is registration plate, at 42.9% of this model's failures.