Know Your MOT
10.4%fail rate

Royal Enfield Bullet common MOT failures and failure rate

What a Royal Enfield Bullet fails its MOT on, from real DVSA test data, and the part that resolves each item.

Based on 44,799 MOT tests in DVSA data.

About 10.4% of MOT tests recorded on the Royal Enfield Bullet in DVSA data end in a failure. The same handful of items account for most of them.

Its most common failure is lamps & electrical, which makes up 22.9% of the Royal Enfield Bullet's failures, followed by lamps & electrical, brakes, other, tyres. Each item below links to the part that resolves it. Confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying, and have safety-critical work done by a competent mechanic.

What it fails on, and why

Lamps & electrical22.9% of failures

Lighting is the single most common MOT failure and the cheapest to put right. A blown headlight, brake-light or number-plate bulb, a cracked lens, or a headlamp beam that points too high or low will all fail. Most are a two-minute bulb swap.

Brakes15.1% 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.

Other10.2% of failures

This covers a range of smaller items, from a non-working horn to a warning light left on.

Tyres6.0% of failures

Tyres fail for tread below the 1.6mm legal limit across the central three-quarters, uneven or exposed-cord wear, or sidewall damage. The tester inspects all four; a single illegal tyre is a fail.

Registration plate5.6% of failures

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

Steering3.5% of failures

Steering faults are typically worn track-rod ends or ball joints, play in the rack, or a split gaiter letting grease out and dirt in. Excessive free play at the wheel fails.

Failure rate by year

How the MOT failure rate varies by the car's year of first registration (older examples generally fail more as wear sets in).

200110.7% fail · 2,784 tests
200210.9% fail · 4,470 tests
200310.1% fail · 3,620 tests
200410.6% fail · 3,967 tests
20059.5% fail · 4,075 tests
20069.5% fail · 3,753 tests
20079.1% fail · 4,561 tests
200810.3% fail · 5,320 tests
200911.4% fail · 2,786 tests
201012.1% fail · 321 tests
201113.4% fail · 112 tests
201215.8% fail · 177 tests
201311.2% fail · 116 tests
20149.9% fail · 182 tests
201510.3% fail · 282 tests
20169.0% fail · 212 tests

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. These are the usual parts; confirm the exact fitment against your registration or VIN before buying.

For the lamps & electrical failure: Royal Enfield Bullet headlight and indicator bulbsSearch Amazon for Royal Enfield Bullet headlight and indicator bulbsaffiliate searchFind Royal Enfield Bullet headlight and indicator bulbs on eBayaffiliate
For the brakes failure: Royal Enfield Bullet brake pads and discsSearch Amazon for Royal Enfield Bullet brake pads and discsaffiliate searchFind Royal Enfield Bullet brake pads and discs on eBayaffiliate
For the tyres failure: Royal Enfield Bullet tyresSearch Amazon for Royal Enfield Bullet tyresaffiliate searchFind Royal Enfield Bullet tyres on eBayaffiliate
For the registration plate failure: Royal Enfield Bullet number plateSearch Amazon for Royal Enfield Bullet number plateaffiliate searchFind Royal Enfield Bullet number plate on eBayaffiliate
For the steering failure: Royal Enfield Bullet steering track rod endsSearch Amazon for Royal Enfield Bullet steering track rod endsaffiliate searchFind Royal Enfield Bullet steering track rod ends on eBayaffiliate

Other models

Royal Enfield Interceptor Int MOT failures8.3% failure rateRoyal Enfield Himalayan MOT failures9.7% failure rateRoyal Enfield Continental MOT failures10.0% failure rateFord Fiesta MOT failures27.1% failure rate

Sources: DVSA MOT History API: MOT test results and defect data · DVSA MOT testing data for Great Britain