Know Your MOT
6.9%fail rate

Triumph Bonnville common MOT failures and failure rate

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

Based on 130 MOT tests in DVSA data.

About 6.9% of MOT tests recorded on the Triumph Bonnville in DVSA data end in a failure. The same handful of items account for most of them.

Its most common failure is registration plate, which makes up 11.1% of the Triumph Bonnville's failures, followed by registration plate, suspension, lamps & electrical, other. 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

Registration plate11.1% of failures

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

Suspension11.1% of failures

Suspension failures usually mean a worn or snapped coil spring, a leaking shock absorber, or play in a lower arm ball joint or bush. The tester checks for corrosion, fractures and excessive movement. A broken front spring is one of the most common failures on higher-mileage cars and is a straightforward replacement.

Lamps & electrical11.1% 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.

Other11.1% of failures

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

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 registration plate failure: Triumph Bonnville number plateSearch Amazon for Triumph Bonnville number plateaffiliate searchFind Triumph Bonnville number plate on eBayaffiliate
For the suspension failure: Triumph Bonnville suspension springs and shock absorbersSearch Amazon for Triumph Bonnville suspension springs and shock absorbersaffiliate searchFind Triumph Bonnville suspension springs and shock absorbers on eBayaffiliate
For the lamps & electrical failure: Triumph Bonnville headlight and indicator bulbsSearch Amazon for Triumph Bonnville headlight and indicator bulbsaffiliate searchFind Triumph Bonnville headlight and indicator bulbs on eBayaffiliate

Other models

Triumph Bonneville MOT failures9.8% failure rateTriumph Tiger MOT failures9.2% failure rateTriumph Sprint MOT failures12.6% failure rateFord Fiesta MOT failures27.1% failure rate

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