Photo: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0
BMW
2,081 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where R 1250 GS TEs pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 18.5 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
96.0%
Pass-after-fix
1.6%
Fail
2.2%
Avg miles
10,580
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Petrol cars first registered from January 2006 meet Euro 4 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 2,081 tests
Pass rate drops 2.2 points across the cohorts — recent R 1250 GS TE examples are doing worse than the early cars at the same tested age.
Pass
98.0%
Fail
1.5%
PRS
0.5%
Avg mileage at test
11,136 mi
Pass
95.8%
Fail
2.2%
PRS
1.7%
Avg mileage at test
10,521 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 2,081 MOT tests, the R 1250 Gs Te returns 96.0% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is uneven braking force. Brake pads worn below 1.0 mm and wheel excessively corroded round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 10,580, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
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Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution
10 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.0mm
7 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A wheel excessively corroded, damaged or distorted
5 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements
3 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
A spoke missing, cracked, excessively loose, bent or corroded
2 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
Projected beam image is obviously incorrect
2 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
A lamp missing or inoperative
2 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
2 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
A footrest missing or insecure
2 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
Headlamp reflector or lens seriously defective or missing
2 occurrences · 0.1% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 2 failures
£95–£195
If every one of this R 1250 GS TE's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 2.2-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy BMW R 1250 GS TE makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
98.0%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 98.0% — a 2.2-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: projected beam image obviously incorrect, insecure — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band.
Band to be cautious about
95.8%
2021+ registration
On the 2021-on band, the data shows a 95.8% pass rate against a fleet average of 98.0% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: indicates excessive fluctuation of brake effort, less than 1.0 mm thick, and excessively distorted. Average mileage on test for this band is 10,521 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (98.0% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2021+ (95.8% pass). That's a 2.2-point spread across 1,881 older tests and 200 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
MOT-spec replacement number plate
Faded or non-standard plates fail outright. Replacements take ten minutes online with V5C details.
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Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a R 1250 GS TE and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.