Royal Enfield
2,101 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Himalayans pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 11.7 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
89.2%
Pass-after-fix
4.8%
Fail
5.9%
Avg miles
8,560
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 · 2,071 tests
Pass rate is broadly flat across the cohorts — new and old Himalayan examples track each other at the test bay.
Pass
89.1%
Fail
5.8%
PRS
5.2%
Avg mileage at test
11,322 mi
Pass
89.2%
Fail
5.9%
PRS
4.8%
Avg mileage at test
8,068 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 1,606 MOT tests, the Himalayan returns 90.8% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a stop-lamp out. Stiff steering bearings and steering head bearings have excessive wear round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 7,369, 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.
Filter failures:
Hide categories
Tick a category to hide it from rankings sitewide. Saved in this browser only.
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
20 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
Steering head bearings excessively stiff, notchy, or with excessive wear or play
12 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.0mm
11 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
10 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
A transmission belt, chain, sprocket or pulley excessively loose or worn
8 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
A stop lamp(s) does not illuminate by the operation of both brake controls or remains on when the brakes are released
6 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A lamp not securely attached
6 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A tyre with a lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure, including any lifting of the tread rubber
5 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
A transmission belt, chain, sprocket or pulley excessively loose or worn
5 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Reflector missing or reflecting white to the rear
5 occurrences · 0.2% 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 3 failures
£178–£385
If every one of this Himalayan'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 →
Try the calculator
Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. Pass rates barely move across bands here, so the year you buy Royal Enfield Himalayan makes little measurable difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
89.2%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 89.2% — a 0.1-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: not working, excessively stiff or notchy — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
89.1%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 89.1% pass rate against a fleet average of 89.2% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: excessively binding, less than 1.0 mm thick, and not working. Average mileage on test for this band is 11,322 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (89.2% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (89.1% pass). That's a 0.1-point spread across 348 older tests and 1,723 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
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · 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
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Click Mechanic · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
Book a mechanic at your door.
Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.
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 Himalayan 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.
