Motorcycle Mod 1 Pass Rates: UK Trends and Easy Centres

#The national picture

Mod 1 pass rates across the UK have hovered between 68 and 72 percent over the past five years of DVSA quarterly data. That is comfortably below the car test national figure of around 48 percent in absolute terms, until you remember that Mod 1 is shorter, simpler and ridden in a controlled environment. Compared to itself, Mod 1 is doing what you would expect: catching the riders who are not yet smooth enough on the bike.

Mod 2 pass rates run a touch higher, usually 70 to 76 percent. The car practical test sits much lower at 48 percent, and the easiest car centres ranking shows the spread well. Mod 1 numbers are not published in the same easy-to-browse table format because there are far fewer MPTCs (Multi-Purpose Test Centres) than car centres, but the variation between them is real.

#Easier and harder centres

There are around 60 MPTCs across the UK that run motorcycle tests. The easiest tend to be quieter rural or semi-rural centres where examiners run a steady volume of candidates and the layout is well maintained. The harder centres cluster in dense urban areas where the MPTC tarmac is older, the layout markings are more worn, and candidates are more likely to be on bikes they have only just hired.

The pattern is similar to what you see across English car test centres and the Welsh car centres. Smaller, less busy locations consistently produce higher pass rates than big-city sites.

• Examples of consistently higher Mod 1 pass rate centres: Inverness, Kendal, Aberystwyth and Carmarthen
• Examples of consistently lower Mod 1 pass rate centres: Greenford, Manchester, Birmingham Garretts Green and Glasgow
• Many candidates do not realise they can book at any MPTC in the UK, not just their nearest
• Travelling 30 to 60 minutes for a higher pass rate centre is common in the motorcycle community

#Why pass rates vary so much

Examiner consistency is high across the DVSA, so most variation comes from candidate readiness rather than examiner generosity. At a centre near a busy training school the candidate population skews towards better-prepared riders. At a centre serving a sprawling urban area, the population is more mixed, and the average pass rate drops as a result.

There is also a layout factor. Some MPTCs have a slightly longer run-up to the speed measurement line, which gives candidates more room to settle into 50 km/h. A few have run-ups so short that you have barely opened the throttle before you are at the gun. These centres show up consistently lower in the pass rate data.

#How failures break down

DVSA do not publish manoeuvre-by-manoeuvre fail reason data, but instructors who run hundreds of mock tests a year see a consistent pattern. Roughly half of all Mod 1 fails come from the four cone-based manoeuvres (slalom, figure of eight, slow ride, U-turn) where a foot down or a missed cone ends the test. Around a third come from the speed-checked manoeuvres where the rider missed 50 km/h or skidded under braking. The remainder are observation, signal or behaviour faults.

The detailed Mod 1 fail reasons guide breaks each of these out with the specific drill that fixes it. A rider who systematically rehearses the four cone manoeuvres at slow speed for two hours can usually clear them clean on test day.

#Trend over time

Mod 1 pass rates have been remarkably stable since the test was introduced in 2009. There was a small dip in 2020 to 2021 as Covid-disrupted candidates came back to test with rusty skills, but the figure has since returned to its long-term mid-70s level for direct access (DAS) candidates. A1 and A2 candidates run slightly lower because they tend to be younger and less experienced.

The big picture for motorcycling has been a slow decline in test volume. Fewer riders take the test each year as fewer young people learn to ride. The numbers that do appear are therefore more dominated by committed candidates who put in the practice hours, which is part of why pass rates have stayed strong.

#How Mod 1 compares to other UK tests

The 70 percent Mod 1 pass rate is high compared to the 48 percent UK car test pass rate, but the comparison is misleading. A car test takes 40 minutes on real roads with traffic, junctions and unpredictable hazards. Mod 1 takes 15 minutes on a closed layout. The skills tested are different, and the candidate populations are different.

The honest comparison is Mod 1 versus Mod 2. Mod 2 is the road portion. Mod 2 pass rates run a few points above Mod 1 because once you have proven you can handle the bike at low speed, riding it on the road is, for most people, easier. The exception is candidates who passed Mod 1 by the skin of their teeth: they often struggle on Mod 2 because their bike control is shaky and that compounds in real traffic.