It might sound daft to go for MOT (annual test of vehicle safety) and expect it to pass blindly, but surprisingly some do that, and get disappointed when they get a certificate that says “fail” or there are a bunch of advisories. Don’t be one of them! Check it yourself before MOT!

For us, adventure and trail riders, it is even more important to keep on top of motorcycles maintenance. Simply because adventure bikes do get more abuse, and get exposed to a much harsher environment too. Mud, deep water, sand…. that stuff gets everywhere, and if not looked after, soon all the bearings will start to “play”, and you will be the only looser – paying for ruined stuff that could have been avoided if it was looked after.

Here in the UK MOT’s are fairly simple, it is even possible to find online what is checked during MOT. The official MOT checklist can be viewed Here. So all the information is out there if you need it!

Let’s have a look at the official Checklist.

“Items that are Tested:

Sitting On Machine:

Handlebar, Brake controls, Switches.
Throttle, Clutch Lever,
Head Bearings, Horn.
Front Suspension (Bump Test)
Rear Suspension (Bump Tets)
Steering

Front of Machine:

Front Position Lamps, Headlamps, Indicators.
Front Suspension, Steering Damper (If Fitted)
Brake Master Cylinder (If Fitted)
Front Mudguard

Front Wheel Raised:

Steering, Headbearings, Front Suspension.
Wheels and Bearings.
Tyre, Front Brake.

Offside of machine:

Frame, Seat, Foot Rests.
Rear Suspension, Final Drive.
Exhaust, Fuel System, Tyre, Brake

Rear of Machine:

Rear Position Lamp,
Stop Lamp, Indicators.
Reflectors, Registration Plate.

Nearside of Machine:

Frame, Seat, Foot Rests.
Rear Suspension, Final Drive.
Exhaust, Fuel System, Tyre, Brake

Rear wheel Raised:

Rear Wheel Bearings.
Rear Suspension.
Tyre, Rear Brake.

Wheel Alignment:

Alignment.

Headlamp Aim:

Headlamp Aim (Rider on Machine)

Sidecar…

….Sidecar bit is not important for us Adventure riders!…

In reality you will not see a Mot Specialist walking around with a clipboard checking and ticking everything on the list – It looks a bit more like extended “Pre-Ride” Inspection, that you as a ride should do anyway!

Now let’s take the checklist and see what the Specialist would inspect / look for!

Sitting On Machine:

Handlebar, Brake controls, Switches. – This one is simple, to make sure everything is attached securely and is functional, nothing is hanging or loose (Like grips for example).
Throttle, Clutch Lever. – throttle control should snap back in no time otherwise something somewhere is binding, and its deemed unsafe. Very easy to stick handlebar risers and stretch the cables so when on full lock the throttle cable is binding and does not return back in closed position. Clutch – if the lever is secure, it’s smooth and if there is some free play – normally there should be some free play.
Head Bearings, Horn. – Horn tested if it’s functional. Head bearings are visually checked to inspect condition as well as turning the handlebar from lock to lock and checking if handlebar movement is smooth. Not smooth, or if restrictions felt when handlebars are straight – means worn head bearings.

Front Suspension (Bump Test). – Healthy suspension should not be twitchy, or jump up and down like a pogo stick. One push down, and it should return right back up and stay there without going up and down. In any other case, something is not right, sticky or worn.
Rear Suspension (Bump Test). – Same Like front suspension apart from faults, if sticky or twitchy, it doesnt mean its a shock, can be worn linkage arm bearings, can be swingarm bearings, can be bearings between shock and linkage arm.
Steering. – That Handlebar when moved from lock to lock has some room between it and a tank (at least two fingers gap) If it doesn’t, and you get caught in a “Tank Slapper” the last thing you want is your hand being squashed between the handlebar and a tank. Also that no cables restricting handlebar movement!

Front of Machine:

Front Position Lamps, Headlamps, Indicators. – If it’s fitted, it must be functional! Failing MOT for a blown light bulb is not acceptable! Also make sure that indicators are fitted securely, and not hanging on wires, as if it is not visible to road users, they are just as good as not having them, and that’s not a good sign…
Front Suspension, Steering Damper (If Fitted). – Fork seals and stanchions checked making sure that stanchions are not pitted and oil seals are not leaking oil. Steering damper checked for smoothness, and that it functions the way it should be, as well as its not leaking oil.
Brake Master Cylinder (If Fitted). – If it is secured, not leaking brake fluid, and brake fluid level is at the correct level.
Front Mudguard. – Simply checked if it is secured, and does not interfere with anything.

Front Wheel Raised:

Steering, Headbearings, Front Suspension. – At this point you will see MOT Technician pushing and pulling on your machines front wheel as well as the bottom of your forks. Normally by pushing the bottoms of the fork toward the back of the bike and back up to the front will expose worn fork bushing as well as worn or loose head bearings. If some play is present, to determine if its forks or head bearings need to do the same but by grabbing forks slightly higher (on the right side forks – on stanchions), if movement was felt before but not after – fork bushings, if before and after – head bearings.
Wheels and Bearings. – To check wheel bearings need to turn handlebars to the full lock and try to wiggle it by grabbing the wheel at 6 and 12 oclock (or as close to the forks at the top of the wheel, and directly on the opposite side of the wheel). Some play – worn bearings. Wheel – hub / rim, is checked for damage, as well as spokes (if the bike has spoked wheels) for tension by tapping each spoke with something that would make then emit a sound. Each and every spoke should make more or less the same pitch sound. Dull or rattling sound – loose or broken spoke and it needs to be tightened or replaced, high pitch – (a lot higher than the ones next to it) – too tight, and should be loosened up a bit.
Tyre, Front Brake. – Tyres shouldn’t be below the limit, and to check the limit there is no need for special tools or coins or whatever…most of the tires has few raised spots in between the grooves (You will see it if you will inspect your tire), manufacturers placed them as limit indicators, learn how to use them. On knobby tires you won’t see them as those don’t get used to that level anyway… As for brakes – tubes and calipers are checked, making sure no brake fluid is leaking, tubes are in good condition, brake pads are not worn, and no pins are missing.

Offside (And Nearside) of machine:

Frame, Seat, Foot Rests. – To make sure that the machine’s frame is not visibly damaged, cracked or bent. Seat is secure and will not fall off while riding as well as footrests are secure and in place! Yeah,”in place” – if the bike has room for a passenger (pillion) to sit on, the bike should have foot pegs too! Technician can not guarantee that a rider will not take a pillion passenger for a ride, and if passengers’ footpegs are missing but the seat is present, the bike counts as unsafe and that is a failed MOT.

Rear Suspension, Final Drive. – Visual inspection of suspension for anything unusual, like leaking shock absorber, or damaged linkage arm. Final drive (Chain carrier) checked for play as well as chain tension and wear. Sprocket carrier can be checked by moving it side to side, back to front. If it moves side to side – worn bearings, if it moves excessively front to back – worn cush drive rubbers. Some play in cush drive rubbers is fine, but anything more than ~2mm should be checked out and replaced. Chain tension – should not be too tight or too loose, and wear can be checked by pulling the chain outwards on the rear sprocket (at around 3 oclock mark), if by doing so, the gap between sprocket teeth are visible, that is a good indication that chain is close to its limits.
Exhaust, Fuel System, Tyre, Brake. – That exhaust is secured and will not fall off on the first turn, as well as not rotted away. Fuel system – for leaks, just visually. Tyre for wear and damages. Brake – same like front – for leaks, worn brake pads and missing bits.
Rear of Machine:
Rear Position Lamp. – it’s the red light that comes on with ignition on most bikes, older bikes – with a headlight. First if it’s working, and second that it’s not cracked.
Stop Lamp, Indicators. – Stop light is checked with the front brake as well as rear brake, and it should be brighter than the Rear position lamp.
Reflectors, Registration Plate. – Reflectors- it’s a funny one, but motorcycles must have a red reflector at the back, so if you fitted “Tail Tidy” make sure not to forget to fit the reflector, as well as number plate light! That’s not mentioning that the number plate has to be secure, and not only appropriate size but standard font too!

Rear wheel Raised:

Rear Wheel Bearings. – Same like the front wheel, by grabbing the wheel at the 6 and 12 oclock mark as well as the 9 and 3 oclock mark and giving it a good wiggle, if some play – bearings are shot.
Rear Suspension. – For swingarm pivot bearings, its enough to move it side to side and see if there is any play, for the rest, best or i should say the easiest way is to stick a spanner on the rear axle nut in a way that it extends out to the back of the bike (for leverage) and when wheel is suspended in the air, try to lift it up holding by the spanner. It doesn’t take a lot of force, at least not as much as the rear axle is tightened up, to feel if there is any play in the linkage bearings!
Tyre, Rear Brake. – Same Like front tire as well as front brake. (Damages, wear and missing parts or worn brake pads etc.)

Wheel Alignment:

Alignment. – it must be something terribly wrong with the bike for wheels to be way out of alignment, like a bent frame. But to check it – it becomes very clear just by pushing a long pipe to the rear wheel (as it’s wider) and measuring the distance from pipe to front wheel, and checking the other side to see if distance is same or at least similar. If the bike wasn’t damaged or for some mysterious reason wheel spacers were not mixed up – that should be fine. Rear wheel can be slightly out, but that’s very visible just by looking at the alignment of the front and rear sprockets, in bad cases sprockets can catch on the chain and lift it up on its teeth. But that would be just a terrible example of a badly aligned rear wheel.

Headlamp Aim:

Headlamp Aim (Rider on Machine). – This one is to check if the headlight beam isn’t too high as it would blind oncoming traffic. At the same time, if the light beam is correct for the traffic side (if driving on the left, it should give more light to the right side, not the opposite like it happened to my AJP, you can read how i fixed that here), and with rider on machine, just in case suspension is not set properly for the rider. Without rider beam might be ok, but with riders weight rear suspension might be compressing a lot more than front lifting headlight up in the sky.

So these are a few things that are checked before the stand.

Test on the stand!

Once on the stand, front and rear brakes will be tested to determine if they are suitable for the job.

Test for drag

Test for drag – drag is the rider’s enemy, and to check it at home simply lift the front (or rear) wheel off the ground, press on the brakes and after releasing it spin the wheel. If the wheel spins at least 1-1.5 turns (or more), it should be fine. If the wheel doesn’t want to spin and clearly brakes are dragging on the brake rotor, the caliper should be checked as there might be a caliper piston seized or dirty, or pitted, or brake pad pins restrict brake pads from backing off. Some drag will always be felt, as there is absolutely nothing in the caliper to aid brake pads to back off, however once no one is pressing on the brake pedal / lever so the brake pad pressure on the rotor should be non-existent.

Warped Brake rotors.

Warped Brake rotors. – Once the bike is on the stand and the wheel is spinning, by pressing brakes slightly – there should be no pulsating sensation in the lever / pedal. Same applied while riding! If it’s there – the brake disc is warped for whatever reason, and needs to be replaced.

Brake efficiency test.

Brake efficiency test. – This time on the stand bikes brakes will be pressed till the wheel completely stops. And the stand indicates how powerful (or not) brakes are. As a rider, you should know if brakes are good enough for the bike, and this test just confirms if they are suitable and working properly. In some cases the pedal / lever can feel a bit spongy, most of the time that would indicate air in the system but In some cases under pressure brake lines develop a bulge, and instead of pressure applied by the lever traveling to the the caliper and pressing on the pads, it’s just expands the bulge or compresses the air in the system… in any case, if brake pedal or lever is pumped up few times and it doesn’t turn rock solid – best to check for air, bulges on the brake lines, splits and leaks.

So now you know!

Explore More!

A list of posts about Bike Maintenance and General Modifications that might be Interesting to know!

Motorcycles MOT: Pass it first time, Every time!

Let’s have a look at the official Checklist.

Sitting On Machine:

Front of Machine:

Front Wheel Raised:

Offside (And Nearside) of machine:

Rear wheel Raised:

Wheel Alignment:

Headlamp Aim:

Test on the stand!

Test for drag

Warped Brake rotors.

Brake efficiency test.

So now you know!

Explore More!

General Modifications:

Bike Maintenance:

Motorcycles MOT: Pass it first time, Every time!

Let’s have a look at the official Checklist.

Sitting On Machine:

Front of Machine:

Front Wheel Raised:

Offside (And Nearside) of machine:

Rear wheel Raised:

Wheel Alignment:

Headlamp Aim:

Test on the stand!

Test for drag

Warped Brake rotors.

Brake efficiency test.

So now you know!

Explore More!

General Modifications:

Bike Maintenance:

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