It seems quite common for them to fail your bike, carry out any works, then pass it.
To be fair, that's quite logical, as during the MOT they might find some other serious or expensive works, which might influence your decision about having other works done. i.e. if the MOT flags up over £300 of bits that need doing and you can't afford it, you're not going to bother fitting new brake pads or a tyre and may just consider selling the bike as an MOT failure.
It appears the previous owner of my bike, took it into the garage for an MOT with none of the lights working?!
Test date: 18 August 2011
Test Result: Fail
MOT test number: XXXX XXXX XXXX
Reason(s) for failure:
All position lamps do not illuminate immediately when switched on (1.1.3a)
Headlamp at least one does not illuminate on dipped beam (1.2.2a(i))
Headlamp at least one does not illuminate on main beam (1.2.2a(ii))
Stop lamp does not illuminate immediately a brake applies (1.3.1a)
Direction indicators not working (1.5.1c)
Horn not working (1.7.3a)
Advisory notice item(s):
Rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.3(ii))
But my first "fail" wouldn't have been a fail at all.
I always flag up when my MOT is due a couple of weeks before so i would've ordered a new tyre to take in with the bike as it's used for commuting, plus i'm on call every other week for work, so i can't have the bike off the road.
I handed him the tyre and my key first, then went for something to eat for half an hour. (a family member dropped off the tyre for me).
And i guarantee 100% that the tyre on the bike was roadworthy at that time, i have no doubts whatsoever about this, so that bike should not have been failed at any time.
And now that 2012 fail i've just found is mentioning a dodgy brake? First i've ever heard of it? It wasn't mentioned to me then, and they certainly don't work for free and nothing was fixed!
I go to the cafe a few doors down for half hour, i come back, and he gives me my passed MOT certificate, then i'm on my way, and i've been going there for years with different bikes.
It's highly unlikely they'll ever find some expensive MOT failure with any bike of mine, because i'm such a fussy sod i would've noticed the problem first and either dealt with it myself, or taken it to the bike shop for them to fix anyway.
I do get a pass out of them every year, which if they went strictly by the book then technically they could fail it on my exhaust for instance, so i'm not gonna say anything to them, as long as i get the good certificate then i'll let them do whatever they need to do, then everybody's happy.
Anyone who knowingly takes a bike in to an MOT test without the basics being up to scratch deserves to fail in my opinion, at least make a little bit of effort.My bike even got a clean and polish yesterday so the mechanic didn't get his hands dirty.