BSA Bantam
Real ownership data from 3,433 UK Bantam motorcycles — mileage, MOT pass rates and the faults that actually come up, taken from DVSA test records rather than opinion.
Most common Bantam problems
Ranked by how often each fault appears in this model's MOT history.
| Fault | Severity | Share of faults |
|---|---|---|
| Wheels | major | 12% |
| Other | fail | 9.9% |
| Controls and cables | fail | 9.1% |
| Lights and indicators | major | 7.6% |
| Electrical | prs | 6.7% |
| Chain and sprockets | dangerous | 6.3% |
| Suspension | user entered | 4.8% |
| Tyres | major | 3.7% |
Advisories (wear noted but not failed) are excluded above; the most common is other.
Bantam mileage and reliability by year
Use this to judge whether a specific bike is high or low mileage for its age.
| YearYear | MedianMedian mileage | Mi/yrMiles/year | MOT passFirst-time pass | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 486 | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 277 | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 15 | 4,694 mi | — | 86.67% |
| 2017 | 11 | 8,339 mi | 19 | 92.86% |
| 2016 | 15 | 8,225 mi | 103 | 95.24% |
| 2015 | 8 | 12,984 mi | 812 | 69.23% |
| 2014 | 16 | 6,138 mi | 104 | 89.8% |
| 2013 | 14 | 9,144 mi | 50 | 100% |
| 2012 | 17 | 11,922 mi | 74 | 87.18% |
| 2011 | 16 | 14,809 mi | 88 | 91.43% |
| 2010 | 14 | 7,987 mi | 121 | 91.49% |
| 2009 | 12 | 4,890 mi | 138 | 90.48% |
| 2008 | 17 | 5,565 mi | 45 | 91.3% |
| 2007 | 11 | 1,303 mi | 24 | 85% |
| 2006 | 7 | 9,825 mi | 6 | 89.29% |
| 2005 | 15 | 10,764 mi | 26 | 88.06% |
| 2004 | 15 | 2,174 mi | 46 | 83.58% |
| 2003 | 15 | 10,693 mi | 42 | 92.73% |
| 2002 | 22 | 8,456 mi | 73 | 94.07% |
| 2001 | 10 | 1,873 mi | 55 | 100% |
Bantam questions, answered with data
What are the most common problems with the BSA Bantam?
Across 3,433 UK examples, the most frequently recorded MOT faults are wheels (12% of all recorded faults), other (9.9% of all recorded faults), controls and cables (9.1% of all recorded faults).
What is average mileage for a BSA Bantam?
The median BSA Bantam in the UK has covered 12,775 miles, and typically rides about 57 miles a year. Half of all examples fall between 3,772 and 22,070 miles.
Is the BSA Bantam reliable?
88.85% of BSA Bantam MOT tests are passed first time, with an average of 0.1 faults recorded per test. This is measured from DVSA MOT records, not owner opinion.
Based on DVSA MOT test records for 3,433 BSA Bantam motorcycles registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.