BSA Bantam
Real ownership data from 3,377 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Other | fail | 24.5% |
| Lights and indicators | major | 12.9% |
| Tyres | user entered | 8.7% |
| Brakes | major | 6.7% |
| Steering and head bearings | major | 5.3% |
| Wheels | fail | 4.8% |
| Controls and cables | fail | 3.7% |
| Chain and sprockets | fail | 3.4% |
Advisories (wear noted but not failed) are excluded above; the most common is tyres.
Bantam mileage and reliability by year
Use this to judge whether a specific bike is high or low mileage for its age.
| Year | Examples | Median mileage | Miles/year | First-time pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 447 | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 276 | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 15 | 4,694 mi | — | 86.67% |
| 2017 | 13 | 8,339 mi | 20 | 94.12% |
| 2016 | 15 | 8,225 mi | 103 | 95.24% |
| 2015 | 8 | 12,984 mi | 812 | 69.23% |
| 2014 | 17 | 6,693 mi | 104 | 90% |
| 2013 | 14 | 9,144 mi | 50 | 100% |
| 2012 | 18 | 14,097 mi | 57 | 85.71% |
| 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 | 8 | 8,098 mi | 6 | 89.66% |
| 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 3,377 UK examples, the most frequently recorded MOT faults are other (24.5% of all recorded faults), lights and indicators (12.9% of all recorded faults), tyres (8.7% 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 0.24 faults recorded per test. This is measured from DVSA MOT records, not owner opinion.
Based on DVSA MOT test records for 3,377 BSA Bantam motorcycles registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.