BSA TRIBSA
Real ownership data from 55 UK TRIBSA motorcycles — mileage, MOT pass rates and the faults that actually come up, taken from DVSA test records rather than opinion.
Most common TRIBSA problems
Ranked by how often each fault appears in this model's MOT history.
| Fault | Severity | Share of faults |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes | fail | 11.9% |
| Lights and indicators | fail | 11.2% |
| Other | user entered | 9.1% |
| Suspension | fail | 4.2% |
| Steering and head bearings | fail | 3.5% |
| Chain and sprockets | user entered | 2.1% |
| Electrical | prs | 1.4% |
| Fluid leaks | user entered | 1.4% |
Advisories (wear noted but not failed) are excluded above; the most common is suspension.
TRIBSA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 7 | 6,509 mi | 287 | 90.91% |
| 1957 | 5 | 15,098 mi | 264 | 80.95% |
TRIBSA questions, answered with data
What are the most common problems with the BSA TRIBSA?
Across 55 UK examples, the most frequently recorded MOT faults are brakes (11.9% of all recorded faults), lights and indicators (11.2% of all recorded faults), other (9.1% of all recorded faults).
What is average mileage for a BSA TRIBSA?
The median BSA TRIBSA in the UK has covered 8,265 miles, and typically rides about 258 miles a year. Half of all examples fall between 4,078 and 25,746 miles.
Is the BSA TRIBSA reliable?
90.08% of BSA TRIBSA MOT tests are passed first time, with an average of 0.56 faults recorded per test. This is measured from DVSA MOT records, not owner opinion.
Based on DVSA MOT test records for 55 BSA TRIBSA motorcycles registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.