Gen5 Outsize Motorbar XL Head: The Part That Fits

The replacement for a Gen5outsize Motorbar XL is Dyson’s Digital Motorbar XL cleaner head, part number 973096-01, and it is sold as a complete head rather than as a loose brush bar. Dyson’s own spare-parts page for that number names the Gen5outsize (model SV24) as a fitting machine, and it is the only head found there with that match. The catch is availability: when this was researched, Dyson’s US and Canadian pages both showed it as out of stock, with no restock date.

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Which part number is the right one

The trap is the name. “Motorbar XL” appears on more than one part number, and the older Outsize head 972160 is the one that shows up in stock more often. Dyson’s page for it lists the Outsize range, not the Gen5outsize, so skip it unless Dyson support confirms the fit in writing. The narrower 972353-02 Motorbar likewise names only the Gen5detect Absolute.

Matching by name alone is how people end up with a head that looks right in a photo but does not match the machine. The only reliable test is the number: compare the part number Dyson publishes for your model against the number on the box or listing, and treat any listing that does not state a number as unverified.

If you only want the brush bar

Dyson’s Gen5outsize parts listing sells the Motorbar XL as a whole cleaner head. In the pages read for this article there was no separate roller or brush bar for this head. If a bar is worn, snagged or damaged, the documented route is the full head. This is a limit of what Dyson publishes; if you need the bar alone, only Dyson support can say whether one can be supplied, so ask them with your serial number.

If the head is out of stock

• Check your regional Dyson site and the parts search by typing 973096-01 directly. Stock, and the part page, differ by country.
• Ask Dyson support about 973096-02. Their site shows it as not currently available and tells customers to get in touch.
• Used OEM heads turn up on eBay with 973096-01 in the listing, and some list 242413-05 as a manufacturer number. Match the number printed on the head itself, not the title. A used head is a gamble on wear and on whether the electrical contacts are intact.
• Third-party connector and ball-wheel kits are sold citing 973096-01. Those replace small parts only, not the head, and sellers themselves advise confirming your model before ordering.

Before you order anything

Confirm the machine is a Gen5outsize (SV24) from the label under the bin, then read the part number on the underside or housing of your current head. If it already says 973096-01, order that exact number. Damage to the bar is often a hair or debris jam: clear the end caps and the bar first, since a stalled bar can look like a dead head.

If the bar still will not spin after it is clear, try the head on its own against the wand and then try the machine with a different attachment. That separates a failed head from a fault in the vacuum body, and it tells Dyson support exactly where to look. A faulty head is a parts question; a body that fails with every attachment is a warranty or repair question, and no replacement head will fix it.

Is the Gen5outsize still worth buying with this fault

This is a supply problem, not a defect in the machine. The head is documented and orderable in principle, but a worn head can mean a wait with a vacuum that cannot clean floors well, and Dyson published no restock date for it. If you are deciding on the Gen5outsize and the wide head matters to you, buy it knowing that replacements may be scarce and that the head is not user-serviceable down to the bar. If you want a vacuum with easy spares, that is a reason to look elsewhere. The Gen5outsize with its correct head remains the sensible choice only if you want that wide, high-capacity format.

Related reading: Dyson Big Ball Animal Turbine Head: What Actually Fits covers the same kind of head-compatibility traps on other models.

No independent lab has published measurements of the Motorbar XL head’s wear life; the compatibility facts here come from Dyson’s own documentation and seller listings.