After the death of the 27th biker this year on roads in York and North Yorkshire, reporter STEVE CARROLL looks at why the toll is so high.

IMAGINE being offered a Formula One racing car for less than £10,000.

Starting up your machine and hitting nought to 60mph in a few seconds. That sort of dream can be a reality for many motorcyclists.

Bikers can pick up a sports bike, with a top speed of 180mph, for almost the price of a two-door hatchback.

It is a point that has not been lost on police officers as they look to find new ways of halting a disturbing trend in North Yorkshire.

The county has always been known as having some of the country's best roads to ride on. Now it is gaining a new reputation as a place where motorcyclists die.

That 27 bikers have been killed in York and North Yorkshire so far this year is shocking enough. What's even worse is that these figures are no longer a blip.

When 23 motorcyclists lost their lives last year, the figures could justifiably have been labelled a one-off. After all, they were by far the worst on record since North Yorkshire Police began compiling statistics in 1994.

But this year's record total has shattered that illusion. Officers are now looking at new ways of getting to grips with the problem.

The difficulty is that it evolves by nature. When North Yorkshire Police first launched its Bike Safe strategy in 1997 it was aimed particularly at educating "born-again" bikers - riders who had returned to motorcycling many years after they had first learned to ride. Now police are looking to concentrate their time and resources on younger riders who may have purchased more powerful sports machines.

Of the 27 victims, ten are under 30. Seven of the accidents were single vehicle collisions. But biker groups say riders are not necessarily to blame.

Tony Lidgate, force spokesman, said: "This is an ongoing question, and traffic management is one of the things which are being looked at. It is not so much born-again bikers these days. The age has come down and the key factor is machines.

"These days, you can buy a motorcycle like a grand prix car for the price of a mini car. Riding is a delight. It is absolutely fantastic and means you can travel to somewhere beautiful quickly. Bikes these days are responsive and handle well. We are just asking riders to be careful."

Long-term biker Debbie Molyneux, of the York Motorcyclists Action Group, said you could never stop accidents. They would always happen and, by its very nature, motorcycling was inherently more dangerous than driving a car.

"Motorcyclists are well aware of the extra danger," she said. "That is something they all accept. You realise that if you get hit you are going to get injured. That's why motorcyclists are taught defensive riding. But car drivers are not as aware as motorcyclists. "

Debbie, a biker of 15 years' experience, fronts a group of more than 50 members which look to defend biker interests and comment on any new government legislation. What was needed, she said, was a national safety campaign that targeted all road users and not just motorcyclists.

"There has been a much longer riding season this year because of the great weather, and there is a degree of scepticism among bikers about the motives of the police.

"I want to see an awareness campaign for everyone, not just for bikers.

"There is a frustration with drivers. But I don't think we can accept the number of deaths and it does need to be looked at, but I don't have the answers."

Updated: 11:06 Wednesday, October 01, 2003