MOTORCYCLISTS in North Yorkshire have hit back at a pressure group which has accused them of destroying the safety, beauty and peace of a route through the North York Moors by using it as a "lethal race track".

Bilsdale Against Noise and Danger (BAND) has recruited celebrities and public figures with Yorkshire ties to sign an open letter to North Yorkshire Police and the highway authorities, asking them to clamp down on bikers and HGVs using the B1257 Helmsley-to-Stokesley road because they create danger and damage the environment.

But bikers have defended themselves by pointing out it is only a minority of motorcyclists who behave badly and that car drivers are also guilty of speeding and creating pollution.

"I don't think motorcyclists should be victimised," said John Clark, who runs York Rider Training scheme at Haxby. "I don't blame BAND for what they're doing, but there are also speeding and noisy cars that use that route.

"My biker friends and I are quite religious about sticking to the speed limits, especially in built-up areas. I live on a main road with a 30mph limit and so many car drivers speed past doing more than 40mph."

Andrew Timms, a member of Yorkshire Motorcycle Action Group, said: "There are a few out there who put loud cans on their bikes and use the roads as a way of proving themselves as riders. Some people ride way too fast, but it's the minority. The majority, like me, like their life and want to live it. This is a classic case of tarring all bikers with the same brush." Last year, the number of bikers killed on North Yorkshire roads reached a new record of 28, with 180 seriously injured. So far this year, two bikers have died in the county.

Mr Clark said he believed motorcyclists were being more sensible and this was reflected in some bikers' media.

Some months ago, the International XX Bikers Association website, which lists two North Yorkshire roads out of the six on its Best UK Roads page, described the B1257 as "TT wonderland" and also described the "cop factor" as "very rare". It said: "Utterly remarkable, pure boy racer cocaine... give it a try, we guarantee you'll be going there again and again. This road is, quite simply, like a two-wheeled video game."

Now the same website describes the route as: "...best ridden at sensible speeds due to its notorious reputation. . . many police frequent this road nowadays and rightly so due to the number of unnecessary accidents by those who chose to exceed normal riding speeds."

The A169 from Whitby to Pickering is also mentioned.

Updated: 10:34 Saturday, May 01, 2004