Superbikes are popular with men in their thirties

The Department of Transport has said the rise involves riders on powerful sports bikes, especially at weekends.

Police forces have recorded some motorcyclists riding on Britain's roads at speeds of 150mph.

The government is targeting 30 to 40-year-old males who are willing to spend between �4,000 and �5,000 on a bike.

Some polices forces have said that the total numbers killed on their roads last year rose simply because of motorcyclists.

Last year in Northamptonshire alone, where motorcyclists converge on Silverstone at this time of year for the start of the biking season, 122 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured on the county's roads compared to 90 in 2002 - a 36% increase.

Like many police forces in Britain, Northamptonshire has launched a campaign to deal with the problem.

Measures include training motorcyclists and more high visibility police patrols with enforcement of speed and rider behaviour.

Sensation seeking

Superbiking and sports bikes have grown more popular in recent years with hundreds of bikers taking to Britain's roads during the summer weekends.

These can range from dual carriageways to country lanes, but some are not sticking to national speed limits wherever they are riding.

A growing number are going sensation or adrenalin seeking where they attempt to go as fast as they can, quite often trying to see how quickly they can ride round a sharp corner or carry out stunts on roads.

Motorcyclists have also been known to attach a camera to their bike, one man filmed himself travelling at 120mph and died after overtaking on a blind bend.