Friendly Advice for Aging Bikers: You'd Better Take it Easy, Riders

Springtime in New Jersey. The explosion of cherry blossoms. The perfume of hyancinths. The refreshing singing of robins.
And the relentless two-note spit-fire of motorcycle engines.
They all come out now. The cruiser set: Harley armies in black leather and blue denim on gleaming chrome, heads barely covered with bucket helmets. The sports set: riders hunched over Italian or Japanese racing machines in blurs of bright yellows and reds. The touring set: the Cadillac-on-wheels Gold Wings and BMWs with riders who appreciate high-tech comfort.
And with them come the inevitable headline: " Motorcyclist killed in crash."
If it seems more are riding ( and dying ), that's because it's true.
Ridership is up 50 percent since 1997, and new bike sales approached 1 million last year, capping 12 years of growth.
All this led by a 15-year resurgence of Harley-Davidson, which masterfully took the bad boy image and dropped it into the expanding lap of Everyboy ( and a few Everygirls ).
The official Harley owners' group ( H.O.G. ) now has more than 1 more than leathered-up members, whose average income is around $70,000 and average age is climbing toward 45.
And both keep creeping up.
Motorcycling is becoming a midlife, middle-class hobby. And with it comes a new inevitable headline: "Middle-aged motorcyclist killed in crash."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stats show motorcycle death no longer just comes to the kid on the crotch rocket weaving lanes at a buck-twenty up the Parkway.
Nearly half of the motorcycle riders killed since 2005 were over 40, up from 25 percent in less than a decade. The biggest jump is in riders over 50.
" This is of significant concern," said Dean Thompson, of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in Irvine, Calif. " One problem we see is that the re-entry rider - an older rider who hasn't ridden since they were much younger - thinks of himself as an experienced rider. But traffic has changed, motorcycles have changed, and they have changed. Neither is their eyesight. They don't have the same endurance levels."
Ray Ochs,58, the director of training for MSF, says another problem is that only one in 10 riders who takes a beginner's safety course to get licensed returns for an "experienced rider" course.
" They think, 'I've got my license. I'm done,' " Ochs said. "But skills need to be refreshed, and our experienced riders' course now has more material related to aging."
In a nutshell, the advice goes like this: Realize you're slowing down, and slow your motorcycle down to compensate.
This is something a few of the guys in the Old Timers Motorcycle Club already know. The club (motto: "Fast Bikes...Slow Riders") meets every Sunday morning at 9 outside Sal's Spirit Shop on Park Avenue in South Plainfield. Most of the members are over 40, with a few over 60. Over the weekend, the group included riders with big Harleys, mid-size cruisers, a sports bike or two, even a guy with a big scooter.
"We want to be inclusive. This is for anybody who wants to come down," said Rich D'Urso, a club leader. "We're not trying to impress anybody. We're not looking to see how fast we can go."
The guy with the scooter, Mark Makowski,50, crashed a bike when he was younger and is only now getting back on. "These guys don't ride fast and crazy," Makowski said.
For Nick Poupakis,48, reducing speed (and risk) was a factor in buying his 650cc Yamaha. "It cooled me down," said Poupaskis, who still owns a faster bike. "I saw myself going too fast...and I don't want to die now."
Same with Fred Pellegrino,61, who recognized awhile back " the old legs ain't what they use to be" and traded his heavy Harley cruiser for a lighter Sportster.
Club leader Rudy Adams says the club takes its motto seriously.
"I got an 850cc bike. That's big enough for my wife and me, and it gets me where I want to go comfortably," said Adams,49.
Still, even going slow, the Old Timers are concerned about the statistics. D'Urso heard the MSF is sending out training material to clubs about holding clinics for older riders.
"It is something we should do as a club," he said.
Ochs said it's all about dealing with diminishing reflexes in a world of increasing traffic.
"It's common sense mostly. Ride a bike you can handle. Take more breaks. Slow down. Be cognizant that it take you more time to evaluate and process traffic conditions."
For those who share the road with motorcyclists, be aware. There are more out there than ever. And that guy you hit may be somebody's grandfather.