Keith Fellenstein hadn’t been on a motorcycle for 10 years, until he received an old 1964 Triumph last year from his father-in-law.

Fellenstein, a Lawrence resident, fixed up the bike, then rode it downtown to a coffee shop — using only back streets.

“I will pretty much not ride in traffic,” Fellenstein, 48, said last week.

Fellenstein is part of a growing number of baby boomers who are getting back on motorcycles. But he may be unusual in his caution; a new study shows a dramatic upswing in the number of motorcycle deaths among older riders during the past decade.

Across the country, the annual number of motorcycle fatalities among 40-plus riders tripled during the past decade to 1,674 in 2003, while deaths among riders under 30 dropped slightly to 1,161, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to NHTSA, the average age of motorcyclists killed in accidents rose from 32 in 1994 to 38 in 2003.

A spokesman for the Kansas Department of Transportation said his department did not have similar statistics for Kansas readily available.

But one local motorcycle enthusiast said the machines have become so powerful that riders of any age could have problems.

“You could buy way more motorcycle than you’re qualified to operate,” said John Fike, owner of John’s ATV and Cycle, a repair shop in North Lawrence. “It’s a bad deal. The children buy them, I call them organ donors.”

John Fike, owner of John's ATV and Cycle, 790 N. Second St., works in his shop Friday afternoon. Fike still races motorcycles on tracks but mostly avoids riding in traffic. A new study shows a dramatic upswing in the number of motorcycle deaths among riders over the age of 40 during the past decade.

Safety experts suspect older riders with a lot of disposable income also are buying more machine than their aging, out-of-practice bodies can handle.

“From a career standpoint, they have a little extra time and a little extra disposable income. The kids have grown up, so they’re looking for hobbies,” said Rae Tyson, an NHTSA spokesman who specializes in motorcycle safety.

That doesn’t surprise Fike. He said more of his customers have gray hair.

“Old people are dragging their motorcycles out and getting them fixed to ride them again,” said Fike. “They’ve got their kids out of their hair.”

Fike, 60, races motorcycles on flat tracks and ovals. But he mostly stays away from riding in traffic.

“It’s fun, I’ve been doing it for years,” he said. “I enjoy it, have a good time.”

Many of the older riders don’t have Fike’s experience. Safety experts say many are either returning to motorcycling after many years or are trying it for the first time.

“They haven’t ridden in 20 or 30 years, so their skills are rusty. Motorcycles have changed, and they’re getting bigger motorcycles. And they’re getting on without a refresher course,” said Cathy Rimm, program director for Motorcycle Rider Education of Maine, a nonprofit organization that offers safety training.

Finally, safety officials point out that older riders’ eyesight and reflexes are not what they once were.

Three dimensions

Fike enjoys having older customers.

“The price doesn’t bother them,” he said. “That’s the best part.”

But he said he doesn’t warn them about getting back on a motorcycle after time off the road.

“I don’t insult anybody,” Fike said. “I still race, and I’m 60.”

Fellenstein, meanwhile, says he’s cautious. But traveling without the safety of a car wrapped around him is part of the appeal of motorcycling.

“The way it reacts, because your whole body is involved in steering and positioning it, you get a three-dimensional feel to the movement,” he said.

Fellenstein broke his arm and got a concussion from a motorcycle accident in 1980.

It wasn’t enough to keep him off a motorcycle.

“It’s one of those things you either get or you don’t,” he said. “There’s something seductive about it, I can’t explain it. Once you’ve ridden, you don’t want to stop.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.