MYSTERY still surrounds the death of an experienced motorcyclist, an inquest heard.

Darrell Mark Wood, 48, was riding a Kawasaki ZX100 motorbike towards Market Weighton on the A163 when he was in a collision with a BMW 520i heading in the opposite direction.

Investigations showed Mr Wood’s bike was not travelling at an excessive speed immediately before the crash, but marks at the scene suggested severe braking of the front wheel caused him to be thrown from the bike.

Enid Roberts, a passenger in the BMW, said Mr Wood’s position on his bike seemed unusual.

She said: “There was something very obviously wrong as soon as we saw him. I was aware that he was in trouble and he wasn’t in the right position on his bike he was higher up than I would have expected him to be.

“The bike seemed to be wobbling and it’s very difficult to picture now but he seemed to have an arm and leg sort of waving around and he was starting to come across the road.”

Cyril Roberts, who was driving the BMW, told the inquest he had slowed and pulled on to the kerb to try to avoid Mr Wood.

He said: “He seemed almost to stand up on the bike at one point. There was something amiss either with him or his bike, there’s no doubt about that in my mind.”

Jonathan Hardacre, who was riding with Mr Wood, said his friend was a very competent rider, and was very familiar with the route. He said Mr Wood may have been stretching his leg when Mr and Mrs Roberts saw him, and he “expected to see Darrell stand up” after he heard the crash.

Despite the efforts of a retired paramedic and members of the public, Mr Wood, from Holme-on-Spalding Moor, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Geoff Fell, assistant coroner, said: “Darrell had everything going for him – a new bike, a lot of experience – and it all went wrong.

“What nobody knows is why Darrell decided to apply severe braking on the front wheel. It may be that he saw something that nobody else saw. It is not uncommon with motorcyclists in particular when a bird has flown in front of them.”

Mr Fell found Mr Wood’s death, on August 8, last year, to be an accident.