A MAN who died after crashing his motorcycle was unused to riding the vehicle with a pillion passenger, an inquest heard.

Robert Williams, 38, of Thorntree Road, Thornaby, Teesside, died of shock and multiple injuries after he lost control of his Suzuki bike on the A66 near Stockton and collided with the central reservation.

His teenage stepson, David, who was riding pillion, survived the crash, escaping with a broken arm.

The inquest, at Middlesbrough, was told that the unemployed information technol-ogy lecturer lost control of the bike when negotiating a bend at Bowesfield, at about 8.40pm on July 16 last year.

His stepson said that Mr Williams was in the process of overtaking a car when he drifted towards the central reservation and collided with it.

He was asked by Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield why Mr Williams had failed to right the direction of the bike in order to negotiate the bend and said it may have been because he was not used to taking corners with a pillion passenger on board.

Mr Williams, who suffered from chronic back pain and was registered disabled, had bought and renovated the bike and had carried his first pillion passenger on it only days before the crash.

Police concluded that excessive speed did not play a part in the crash. The bike was generally in good condition and the road conditions were clear.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.