IT'S a refrain commonly repeated by the people who prepare motorcyclists for the road: to die on a motorbike, it's not necessary to be either young or stupid.

An analysis of 25 years of road-toll data ahead of a parliamentary report into motorcycle safety to be tabled in State Parliament on Wednesday shows a steady decline in the number of deaths among riders under 25, and a rise in the death toll for those over 40.

Motorcyclist John Tout.

Data going back to 1987 show deaths among the younger group peaked in 1988. In that year, 36 riders aged 18 to 25 died - more than in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 combined.

In 2008, those aged 40 to 49 became the age group with the most road deaths in the state, and they have kept that position ever since.