Supersport motorcycles lead the pack in death rates and claims costs

Supersport motorcycles have the highest death rates and worst overall insurance losses among all types of motorcycles, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports. Supersports are built on racing platforms but modified for the highway and sold to consumers, an IIHS statement explains.In an institute analysis of deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles, supersport drivers had a death rate of 22.6 in 2000 and 22.5 in 2005 compared to a combined death rate for cruisers and standard motorcycles of 5.6 in 2000 and 5.7 in 2005, the IIHS reports. Speeding and driver error were bigger factors in fatal crashes of supersport and sport and unclad sport bikes, compared with other classes of motorcycles, the institute notes.The hefty-horsepower, lightweight vehicles also pose major bearings on insured losses with the highest overall collision coverage losses among 2002-06 model bikes almost four times higher than losses for touring motorcycles and more than 6 times higher than cruisers, an analyses by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows. Supersports had a claim frequency of 9 claims per 100 insured vehicle years, compared with a frequency of 2.3 for all 2002-06 models.These bikes own the field when it comes to elevated death rates and collision losses, Kim Hazelbaker, HLDI senior vice president, said in a statement.We found a strong correlation between motorcycle class and insurance losses, with supersports showing up time and time again as having far higher losses than other types of motorcycles.