The family of an experienced motorcyclist may never know what caused his brakes to lock, throwing him from his 1,000cc Yamaha racing machine at over 70mph.

Father-of-two, David Brian (57), of Avebury Gardens, Chandler's Ford, died from severe internal injuries in the accident on the B3335 Highbridge Road, between Allbrook and Colden Common, on Saturday, November 15th.

A Winchester inquest heard that Mr Brian had been taking the bike out on a first test run since rebuilding it after crashing a year earlier at a race track in Belgium.

Police found he had rebuilt the machine with "absolute precision" and experts from the manufacturers agreed.

Eyewitness, Alison Brown, told how she saw the motorcycle wobble and the rider correct it: "I was just saying thank heavens that he hadn't fallen off when the bike went in completely the wrong direction."

The machine hit her car and the rider was catapulted into the air, landing on the pavement.

"I went over to him. I was expecting him to get up. I didn't think it was that serious, I honestly believed he would stand up and walk away," she said.

In a statement which was read out at the inquest, a paramedic said resuscitation was pointless because of the "severe trauma" to Mr Brian's chest.

Crash investigator, PC Stephen Hoynes, told the hearing: "The reason for the bike falling onto its side must be to do with the locking of the brakes. Why that happened is open to debate."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner, Grahame Short, said: "The strange part of this is that the tyre marks indicate that the rear wheel locked not once but twice, so it does suggest to me that he was testing the brakes.

"It is also possible that he simply misjudged his speed and needed to reduce it for the bend."