Nigel Bedford, 44, of Halfpenny Lane, Featherstone, was killed when his 500cc Honda bike hit an oncoming car on Methley Lane during the rush hour on December 17 last year.

An inquest in Leeds heard the divorced father-of-two, who had only recently renewed his interest in motorbikes, misjudged the oncoming traffic when he overtook a queue of cars while on his way home from work in Hunslet, Leeds.

Witness Shane Murphy, a top floor passenger on a bus from Leeds to Castleford, told the inquest that the motorbike “seemed to be travelling too fast for the situation”.

Mr Bedford’s brother Philip said his brother’s early riding career had been on 125cc bikes but he had recently bought a more powerful machine.

The court heard Mr Bedford was a “safe and competent” rider but his brother through the newer model was “too powerful” for him.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner David Hinchliff said: “[Mr Bedford’s] view might have been ‘I can overtake the lot’. I am not suggesting it was an ideal manoeuvre but it could have been done provided the road ahead was clear.”