ALBANY -- With motorcycle registrations and rider deaths rising sharply, state police planned to stop bikers heading to and from the upcoming Americade rally in the southern Adirondacks to make sure they have decent helmets and the right licenses.

Motorcyclists in New York are required to wear helmets that meet federal Department of Transportation standards. Sgt. Jim Halvorsen said DOT stickers are easy to come by, and they won't prevent getting a ticket for a so-called "skid lid" that provides little protection.

"You may as well wear your baseball cap," Halvorsen said, holding up a black shell with little padding inside. "I've seen knit caps with the DOT label on the back."

A mandatory motorcycle checkpoint began Friday afternoon on the Adirondack Northway in Queensbury, 40 miles north of Albany, on the eve of Americade. Troopers planned another next week for southbound I-87 traffic near the close of the rally, which is expected to draw more than 50,000 riders from around the country to Lake George from Monday through Saturday.

Troopers also planned to check for unsafe tires; improper exhaust pipes, which can mean thundering unmuffled engines; and motorcycle licenses.

They planned to have a helicopter overhead, and acknowledged that while some bikes can outrace police vehicles, they can't outrun radios.

According to federal data, deaths of motorcycle operators rose to 4,493 in 2006, up almost 50 percent over four years. About 25 percent each year had either an invalid or no motorcycle license.

New York data mirror the national trend. Fatalities doubled while registrations nearly did -- from 178,000 to 307,000 -- in the decade ending in 2006, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

From 2004 to 2006, motorcycle fatalities rose 29 percent from 151 to 195, said Major William Sprague, while other traffic deaths have declined. On a bike, there are no seat belts, air bags or much else to protect you, and motorcycles are harder for other drivers to see than cars.

Helmets help, and so does leather clothing, which lets fallen riders slide for a while before they start skidding on body parts, Halvorsen said. A part-time member of the Motorcycle Unit, he stood by a state police Harley-Davidson, used only for special events now since troopers years ago stopped riding them on patrol because of several fatal accidents.

Ridership has been growing among older bikers and the over-40 group also has the greatest number of fatalities, Sgt. Daniel Larkin said.

"There are more motorcycles on the road than ever before," Larken said. "This is likely to increase with high gas prices as more people purchase motorcycles."

But upstate winters tend to take them off the road again. "It's very very difficult in this climate to operate motorcycles in the cold weather," he said.

Similar checkpoints were being staged around the state and will be done on a regular basis in the greater Albany area, Trooper Maureen Tuffey said. Police inspected more than 100 motorcycles in Cobleskill near the AmJam rally last week and wrote 123 tickets, mostly for improper helmets, she said.