HARRISBURG — Serious head injuries among Pennsylvania motorcyclists have become more common in the five years since lawmakers repealed the law mandating helmets, according to a legislative study released Wednesday.

Meanwhile, overall motorcycle crash and injury rates have fallen and the fatality rate has remained roughly constant, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee report said.

The occurrence of relatively serious head injuries among riders jumped from about six per 10,000 motorcycle registrations in the three years before the repeal to nearly nine per 10,000 registrations in the four years afterward.

The crash rate is down by nearly 15 percent, even as the number of motorcycles on Pennsylvania roads has boomed by nearly 70 percent since 2000.

State highway records show a record 225 people died in motorcycle crashes last year. There were 4,716 motorcyclists involved in crashes last year, and 57 percent of them were wearing helmets.

Sen. John Wozniak, D-Cambria, said the report results did not change his support for the loosening of Pennsylvania's helmet restrictions.