But when officers from Liverpool Fire Brigade came to his aid, they noticed something special about his bike.

On one mudguard was a NSW Fire Brigades officer's badge.

Engraved on the engine were the names of the 343 firefighters who died in the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York.

"Straight away we realised it was an off-duty officer,'' Liverpool station officer Brad Holdsworth said. "You seem to have a special affinity with other firies.''

Mr Arthur had worked at stations all over Sydney for 35 years.

He used his long-service leave funds to buy the Harley and stuck his officer's badge on the mudguard as a mark of pride and respect for his years of service.

When he had his accident on Tuesday, October 20, all 400 kilograms of his bike landed on top of him, breaking six ribs and crushing his lungs. He was in intensive care in Liverpool Hospital for three days, and as soon as he was discharged, went to Liverpool fire station to thank the officers who ``scraped me up off the road''.

He was especially grateful for the care they took of his bike after the ambulance took him away.

"It's common knowledge that when owners of vehicles go back to the scene of the accident, they find things missing,'' Mr Holdsworth said.

"Because we established that he was an off-duty firie, we asked permission to bring the bike back to the station to look after it there.''

Mr Arthur said the last time he came off a bike was in 1985 and that he rode his bike every day.

Coincidentally, Mr Arthur had his accident on the second day of Motorcycle Awareness Week, which is held by the Motorcycle Council of NSW to promote awareness of motorcycles as road users by asking other drivers to look twice and by raising awareness among riders of their own safety.