Looking at production bikes, you could be forgiven for thinking there's not much real innovation going on in the motorcycle world. And when you see the bizarre and creative and wonderful things custom builders are doing ... well, you get a sense for why manufacturers tend to play it safe.

The Intermot motorcycle expo in Cologne, Germany, showcased just about every production motorcycle on the planet, and was a fascinating overview of the industry as a whole. But deep in the bowels of Hall 10, competitors were assembled for the 2018 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, sponsored by Avon tires. Judged by peer review – the competitors, as experts in custom building, judge the workmanship and creativity of each others' bikes for the final score – theMIDDLE-aged men from disadvantaged backgrounds are 10 times more likely to die by suicide because they have lost their masculine pride and identity, a study found.

The report, commissioned by helpline charity Samaritans, explored the reasons for suicide beyond mental health problems in men aged in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

Some 525 people died from suicide in Ireland last year, up from 486 in 2010, with men accounting for 84%.

The Men and Suicide report revealed men compare themselves against a "gold standard" which measures power, control and invincibility.

And if they feel they are not meeting this standard, which is set from a previous working class generation, they feel a sense of shame, which can lead to suicidal thoughts.

Brendan Kennelly, a lecturer from NUI Galway who took part in the