Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: Motorcycle safety rating, displacement problem, italian bikes

Question
I recently nearly lost a foot in an accident where I lost control of my Italica Tornado 250 in a slow u-turn. I had had control problems similar to this before in similar situations but none with such severe results.  My question basically is, are there safety ratings available which rate this bike and is there a displacement problem with the bike as it now appears to me to be very top heavy? I once had a Yamaha 650 Special that I could control at walking speed so my control problem with the Italica Tornado 250 surprises me.

Sincerely,

Gary Brownstein

Answer
Hello Gary. Sorry to hear about your accident, I hope you can still manage with all that you want. I too had a major accident many years ago and damaged my spine. I have to be careful about how bikes are balanced at low speed and at rest.
With regard to your question, unfortunately, as far as I am aware their are no safety ratings available for motorcycles with regard to centre of gravity which is what your problem seems to be. Also, their are no safety ratings such as ncap (National Car Assessment Programme) that we have for cars. Although some manufacturers such as Honda with the new Goldwing are taking extra measures with airbags, others do not seem to be quite as fast to take the lead.
In general, I have found that the Japanese and British bikes tend to have lower slung engines which lowers the centre of gravity, helping low speed maneuverability although the "Chopper" and "Custom" bikes have lower centres of gravity too. Italian bikes, Ducati, Laverda etc always seem to have high mounted engines which makes low speed handling hard work but helps with the straight line top speed.
I would look at the engine position on any future machine and if possible, go for an in line or lateral engine (Like the BMW's)instead of a V layout. The low speed handling seems to be far better, after all, the U.K. Police use Hondas and BMW's and have done for years, that should say something.
When you're buying a new machine, new or used, make sure you can sit on it off the stand and "get a feel" for the balance.
I hope this helps.