I weigh 107kg, and the front is def. too soft. It's also one of the most common complaints you hear about this bike no matter how heavy the rider.
I should really do like you did and replace with stiffer springs, Dean0.....

 

The 180 may or may not have been offered back when our bikes were new. There are many bikes currently on the market with 120/180 tires. I also switched to the 180 rear for price and tire company availability. I could not tell the difference as the 180 is only 10mm wider than the 170 (or 5mm on each side). With 5mm more tire on the side I notice things like road temperature, road moisture and oil content more than a 5mm difference.

Grimreaper, I also believe your handling problems are due to warn out tires. If you run your hand over your front tire and can feel a "V" shape rather than a "U" shape, the bike will feel heavy and you have to fight it to turn. At slower speeds the problem surfaces more than higher speeds.

Also when the rear wears you get a "|_|" shape where the tire is square at the bottom making it hard to lean the bike.

Both tires may have a lot of viable thread on them but can be absolutely shot if their shapes are altered.

 

All suggestions above are good. I have only two comments to add. First, tires can make a big difference. When I switched from Dunlops to Metzlers my bike became an ill-turning pig. It takes much more effort on the bars to make it turn. Second, my bike at least, is really sensitive to tire pressure. A loss of two pounds front or rear makes a difference. If I don't check and allow pressure to drop four or five pounds the bike has to be forced to turn. In my tool box are half a dozen tire gauges, all of which give a different reading on the same tire. Those reading vary by about three pounds top to bottom (and yes, I take into account the little pffft of air when the guage is applied).

That brings up a piece of advice given me years ago. That was to use one gauge, inflate your tires to the point that they handle the way you want, and use the pressure indicated regardless of what is recommended. Within reason of course.

One last thing: there have been threads on this forum about setting up your suspension. I believe Dad posted one of the more comprehensive. A search should provide a great deal of information. In fact, Dad's thread should perhaps be put in the 'How To' section of this forum. Moderators?

 

Agreed!

 

many thanks for all the replies to my question folks.

I initially set my rear sag to 35mm and set my tyre pressures to factory recommended 36/42 which strangely is the same settings that were recommended for my 1999 cbr600fx when I had. Methinks honda seem to just stick to this perhaps.

the more i rode the bike the happier i got with things but still there was this faint 'sit up' in corners. Incidentally tyre profile is nicely curved not pointed or flat or squared which matches up with mileage done since the tyres were changed as far as i can tell from the paperwork and receipts.

basically I have increased my preload on the rear by 2 complete turns and increased the tyre pressure on the front to 40psi so it is now 40/42 and the 'sitting up' has vanished. The beast is now balanced and i appear to have stumbled upon a setup that is ok for my size in full gear.

many thanks again for the advice. it has been invaluable.

 

Glad you got her riding better, grim....

 

Glad I could help. Now that the preload is up a bit, try going back to 36psi or so in the front. I'm guessing you'll still have good feel, but with a smoother ride. 40 is a little hard IMO.

Also, try the stuff I mentioned about raising the forks in the triples just a couple of mm.

Have fun!