G'day Steve - I hope you don't mind a piece of advice about seat height and leg length...
I used to be a Ridersafe instructor here in South Oz and we would get a regular stream of older riders who were finally getting legal, but having ridden for years they were very set in their habits. One of the noticeable bad habits was a tendency to put both feet down when coming to a stop.
Now, the first thing this does is take the rear brake out of play - not a good thing as you lose at least 30% of your braking effort, maybe more if you have a Honda with linked brakes. It also makes the bike difficult to control if you are stopped on a slope, because you are relying on trying to control the throttle and front brake at the same time with the one hand - it just ain't gonna work...
But the other thing it does is it effectively shortens your legs, because you are trying to get both feet on the ground - spreading your hips across the seat, which gives you shorter legs. It also means that with the bike dead upright, it is in its tallest position.
If you stop with just your left leg on the ground, the bike has to lean over, which shortens the vertical distance from the seat to the ground. It also enables you to shift your backside slightly so you're not trying to spread your legs across the seat. You are forming the most stable structure known to man - a tripod - between the wheels and your foot.
I am over 6' tall, but struggle getting both feet down on the ST - but the left foot down only stance is very comfortable for me. It has the added benefit of enabling full control of the bike when stopped, by using the rear brake. And you know what? It costs nothing!
As others have said, don't drop the front through the forks - it changes the steering geometry and could make the bike unstable. Softening the rear suspension will mean you will bottom out more (especially two up) again leading to instability, especially if you fit a bump mid-corner.
Chatty
