[J9Fred]

My informal review is as follows.

MY 2004+ saddles are very comfortable for most, myself included. On extended trips I would begin to experience soreness with my butt, knees and sometimes lower back. I'm 6'4" 245lbs and 50yo.

I've read plenty over the years about the Air Hawk but never tried one myself. To be honest with you, I never liked the idea of putting a pad or anything else for that matter on a Ducati saddle. Now that I am beginning to experience more soreness on longer rides, it's either comfort or don't ride. Not riding is not an option!

This thing is fantastic! I rode 315 miles yesterday in about 5
hours with only 1 coffee break while I got gas. No soreness with any body parts. I think what was happening in the past was a snowball effect, first my butt then knees then sometimes lower back would get pretty sore after a full tank.

I don't have much padding on my butt, so decided to add to it. The result was no butt pain. This stopped the knee pain as well.

The only complaint I have so far is the cheesy straps that are used to hold the Air Hawk in place. They don't appear to be very high quality compared to the rest of the system. We'll see if they hold up.

A big benefit is that you can move the pad to another motorcycle with ease.

If comfort is important to you on longer rides, I would recommend the Air Hawk pad in a heart beat. Size medium fits the saddle pretty well. Fred

http://www.rlmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/index.cgi?cart_id=1241457536.76583&pid=3&product=AirHawk

 

[Bill_Anderson]

My son has used an Airhawk pillion pad for several years while riding two up with me. The trick is not to over-inflate the pad.

 

[jgalvin]

+1 on Airhawk, spendy but worth it, I can put on many more miles. Not perfect for the twisties but for the long open roads you can't beat it. Does put you up in the wind more.

I also use the airhawk in my office (sitting on it as I type) when I have to sit on the back side for long periods. When you can use for more than just motorcycle it is a bargin for the price.

 

[Leary Blaine]

Ymmv

I never tried my Airhawk on my '05 ST3, but I tried it on my Harley Softail Deluxe. At first, I thought I liked it, but then, on very long or multi-day rides, I found it to be worse than my previous *comfortizing* attempt: a rough-cut slab of sheepskin. So now it's sheepskin on top of the stock seat for the Harley.

I've got the Cruiser Medium (14" x 14"), which would most likely wrap down the sides of the ST3 saddle a bit. Which size do you have?

 

[StuST3]

Here is another option.

I met a BMW rider who uses this bead seat. He is an Iron Butt rider and swears by these. For $50 bucks its worth it. Keeps you cool from the hot seat. Stew


http://www.beadrider.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=19

 

[jgalvin]

For the ST they actually recommend the Large Cruiser Pilion which is 14x11. I have this size and and it fits perfect, the ST seat is more narrow than a Harley and it will keep it off the paint too.

Cheers

 

[Ducati_Don]

air hawk

+1 on the air hawk! I have one and used it on a trip from WA to Indy Moto GP last year. I too thought the straps were cheesy until the pad held in place without moving an inch the entire time! It poured rain most of the 4 days out to Indy, and the seat kept on going.

It worked great in the twisties also, just turn the micro adjuster to let out a bit of air and get the cushion exactly where you want it.

Highly recommended!

Don