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| Motorcycle Home > Leather & Vinyl Care > Motorcycle Leather Care Guide |  | Motorcycle Leather Care Guide |
|   Motorcycle leathers can really take a beating. Let’s face it, on a bike the interior is on the exterior – even the most pampered motorcycle can fall victim to wind, weather, and road conditions. That is why proper leather maintenance is not only important, it’s vital to your bike leather’s survival. A quality leather care regimen, which includes leather cleaning, conditioning and protection needs to be a standard component of motorcycle detailing.
Leather Cleaning
Cleaning motorcycle leather seats and saddlebags is crucial, the simple act of riding your motorcycle produces dirt that can become embedded in seat and saddle bag leathers. Today, modern ingredients combine with time honored detailing know-how to produce leather cleaners that not only get the job done, but enrich the leather surface and restore pliability as they clean. We have corralled the best leather cleaners available to present you with a broad spectrum of quality products. Some favorites are: Pinnacle Leather and Vinyl Cleaner - we like this one because it will lift nearly any stain you can think of. It even removes grease – without staining or streaking the leather.
Wolfgang Leather Care Cleaner is another safe, ph-balanced cleaner. The biodegradable, water-based formula safely lifts out stains without stripping essential oils.
Leather Conditioning
Conditioning your motorcycle leather not only replenishes much needed moisture and nourishment, it protects the hide from the harmful effects of wind, weather and road conditions. Remember that leather is skin, and just like our own skin it requires proper care to keep it healthy. Now, that said... there is an ever-widening array of leather conditioners available at market. Some are little more than a combination of oils... while others combine rich moisturizers, oils and even UV protectants. The latter is preferable to the motorcycle enthusiast – the former might work great for household applications – but your bike needs a lot more attention than your couch. You can count on Bike Depot to recommend only quality motorcycle products.
Over the years, our pros have tried just about everything – here is a sampling of conditioners that really work well for motorcycle applications:
Pinnacle Leather Conditioner – this stuff is like pure indulgence for your leather! The ultra-luxurious lanolin infused formula has an unheard of neutral pH of 7 – which actually matches the pH of leather itself! The long-lasting formula restores much needed moisture to parched leathers and leaves the surface supple. It costs more, but hey, it’s your baby.
Wolfgang Leather Care Conditioner is the companion product to Wolfgang Leather Care Cleaner. It penetrates and nourishes the leather with natural lanolin and mink oil to protect against drying and cracking. The finish is non-greasy and natural-looking.
Connolly Hide Care and Leatherique are two brands that are for leather restoration and deep conditioning. Use them to condition saddle bags and seats that have become weathered. These rich formulas will restore a baby soft texture to hardened leather.
303 Aerospace Protectant – quite possibly the world’s most versatile Protectant. First developed for use on aircraft, it boasts a UV blocker and actually repels dirt, dust and all oil-based stains! Use 303 on vinyl and leather.
For sheer convenience you can’t beat Lexol Leather Wipes. They’re perfect for super quick spot cleanings and follow-up conditioning. They are also easy enough to store in your saddlebags – even if you don’t want to bring the entire container along – just pop some wipes into a plastic sandwich or freezer bag. They’ll stay moist and ready to go!
The most important aspect of motorcycle leather care is consistency. Be certain to regularly clean and moisturize all of your leather components to keep them looking great for years to come!
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