Keep your leather riding gear in ship shape

You must have spent a bomb buying these and now don't know how to keep these spic and span? Here's help!

As riders we always promote safety and safe riding. While safe riding is very imporant, wearing the right protective gear while riding is a different story.

Wearing the right gear consists of the whole nine yards: riding boots, jacket, pants, helmets, gloves etc. Apart from your bike that's already a heavy investment; your motorcycle leather gear is also heavy duty investment. It's necessary to take as good care of your leather gear for longer utility, as you do of your motorcycle.

What's surprising is people don't often realise that maintaining and cleaning your leather gear on a regular basis is also necessary. The right cleaning method will ensure that your gear will last you a long time and the best part is that it will also keep you dried in a torrent of heavy rains, if it's been oiled. Yes people, you heard it right. The product you use will fill the pores in the leather, hence preventing water from seeping into it.

Daily maintenance

Any guesses on what works best for cleaning your leather goods nearly on a daily basis? It's baby wipes guys, plain and simple. But the catch is you ensure you buy scent free wipes or you'll end up riding a macho bike with a baby whiff trailing behind you!

Coming back you invest in good leather and once you put it on, it becomes like your second skin. Just as your skin needs its daily dose of cleaning and moisturising, your leather needs it too or you will certainly end up with rough and cracked leather over a period of time.

All you need to do is to vigorously wipe your leather goods with those baby wipes whenever they have gotten dirty or wet after a ride or maybe when you feel it's time for a scrub. With the passing of time, riders usually develop that knack to know when it's time to scrub heir leathers.

For more in depth cleaning of your leather, these are the best methods you can follow.

Step 1

Most of your gear takes a beating when you are on a long road trip; whether it's a hilly region or a monsoon ride. All you need to clean it is a bucket of warm water, some mild soap in it and a wash cloth. Sit in a place where you can nicely give a wash/scrub to your leather.

And then just hang it up to dry on the clothes line and it's important to let it dry naturally without exposing it to heat. Make sure you avoid using any dish washing soap or a hard detergent.

Step 2

Once your leathers dry out, you need to use good quality leather conditioner or moisturiser to it. Sit on the floor with your leather essentials on your lap, take some of your preferred product on your hands and start rubbing it across. Start with the smaller areas and then move on to bigger patches. Make sure you use your hands to do the necessary scrubbing. Try and give the product a good firm massage on to your leather. But don't go over board or you might end up clogging the pores of your leather which will then block any air from entering.

Once done, your leather might feel greasy. What you need to do is put it up on a hanger and let the product be absorbed. Ensure you put it separately from other clothing so it doesn't stain them. Let it be overnight and come morning, you will have a strong piece of leather that looks so much better and will likely keep you dry in the rains.

There are definitely no drawbacks to following this routine. So get up and grab that precious leather gear and make them stronger and suppler.

Photographs: Indian Motorcycle