Owning a leather motorcycle saddlebag means you need to invest your time so you can take care of it. You don’t want to leave your saddlebag hanging with your motorcycle every time you leave your house. The main reason behind this is that you need to remove your saddlebags, dust them, clean them, and then remove the stains.
Apart from overall care, harsh weather conditions can be very damaging for the saddlebags, and this is the reason it is advised that everyone must take care of their saddle bag and only use it when required. For basic saddlebag care, you need to hang your saddlebags only when you need them; otherwise, you must store them in a cool and dry place. Most of the time, we either end up washing the bags, or we smother them with oil or polish that clogs the pores on the leather.
As a result of this, the overall leather becomes damaged, and it will lose the shine as well. Another crucial reason we see the leather losing the shine is when we use industrial cleaning products; these products are damaging, and the effect not only the upper layer of weather but also the thin shiny layer that makes a leather attractive. If you have stains on yourmotorcycle saddlebags, you must clean them before the stain gets old, and for this reason, using an industrial chemical can be very damaging. Start with the basic cleaning, and then you can move to thorough cleaning as well.
Note: Here are some motorcycle riding tips to follow to cover the maximum distance in a single run.
Mud Stains
For the mud stains, you can dust up the whole saddlebag and then use a damp cloth and gently press it on the mud. If the mud stains are dry, you need to let the damp cloth make the mud soft so you can rub it off. This usually takes a few minutes, and then you can use a clean and dry cloth to remove everything else. Most of the time, mud stains are very easy to remove; however, people don’t take mud stains seriously, and they end up either rubbing the mud particles into the surface of leather, or they use harsh chemicals that ruin the upper surface. All these things must be taken care of because without proper removal of mud, yourmotorcycle saddlebags will age very quickly, and you will be left with old and saggy leather bags.
Oil and Grease Stains
If you have oil stains on your leather saddlebags, you need to ditch the traditional detergent or soap mix that you find in the market and stick to something that will help in soaking up the oil. In most cases, people try to rub it off, and in the rubbing process, oil gets soaked into the leather pores. You need to sprinkle some talcum powder or corn starch, and by the end of it, you don’t have to wipe it off; instead, you need to leave the powder overnight. The talcum powder or the corn starch will soak up all the oil, and you will be left behind with a clean surface. However, if it is not cleaned properly, you are free to repeat the process until you find it satisfactory. After you are done cleaning, make sure you clean the whole surface with a damp and then a dry cloth to remove every bit of dust and oil left on the surface.
Ink Stains
Ink stains can be removed by using vinegar and water in most cases; however, if it is permanent ink, you will need something stronger than vinegar. Vinegar is soluble in water whereas, the ink is permanent, which means you need something that can dissolve the ink. In this situation, simple acetone or nail polish remover will work wonders. You can drop a few drops on the surface, and once the surface has soaked up the acetone, the ink will be dissolved, and everything will be as clean as new. One thing that must be taken care of while using the alcohol base cleaners is that it can make the surface of the leather very dull, and you will not be able to retain the shiny leather that we all love. For this reason, use a polish once you are done cleaning the saddlebags, and this will save you a lot of hassle.
