Breaking in new leathers

I'm hoping to draw on the collective few thousand years experience of all you fine motorcycling chaps and chapesses here...

I while back I bought some new road riding, two piece, zip together leathers, good quality stuff from Crowtree in UK.

Trouble is, they are SO new, and stiff, and, well, new!

I'm in a 'catch 22'... Because they're so stiff, I tend to wear my old stuff (comfy, but no protection ) or my race leathers (protective, but make me look a bit of a prick ) so my new ones are never gonna get broke in :roll: !

So, to the point; are there any products available that anyone can recommend for softening / breaking in new leathers?

I highly recommend http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbin. This leather conditioner "heats" the leather making it softer and works great to break it in. Treat the piece, then wear it a couple of time.

neda said:

I highly recommend http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbin. This leather conditioner "heats" the leather making it softer and works great to break it in. Treat the piece, then wear it a couple of time.

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Thanks for that Neda, but won't it make the jacket kinda 'greasy' ?

I was hoping to avoid re-living the 'greaser' element of my oft misspent youth. I think throwing Lambretta's into the river would put my back out these days!

I have never noticed it being greasy. You can wipe the excess off with a rag if needed, but the wax works itself into the leather like most conditioners. Granted conditioned leather has a sheen to it, which I have always considered it an added bonus, it makes bug removal easier :mrgreen:

Put the leathers on and take a shower, then go for a ride to dry them off.

Wear 'em around the house, to church, grocery store, and when working in the shop.

Jump in a lake then walk home 2 miles, in your boots, too.

They'll be broken in in less than a week.

I had a similar problem when I got a zip up suit from Lewis Leathers (remember them?) Gave them the dubbin treatment and wore them a lot, but not to bed!! They were beautiful and supple within a week or two.
cheers
wakeup

Age old process kids with baseball gloves do, or cowboy boots on the Tight Side, wet and wear to conform fit then dry [best if worn for most of the drying/motion, then grease with your choice of nature buttery substances to point leaves and feathers and dust and grit stick to it w/o wiping off and leave it that way till some weeks later its deeply absorbed and the crap falls off all by itself leaving supple toughened from fitting free protection. I ran out regular leather grease so reached into my possibles bag for the black powder Gun Butter bullet patch lube. i set my leathers out in summer sun till hard to handle hot so the grease turns to melted butter and flows in every where helped by rubbing. Off course more to avoid the NYC dandy appearance us southerns would wallow around in a mud hole then wipe off rolling in grass/weeds. Treat your saddle now and then too. Leather/saddle soap works about as well for the more civilized approach.

Just wear them, they will take sometime to wear in but the more you wear them the quicker it will fit perfect and as you already know old leathers fit like a glove but they do wear out from use or we out grow them as we get older.

Ashley

If ya really care then best to chew on the leather like cavemen or now a days hair drier heat the leather in sections and massage and rub in - thinner or thicker oil or wax type conditioner, rag off excess then wear for both preservation and water repelling plus better final form fitting once the oil drys up some and leather fibers take a new set. Hope ya keep em pretty a long time.

Thanks chaps,

I've gone with the oiling and wearing approach, but I'm hoping to. Avoid the soaking bit!

Bought some stuff, given everything one coat, its not the weather to put outside and soak up the heat here in UK at present, so I'm wearing them in the workshop when working on the bike and hanging them next to the hot water tank over night to 'soak in'.

Will repeat the oil - wear - soak process a few times and see how it goes.

And yes Steve, I hope to have and wear them for a long time too!

Don’t quote me, but I remember hearing somewhere that you could put the leathers in a low heat tumble drier………..like I said, Don’t quote me :!: :shock:

I was raised on a farm, and back then, we took both our new jeans and new leathers and threw them in the horse corral. Let the horses walk, stomp and roll on them a couple of days! Mind, don't throw them in a stall with all the bedding and manure, just the pasture or corral... Heck, where do you think the leathers came from in the first place!?! :shock:

I grease my jacket in winter sometimes and just hang it up so oil/grease/wax/soap soaks in by capillary action over some weeks. I ran out of proper leather treatment stuff a few years ago and noticed jacket drying out, especially on crash impact areas, elbows, shoulders, mid back and waist band and zipper front, so popped lid on Bag Balm, aka Utter Balm to slather on as thick and sticky yuky as cosmoline metal packing gunk. Leaves and small sticks and pet fur stopped adhereing after a few weeks, thankgoodness. Like oiled thread, it toughens up for abrasive a got bit I've found, so my hard hit 15 yr old jacket ready for more ughly scars and ground in grime. Wes is telling me to get ready for the nice days coming so better re seal jacket after this treads reminder.




The white areas on black helmet are not from flash reflections but gel coat removal the hard ways. Jacket Graveling floats off after re-greasing.

SquareHead said:

I was raised on a farm, and back then, we took both our new jeans and new leathers and threw them in the horse corral. Let the horses walk, stomp and roll on them a couple of days! Mind, don't throw them in a stall with all the bedding and manure, just the pasture or corral... Heck, where do you think the leathers came from in the first place!?! :shock:

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It’s not horsehide, surely :?: :shock: