As a rider, you will go to many short and long adventurous trips and will have to go through all types of terrains. Going on regular rides through all the dust and rough countryside terrains will have your bike covered in dust and mud.
It is inevitable to owning a vehicle and not getting it dirty. Dust will eventually get caught up with your bike and you will have to clean it properly to get back that appealing aesthetic and metal shine. While motorbike riding is entertaining and healthy, riders also find it fun and pleasure to wash and fine-tune their rides.
Washing your bike can be fun and easy you can simply take a water bucket and a cloth to clean your bike without breaking a sweat. But as a bike rider it is only natural that you might own one or multiple motorcycle luggage bags to carry your belongings with you in many different places where you go with your bike.
And properly washing and maintaining your motorcycle bags is the tricky part as most of the motorcycle bags will require you to use proper cleaning methods to ensure they get cleaned properly and do not get damaged while cleaning. As many types of motorcycle bags can get damaged if you pour water directly on them and some might lose their shine and quality if you don’t use proper cleaning items to clean them.
Therefore cleaning, washing, and maintaining motorcycle bags have their own science to them. Now you do not have to be a rocket scientist to clean and maintain your motorcycle bags, our simple below mentioned tips are the only guide you will need to safely clean and maintain your motorbike bags.
Step 1: Organize a lint-free cloth
Before getting into washing and cleaning preparing for essential items like a lint-free cloth is a must. You cannot simply go about using any cloth to clean your motorcycle bags. Different motorcycle bags like motorcycle tail bags, saddlebags, tank, and trunks bags, etc. will immediately get scratches marks if you use a harsh cloth to clean them. A lint-free cloth ensures maximum cleaning with no risk of scratches. You can use any lint-free cloths but preferably you can use microfiber towels.
Step 2: Use leather-friendly products
Your motorcycle bags can be sensitive due to the materials used in their manufacturing. Using soaps, shampoos or harsh cleaning products can make your bags dry especially bags made of leather. And the dried-up leather will immediately begin to decay and fade and will lose its texture and quality. Therefore to avoid the risk, use leather friendly cleaning products and with your lint-free cloth mix the product in some water and gently apply to your bags in round circular motions, and instead of pouring water directly on your bags gently use your wet cloth to rinse off the applied residue.
Step 3: Leave to dry
After cleaning your leather-based motorbike bags with leather friendly products. It is important that you do not use these same products to clean out your bags like motorcycle tail bags. You can simply take Luke warm water wet a microfiber town and gently clean the bag and dry it with a dry towel. Now that you have cleaned your bags it is important that you leave them to dry naturally and do not speed up the drying process by using any blow drying techniques as doing so can easily damage their texture and build quality.
Step 4: Use conditioner
After cleaning, motorcycle bags tend to dry up especially leather-based bags. To maintain the cleanliness of the bags and avoiding them from getting dry it is important that you use a high-quality conditioner that will maintain the shine and texture of your motorcycle bags. Bag conditioners are available for every type of motorcycle bag depending on the material of the bag, therefore, ensure you get the right conditioner for the right material that your bag is made from to ensure safe and maximum cleaning.
Step 5: Repeat
You cannot simply clean your bags once a year and expect them to look great and be in excellent condition. Maintenance is an ongoing process, you have to take care of your bags regularly to ensure they are in good condition and well maintained.
Use the above-mentioned tips to clean and wash your motorcycle bags. Taking care of your motorcycle bags will ultimately make them last longer and prevent you from spending on buying more bags for your ride.