What is the best product to use for leather saddle bags to both clean and protect them? let me know what you guys are using.

I use damp cloth and water to clean, then snow seal, use hair dryer to heat up leather and open the pore to allow snow seal to seep in them wipe excess offf.....

Snow seal it good mink oil is better but the best is neats feet oil

I use mink oil on every piece of leather I own - chaps, boots, gloves, jacket, etc. Softens, protects and weather proofs.  The only thing about mink oil though is it softens the leather, which is great on the clothing I use it for, but may not be the best for saddle bags - could cause them to loose their shape.

I just looked at the Sno Seal (http://www.campmor.com/sno-seal-original-beeswax-waterproofing-jar.shtml) that T mentioned cause I never heard of it.  They claim it has no softening effect which may be better for things that you want to hold their shape like saddle bags and boots. Gonna get some and try it on my boots.

(Note: keep your dog out of the garage while using mink oil.  It is made from animal fat and dogs will try to eat it!)

I was caught last year in a heavy rain on the way to my honeys house,and parked it outside with my cover on for the nite in the rain.The next day the bags were soaked thru.One of the bags lost its shape,and now has this odd looking bulge to it.I did treat them with a leather product years ago,never thought I would ride thru that sort of rain or I would have treated them again sooner.Another item on my wish list a set of new leather bags !!! an ounce of prevention stops a pound of headaches

Soap and water and then bearing grease.


Peace

I treat all the leather on my bike every spring with neats foot oil,most of the leather parts are hand make so we do what we can to take care of them'

Yup, Mink Oil is excellent, I been using it for years, I buy a pot every time I am in States, best way I found to use it is to warm it gently with a hairdryer until you have a load of it soft and runny, then you use a bit or two of kitchen roll to massage it into the leather, then when leather looks all greasy and terrible I get the same hairdryer and heat up the leather and it all soaks in...I have a leather jacket and overpants (Buffalo) that are still in as good condition as when they were bought 12 years ago from Hudson Leathers in MA. but I usually get the best prices at the Expo at Lake George Village during "Americade", one vendor there makes sure she has my size in overpants and vest EVERY year...lol...I buy new ones each year, can never have too many sets of leathers...never know when I may damage one and then I know I have plenty to still use, and all 12 years of overpants and vests are treated after every summer.....

Maybe "Saddle" soap, Ha-ha-ha, I must really be bored!

You can reshpe those pretty easy.  Just soak them in a tub until they are wet all through, then stuff them with wadded up paper and form them from the outside with 1/4" plywood (or something similar) held todether with duct tape - basically make a box around them.  Let them dry naturally for a couple of days... don't try to rush it with a blow dryer.

I have 13 years and over 100,000 miles on my bags and they still look good if I reshape them once every couple of years.  Got a 15 year old leather cowboy hat that's been reshaped quite a few times too.  I actually bought a mold for it that it sits in while drying.

Another tip is not to codition your bags to often.  It may make the leather surface look a little better but alomst all conditioners also soften the leather causing them to droop.  I clean mine with Murphys oil soap and water and occassionally polish them with brown shoe polish.

Thanks for the info GOFUR !!! I would like to keep these bags,they came off my old bike and I probably have about 100,000+ miles on them. I was tempted to insert some metal rails inside,yet this sounds like a better idea.

They actually sell kits to reenforce saddle bags if they are too bad...

http://www.saddlebag-inserts.com/ />

Thanks for all the advice i will put it to good use.