[vintage]

Going to dye my bags soon. Trying to decide on which dye to use. After reading about the problems many have had with the factory dye, I have decided to go a different route. Looks like most of the Vintage owners are happy with the Dye from the dealer in Charlotte or the feibing Saddle tan. Any one have pics on either one. Thank you in advance

 

[webmost]

Isn't this dye prob a warranty thing? So why do you have to fix it yourself?

 

[vintage]

Great Question. Indians position on this warranty problem is to send us a do it yourself dye kit. I know, kind of lame. On top of that the kit does not seem to be performing to well. Some Vintage owner have been using different dye products that seem to work better than the Indian product. I'm just trying to find the dye that will give me the closest match to how the leather looked when it was new. I guess they call it a labor of love, but I'm just trying to preserve the look that made me originally want to buy the bike. From what I hear the problem has been solved on the 2015s. But that doesn't do us 2014 owners any good.

 

[Big Daddy]

Hey Vintage-

I'm certainly no leather expert.
What I know I have learned from reading forums since my leather began to fade.

Speaking of which....
I read on a forum that the new Indian "fix" is a water based dye.
The poster figured out that it was water based to comply with EPA regulations in California! he ha ha....
I don't know if that is true or not...but it does sound about right. lol

 

[mncp8r]

Going to dye my bags soon. Trying to decide on which dye to use. After reading about the problems many have had with the factory dye, I have decided to go a different route. Looks like most of the Vintage owners are happy with the Dye from the dealer in Charlotte or the feibing Saddle tan. Any one have pics on either one. Thank you in advance

Here you go - I used the cleaner, then Fiebings Professional Oil Dye Saddle Tan, followed by the sealer and finally 303 Aerospace Protectant. I applied 3 coats of the dye to get to this color so you could go lighter if you wanted to. If you have any questions please let me know.

 

[Big Daddy]

Man that is a beautiful motorcycle.
Great work.

 

[armyvoyager]

Fantastic job there

 

[Southerndude]

Here you go - I used the cleaner, then Fiebings Professional Oil Dye Saddle Tan, followed by the sealer and finally 303 Aerospace Protectant. I applied 3 coats of the dye to get to this color so you could go lighter if you wanted to. If you have any questions please let me know.

Beautiful Vintage! I see you have turned it into a solo rider, I can't tell from the picture, but did you remove your passenger pegs? If so, what did you use to cover the holes? That seat looks really nice is it slippery at all?

 

[mncp8r]

Thank you BD, armyvoyager, and Southerndude. BD gets full credit for the leather color. I followed his lead with the Fiebings after he posted here.

Yes I did remove the passenger pegs and used a nice product from Aeromach to fill the holes. They come in chrome or black depending on if you want them noticed or not. I went for the black hoping they'd visually " disappear". Seems to work well. The product isn't cheap but it is well made (metal not plastic) that fits very snugly.

The leather isn't slick. Sun caught the saddle just right there I guess. Here's a shot of full solo (still trying to figure out if I like that chrome rack):

 

[Big Daddy]

Well it really came together beautifully.

I'm with ya on the solo rack too....It is a beautiful piece....but that fender just looks so good naked.

 

[Vintage Harry]

Big Daddy, my dealer Indian Pompano Beach is using their own "blend" and it ain't the kit from Polaris. I had scratches starting to show on the top of my bags once they started to fade (weeks) they already re dyed the top of my bags using this blend. Once I receive my coupon for dye kit they will do the entire bike, seat etc..... It's a deeper coloring with a bit more reddish brown but Jr. in service tells me that will fade down after a bit of time and washings. TBD. Did you see the leather on the 2015's yet? Not the same I assure you, very little character to them.

 

[Big Daddy]

No Harry, I haven't seen the 2015's yet but I'm hearing the same thing.
One poster described the leather as "perfect with no flaws" like an NFL football.

I don't know, this whole leather thing has been crazy.
The rapid fade was a curve ball that no one expected.
Now response to the "Indian Fix" is somewhat short of overall acceptance.

I can sure understand.
I was shitting peach pits when it came time to dye my stuff.
Ya know the factory has a list price on just the saddlebags at $2,500.00.
That's a pretty expensive science experiment. lol

I can remember like it was yester-say....
Standing there for twenty minutes with the dikes in my hand.
The very first factory wiring harness that I cut into.
I was a young kid and I wanted to build choppers.
No guts, no glory.

I guess what I'm saying is that this morning I stand here with a foot in both camps.
I understand guys wanting the factory to do more on this issue.
But I'm not going to ride around shabby either.
I stood there for a long time with that dye soaked sponge in my hand.

Now I don't know for certain but I'm pretty sure that Indian Pompano Beach does not have a chemistry lab out back.
They probably re-packaged a dye that they got from someplace...It might very well be the Fiebing's dye...who knows?

I do know one thing....These forums are a great tool.
Everything I have learned about this process, I learned from reading what other Vintage owners had already done.
I'm just guilty of passing it along.

So, I'm a couple of months into my new dye job and it is holding up well...very well.
You have seen some of the other guys handy work and they have all turned out great.
I've moved the fading leather problem to the Resolved Status.

 

[Vintage Harry]

As soon as I get my coupon for the kit mine will be checked off the list as well. Point is the 2014's got a great distressed look and weak dye. The 15's got uniform dye but no character to the leather at all, yet. I use the word yet because over time I would expect the 15's to "break in" nicely if no other mistakes were made.

 

[vintage]

Thanks for the pic mncp8r. Dye job looks great.
Anyone have pics on the dye from Charlotte Indian or Pompano Beach Indian. Heard it has a little more red and brown in it. Thank you in advance

 

[Sgtrock007]

The sealer you used did that also come from Fiebings? Or did you get it from somewhere else?
Thanks

 

[Southerndude]

Thank you BD, armyvoyager, and Southerndude. BD gets full credit for the leather color. I followed his lead with the Fiebings after he posted here.

Yes I did remove the passenger pegs and used a nice product from Aeromach to fill the holes. They come in chrome or black depending on if you want them noticed or not. I went for the black hoping they'd visually " disappear". Seems to work well. The product isn't cheap but it is well made (metal not plastic) that fits very snugly.

The leather isn't slick. Sun caught the saddle just right there I guess. Here's a shot of full solo (still trying to figure out if I like that chrome rack):

Do you know what aeromach calls those hole caps?

 

[msreyno]

Here are the Fiebings products I used which were recommended by a Tandy Leather employee here in Houston. A post by Big Daddy got me going down this road. I used one coat of dye and three coats of the protectant. The glaze was used to prepare the leather for dying. If you go this route buy two bottles of the protectant as it doesn't go as far as the other glaze and dye.

 

[KenB]

Because I wanted to avoid any possible issue with my warranty, I have towed the line when it comes to exactly how I care for my leather.

My leather faded like a lot of other people's Vintages. I informed my dealer and when I didn't get a response I opened a case with Indian Customer Service. I got the dye kit like everyone else, and I used it to dye my leather.

Initially my bike looked fantastic - just like new. With Indian's claim that the fade resistance would be 10X that of the stock finish, I was feeling good. Then I took a ride up north, and within 2 DAYS my leather faded, and I can already see the signs of zombie skin re-emerging.

So I opened a case with Indian Customer Service again. I also contacted my dealer and they photographed my leather and entered a warranty claim. Eventually I got a call from Kayleen at Indian Customer Service and was told that Indian isn't going to do a damn thing to fix or replace their defective leather, and anything from here on out is on my dime.

Indian Customer Service still owes me another call back to answer questions regarding their tanning process and the type of leather that I have been told will affect my re-dying process. Once that happens I'll do a secondary re-dye and hope for the best. If that process turns out bad, I'll have to invest more than $2000 and replace all my leather with quality products - which Indian should have used on their bikes in the first place.

 

[KenB]

update:
I just got a call from Kayleen at Indian Customer Service. They are going to swap out my brown leather for black leather at no cost to me. I trade in my old and I get new black leather... tank bib, seats, rider backrest, passenger backrest, and saddlebags.
This is truly a class act in my view.

 

[Vintage Harry]

I will soon. Next few weeks. The tops of my bags were done already more like a deep caramel.