Originally Posted by victory11

My wife's Ivory cream/ willow green Indian Vintage with brown seat and bags is a beautiful sight in a sea of black sameness. My bike is all black and it's pretty dang bland.

Originally Posted by dawg

Pics?

Originally Posted by smitty901

The Indian covered in it looks like some fell out of a baby diaper.

Originally Posted by Iron lHorse

I know most of us have more then just one black leather jacket and a few have three or more in black. And Harley seems to have been pushing the brown leather for a couple of yrs now with brown leather seats, bags , boots , and jackets . Is this because brown leather is making come back or because Indian likes to brown leather seats and bags on their bikes .

Originally Posted by FolsomPrisonBlues

"Come back"!?!? Who gives a flip about trends?!! God you posers. Did you buy a Harley just to look cool?! Wear whatever you want regardless of anything making a "come back"!?! F-ing RUBS.....

Originally Posted by son of the hounds

Brown leather has always been around. But, Polaris, in the attempt to create buzz felt it had to differentiate itself from Harley. Brown leather and tassels and valanced fenders are just some of the tools they selected. Is there anyone here who actually believes that if Indian had survived in 1953, that the motorcycle they would offer would have brown tasseled leather, fake fins, and valanced fenders.
Issues with brown leather are: matching the color, each real leather takes dyes differently. Color match is near impossible unless done from the same cow.
Fading.
Water spots and discoloration.
Matching vinyl trim, seat sides impossible and brown leather ages while vinyl is better UV protected.
It makes sense on some solo seated motorcycles where it enhances the tins.
It makes sense for a rider who just wants to be different from the sea of black so common.
But, some brown is cool and like some, I have a brown leather jacket and boots.
I do not believe it is making a comeback as many who chose it are dealing with the issues above, besides quality issues.
Also, the Indian is supposed to copy the valenced fenders of the 40's, but I never saw in real life brown leather prior to 1970 unless is was built prior to 1932-33.
When I saw the first new Polaris motorcycles named Indian, I thought their offering was cartoonish. That they had an opportunity, but did not know what to do with it.
Black leather, gets wet, looks the same. Dries, looks the same. Left in the sun, looks the same. Starts to grey, any black leather dye works to restore it. And black from China matches black from the USA or from South America. Black just works, looks good and the black pigments act to protect the leather.
But, brown works in special applications just like it did before Polaris chose to try and make it mainstream. By the way, they chose the wrong brown, they did not even look at the shade used in the '30s.