FINISHED PRODUCT

IN PROGRESS & BEFORE

James’ old school fiberglass Wixom saddlebags original straps were worse for wear to say the least. One still worked, sort of… and the other one was completely obliterated. He asked if I’d make some leather straps and hardware to replace them with. I was charged with removing old rivets from brittle 70s fiberglass. Stressful to say the least!

I had these really cool vintage art deco buckles that I thought would be perfect on the old MotoGuzzi. They had just enough patina that they’d go really well with the nice, but old, motorcycle. In the photo above you can see all the separate pieces laid out before the dying and finishing process.

After all the rivets were set and I screwed the teensy weensy hardware into the saddlebags, I pulled hard on the strap through the bracket to test it’s strength before calling it finished and SNAP- the beautiful old buckle broke. Well… better with me than with the customer! That’s why I put everything through the paces before I call it done.

I replaced them with nickel plated double sided saddle-type buckles, but not until giving them a gentle brushed metal finish.