How to Break in Motorcycle Boots

Two policemen on motorcycles
  • 1 hours
  • Beginner
  • 20-100
What You'll Need
Shoe stretcher
Thick socks
Leather conditioning paste
Old cloths or towels
Rubbing alcohol
What You'll Need
Shoe stretcher
Thick socks
Leather conditioning paste
Old cloths or towels
Rubbing alcohol

Motorcycle boots are an essential part of your gear and offer much more protection for your feet and ankles than regular boots or shoes. However, new motorcycle boots are stiff and almost always uncomfortable. Therefore, you will need to break the boots in as fast as possible. To that end, use this simple how-to guide to learn how to break your new boots in the shortest time possible.

Step 1 - Choose the Best Fit Possible

The most important step in breaking in new motorcycle boots is choosing the best fit possible. So, when buying motorcycle boots, be sure to try them on and walk around inside the store. Choose a pair that feels fairly comfortable before you buy them.

Step 2 - Apply Leather Conditioner

While at the boot or shoe store, buy some leather conditioner. Before you leave the store, apply the leather conditioner to the boots while you're still trying them on. Better still, begin breaking the boots in immediately and wear them home.

Step 3 - Flex and Pull

motorcycle rider in full gear

Once you arrive home, take the boots off and begin flexing and pulling the boots as much as possible. Pull the leather in every direction you can and also flex the toe and heel of the boot as much as possible. This will help to soften the leather and also help train the boots to bend and flex as you walk.

Step 4 - Wear Your New Boots Everywhere

It is important to wear your new motorcycle boots as much as possible in order to break them in quickly. So, whenever you leave the house, make sure to put on your motorcycle boots. The only way to really break in your boots is to wear them. So, wear them everywhere you go.

Step 5 - Treat with Rubbing Alcohol

While you're wearing the boots, apply some rubbing alcohol with a dry towel to the heel and bridge of the foot areas on the boot. Continue wearing the boots and don't wipe off the alcohol. The alcohol should dry rather quickly and will also help to soften the leather and make the boots more comfortable. This is an old trick that cowboys have used with hard leather boots for nearly 200 years.

Step 6 - Insert Shoe Stretcher at Night

Although wearing your boots as much as possible, treating them with leather conditioner and rubbing alcohol, and bending and flexing can help break in your boots a great deal, one of the most effective methods is to insert shoe stretchers in the boots when you're not wearing them. So, at night and when you are not wearing the motorcycle boots, insert a shoe stretcher into the boots and expand the stretcher as much as possible. This will help to stretch the boot and will also make it much more comfortable when you're riding your bike.