Purchased an old harley jacket, the leather is dry and rough, any tricks to get it back in shape

 

Lots and lots of leather oil. If it's cracked to bad you may have to sand it. 800 grit, before you oil.

 

Leather's flexibility comes from the oil in it. Buy a bottle of Neat's Foot Oil and follow directions. You just wipe the leather with a small clean swab and let the oil soak in. From you description it may take 2-4 applications. If you like the look great. If not you will have to buy some leather dye and gloss.

 

+1 Fossil, Oil is your friend, think baseball glove

 

Mink oil is also very good for leather

 

The best stuff I've found to use on old hard and dry leather is Pecards Antique Leather Dressing. Whatever you use will need several applicastions. http://pecard.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?S...y_Code=antique

 

Before doing any oils, etc....using warm water and saddle soap, give it a couple of real good washes. Use a stiff bristled brush to wash with, then rinse a couple of times with warm water and wipe dry with a soft cloth, like a ShamPow. Let it dry completely in the sun(if possible), then while still warm, rub bees' wax into the leather. I find oils are just that...oily (including Mink Oil). I also never use anything with silicone in it. Let the wax soak in as much as possible. Spend some extra time on all the stitching. After it has soaked in, wipe any excess off with a soft cloth. Don't leave any excess, otherwise you will just get a bunch of dust and stuff sticking to your jacket.
Your old leather jacket should now look like new.

 

All oils stated above are good choices. I prefer mink oil. Saddle soap would be a good choice to clean and soften up the leather before you oil it up.

 

saddle soap is a miracle worker... my dad used shaving cream back in the old days... haha

 

Saddle soap and then mink oil.