P72
HOW-TO
AIR FILTER MAINTENANCE
KEEP BREATHING!
E
ngines love clean air filters,
and no one likes to clean
them—it's a dirty job, but
we all have to do it if we want to
keep riding. Just like most dirty
jobs, using disposable latex or
nitrile work gloves will make the
job neater and safer for your skin.
A clean air filter is critical to
your motorcycle's health and
performance. You should never
skimp in this department because
a plugged-up air filter can seri-
ously reduce the performance
of your bike's engine. Worse, an
improperly maintained air filter
can drastically shorten the life of
the engine, sometimes suddenly
and catastrophically.
There are three types of air
filter materials commonly found
on motorcycles: foam, paper and
cotton. Foam and cotton filters
are reusable, paper filters are not.
Beginning with foam filters,
these are the type commonly
found in off-road motorcycles.
Foam filters require more frequent
maintenance due to their use in
dirtier conditions and the fact the
foam is more porous. But foam
filters are fairly simple to access,
remove, clean and re-install. In
fact, some well-designed airbox-
es require zero tools to complete
the job.
First, you must remove the
filter element (foam) and the filter
cage/frame (what the filter itself
is attached to) from the motor-
cycle/airbox. Be careful not to
contaminate the intake tract with
dirt when you do this. Then, it's
a good idea to carefully inspect,
clean, and place a rag in the air
intake boot to prevent debris
from accidently falling into the
tract. Once separated, a good
way to clean your filter is by using
solvent first, then following that
with a water and detergent bath.
Motorcycle oil/chemical compa-
nies such as Maxima, Motorex,
PJ1, TwinAir, No Toil, and Bel-Ray
all make dedicated foam air-filter
cleaning products and corre-
sponding oils, pairing these two
components ensures filters get
cleaned and oiled the best.
You can also purchase an
air filter cleaning kit, which will
include everything you need—fil-
ter cleaner (solvent), filter oil, and
even a wash bucket—to complete
the job from one of the filter
manufactures. One example is
The System air filter cleaning kit
from TwinAir.
Your air filter's
worst enemy—
dust! Conditions
don't have to be
this extreme to
clog your air filter.
PHOTO: MARK KARIYA
