Cleaning K&N

[t121anf]

My bike has a K&N air filter.

I don't do masses of miles lately approx. 4K a year (terrible I know...), K&N say to clean every 50k, is it worth cleaning annually?

Bikes nowhere near 50k let alone 50k with the K&N in.

[RhynoCZ]

Well, yes and no. K&N filters are actually not that good at filtering, so if your K&N filter gets dirty, worse stuff already got through your engine.

But on the serious note, visual check should tell you if it's in need of cleaning. They say 50k (miles?), that is a lot. 5k would be expected, but 50k? I'd just toss it into bin and buy a OEM filter as the K&N gives you no benefit.

EDIT: As you talk about cleaning, I get it it's a foam filter. You should lube the filter, after the cleaning. But you might already know that.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[t121anf]

Yeah know about oiling, I'd be using a proper kit.

[RhynoCZ]

I wouldn't bother, if you don't ride it offroad.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Hahadumball]

if you dont ride off-road or dusty paths then leave it itll be fine.
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[chris-red]

If you have it appart that far it can't hurt. I used to just blow mine out with a compressor, but as it was about 60k old, I invested in the K&N cleaning kit and refreshed it.
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[Jmh600]

I clean mine yearly as a part of the service. It's not a labour intensive job, so you might as well. Spray the power clean on, leave 10 mins, rinse with hot hot water, leave dry in airing cupboard, re oil, refit. Easy . Don't use too much oil though.

Every time I clean mine it shocks me the amount of crap that comes out, and how good they look once re oiled, hence the yearly clean

Joe
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Jmhmotorcycles

[haroman666]

I too clean mine as part of every service.

The cleaning/oiling kit costs the same as an Indian meal for 2.

Cleaner sprayed all over, leave to soak, clean through with hosepipe backwards through the filter.
Shake it and leave to dry while I do the rest of the service.
Shake it some more and then oil it.

Lovely jubbly, bob's your uncle. Job's a good'n'.
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The mistresses: 2000 Honda CBR600f, 2000 Honda VTR1000

[Fizzer Thou]

[RhynoCZ]

I'm not telling you the K&N filters don't work, I'm just telling you, that the hype is stronger than the performance. And the only task of a air filter is to filter air.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Matt B]

[t121anf]

Good / Bad, meh.....

It's in the bike already and staying put, it will however be cleaned as I've bought the cleaning kit (was on sale at Euro Car Parts of all places)

[Pigeon]

[chris-red]

[Pigeon]

[Matt B]

[yen_powell]

I fitted one to my 2nd Africa Twin at 54,000 miles and used it till the bike was retired at 130,000 miles.

Then I bought a 3rd Africa Twin and put the same filter into that and it did a further 65,000 miles in that one before the generator went and that bike was retired (the bike was showing 100k by then).

I used to clean it every 25k, only because I would have the tank off anyway as that was spark plug change and tappet checking time and it seemed silly not to.

I will be getting one for my current Versys at some point.
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[stevo as b4]

K&N do better at the clamp on and aftermarket filter market than simply as replacement panel filters. I don't think anyone disputes the fact they don't filter as well as paper, or that if not oiled correctly they let in even more crap. Some sponge filters don't really filter that well either especially when not oiled correctly.

K&N were one of the first aftermarket filter firms to understand that simply binning an airbox does not give the best results. They also pioneered the use of in built velocity stacks and ram tubes built into the filter Base plate, which did more for airflow than any filter medium change.


I'm not saying K&N's are perfect, best value, or that they ladt forever, and I'd also be happy to use rival pleated cotton filters too. In fact I'm going to replace the tatty pipercross cone on my car with a really big Green cotton filter behind the bumper as it will match the colour of the car and that's the only reason.

[Pigeon]

I replaced the standard filter in my SV with a K&N. It's not a panel, but the box type that sits in the top of the airbox, with air coming in from above the fuel tank.

Noticed nothing in terms of power, or rev fluidity (zero flat spots before or after, gotta love a carb). But I did notice the noise. Damn it sounded lovely from under the fuel tank.
Then I stuck a louder can on and can't hear anything from the airbox now


Replaced the Striples OEM with K&N and noticed a nice jump in performance. But I did so many other little things at the same time, it was a culmination of little tweaks rather than just a filter.

The key difference, is the Striples airbox intake is situated below the front headlights. So when following other vehicles in the rain, they blast the front of the bike with water and mud. Some of which clearly ends up in the airbox because I found it in there when taking it apart.

But the paper filter I took out really didn't have much crud on it after 27 months. What it did do is have half a dozen large flys, which hopefully the K&N would also be able to stop


So yeah, its maybe not the best at filtration. But it was fed 9.8 grams of dust a minute for 44 minutes at 350CFM (unlikely to see above 180CFM in normal circumstances) and let in 7 grams.
So unless I'm doing 200mph in the Sahara desert, not too worried.

On the flip side, it lets in loads of air, cost me £45 and should last the life of the bike. An OEM paper filter is £25 and is replaced every 2 years.

Happy with that.

[Triton Thrasher]

I think K&N claim 96% efficiency, which is not much of a claim in the world of filtration.

But you can ride a bike for many thousands of miles quite happily, with no air filters at all.
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[Pigeon]

[Triton Thrasher]

[RhynoCZ]

K&N sure does like to talk about the ''Air Flow'', and not enough about the essential function of a air filter, the filtration abilities.

Well, there are these kinds of tests as well: https://youtu.be/yFTPSRxisJI?t=1m8s You can even see the lid doesn't seal the box when the OEM filter is in.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor