Sounds silly to have a tech tip on air filters since we’ve all done sooo many in our lifetime, but you would be surprised by the amount of blown motors and tight valves I’ve seen from poor air filter maintenance. Peep the Do’s and Dont’s below - I guarantee you there's something your either not doing or are doing!
DO’S
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DO use pour-on filter oil - my favorite is Maxima FFT
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DO compress the filter to spread the oil throughout the entire filter - visually inspect to confirm 100% of interior and exterior are coated with oil
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DO squeeze out all excess oil - squeeze as hard as you can to remove excess or your bike may run like sh!t
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DO run your fingers 100% around the rim of the filter after re-installation to ensure it is seated correctly against the air box - quick easy check that could save you tons in costly repairs
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DO use gas to remove oil when cleaning filters, and then Dawn dish soap to remove everything left behind - it's a little nasty but works way better than anything else I’ve tried
DONT’S
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DON’T grease the rim of your filters - this is unnecessary, reduces filter life, and messy
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DON’T use spray foam filter oil - spray oils tend to be thinner to allow them to spray - also usually more expensive
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DON’T leave excess oil in air filter - this will make your bike run like sh!t
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DON’T apply oil to only outside of filter without squeezing the filter and spreading the oil throughout - spread it around!
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DON’T run filters with seams that are tearing apart or foam that is falling off
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DON’T let your air filter get totally caked with dust before cleaning - this bad practice makes your bike run like shit, and it also increases your chances of pulling dirt into your motor
One last little nugget here: If you know you’re going to be riding very dusty conditions or just honest with yourself on your poor filter maintenance, try running a FunnelWeb Air Filter (pictured above in this blog).
