How Often To Clean Dirt Bike Air Filter

Cleaning and re-oiling your dirt wheel'due south air filter is a disquisitional maintenance task. The quickest way to destroy your engine is to let it inhale a lungful of dust. To avoid unnecessary expenses it'southward very important to ever ride with a clean air filter.

In that location are three primary types of air filters, paper, cotton, and cream.

Paper filters are what is usually used in cars, but a dirt bicycle requires a much higher level of filtering, with the ability to still breath when covered in clay

Cotton wool filters like K & N Filters are generally more expensive than the other types, but they volition final years and provide an splendid level of filtration.

K & N Air Filter

In this commodity, we will focus on cleaning your foam air filter. Twin Air merits that a properly oiled filter will menstruum more air than a dry one, and catch more dirt than an over oiled i.

Foam air filter Earlier we become into the cleaning process, hither are a few handy points to notation:

How ofttimes should you wash information technology?
Information technology is recommended that you lot check your air filter after every ride. Fifty-fifty if it hasn't been a particularly dusty 24-hour interval, if you have been riding sandy or grassy trails, there is probably grass seeds or sand on the filter.

Are all foam filters created equal?
The curt answer is no. At that place is a huge variation in quality bachelor. By and large speaking, yous get what you pay for. It'southward hard to tell past looking at them, it's their longevity that differs. A cheaper filter is losing its shape after a few washes. A filter with higher quality foam if washed and maintained correctly should last you well-nigh 12 months, depending on how often you ride.

What fluid is best to clean it with?
If you're caught short without a special purpose Air Filter Cleaner, Mineral Turpentine, which is oil-based, is the side by side best production to clean foam filters with because it is condom for both the foam and the seam glue.

Petroleum-based products will affect the cream and make the mucilage in the seams brittle. Never use petrol or metho. Petrol will cut through the oil ameliorate than any filter cleaner or solvent, just it will consume rubber grommets, seals, and glues and degrade the foam. after a couple of petrol washes, it will look limp and soggy fifty-fifty when it's dry.

Do I always need to finish off by washing in soapy water?
A lot of lather products have chemicals in them that tin deteriorate the cream. If you lot want to rinse out the last of the dirt, it'due south best to use warm water only or do a second clean with the turps. If you must use a detergent or soap exist sure to rinse thoroughly.

Tin I oil information technology as soon as it's clean?
Information technology's absolutely disquisitional that the filter foam is 100% dry out before y'all re-oil it.
If at that place is any moisture left in the foam, it will rot. Allow it dry in the sun preferably and ideally permit it dry out overnight.

How much oil should I utilize?
Oil is colored so that you lot can see if there is an even spread in the foam, and y'all can easily see sections not carrying oil. A perfectly oiled filter should only leave a slight residue on your fingers when you touch on it. Never wring or twist the filter, just squeeze out every bit much excess oil as possible.

Spray on oils are available, but beware of applying too light a coat. For a foam filter to piece of work properly, the cream must be saturated, then squeezed out.

I've used Motul Air Filter oil for years, and have never had a trouble with filter life, or efficiency.

Practise I need to leave it for a few hours earlier starting the bike?
Aye, if you used a synthetic oil that has alcohol in it to go far easier to utilize. You lot'll have to await to permit the alcohol to evaporate. Generally, effort to avoid synthetic oils with alcohol. The alcohol volition tend to swallow the glue on some cheaper filters.

Mineral oil is the best way to go, as you can start the bike as presently as you've installed the filter. Mineral oil is thicker, takes a little longer to apply, but is less inclined to dry out.

Tip: Ideally you should have two or three filters and rotate the use of them. It's also handy if you lot're going on a ii-day ride, you can have a spare filter oiled and ready for utilize the second day. Store information technology in a nada-lock plastic bag.

If you just ride every month or two, your filter won't concluding every bit long, because it will attract moisture while it'south sitting in the garage. Moisture will rot the foam.

Information technology'due south possible to buy pre-oiled air filters at present if you really don't want to be bothered with the messy job of cleaning them, and coin isn't an effect.

Pre-oiled foam air filter

Tip: A expert thought if you're doing a multi-twenty-four hour period ride is to utilise filter skins. It'southward a thin cover that fits over your filter and stops about 90% of the dirt. When you're riding the second day, you can simply remove the peel, and you lot're left with a make clean filter for your solar day'south ride. They're made to fit over about whatever filter.

Cleaning Your Filter

You lot Volition Demand

Turps or a proprietary cleaner (Motul or similar)
Filter Oil
Grease
Plastic bag
2 Pairs of latex gloves

Step 1 – Remove the filter

Pull on your latex gloves to start with because this is a muddy chore at the best of times, and air filter oil is nasty stuff. Use a rag to wipe out the airbox earlier removing the filter from the airbox. Then remove the filter from the cage. Put a clean rag into the air intake to prevent whatever dirt from dropping in.

Stride two – Apply the Cleaner

The outset task is to break downwardly the existing filter oil. Cascade some Air Filter cleaner or Turps into a make clean small tub (or erstwhile ice cream container) and squeeze out as much of the old oil as possible.

Step iii – Wash in warm water

In one case you've squeezed out every bit much of the turps equally possible, fill up a bucket of warm water. Put on a clean pair of latex gloves and wash the filter in warm h2o.

If you lot must use dishwashing detergent for its oil dissolving agents, exist sure to rinse the foam in clean h2o. Many soaps have chemicals that will deteriorate the cream.

Step 4 – Drying before re-oiling

It's admittedly critical that the cream is dry before re-oiling it. Leave it in the dominicus if you tin, and get out it overnight if possible. Never put it in the dryer. The heat volition pause down the glue, and as well, you volition never get the stink out of the dryer.

Step 5 – Use the fresh oil

Put the clean, dry filter into a tub and pour a small corporeality of air filter oil onto it. Like pouring syrup onto a pancake. Some guys like to totally submerge the filter in the oil to ensure it is totally covered.

Clasp it through till the oil colour has completely changed the filter colour. Be conscientious not to twist or wring it, merely squeeze gently. Y'all may accept to add more than oil several times till information technology'southward evenly spread through the filter.

Clasp the oil out till it is evenly spread throughout the filter and leaves but a slight residue on your fingers.

Step 6 – Refit to cage and grease

Make sure the cage is clean, then refit the filter over the cage and smear a bead of grease around the rim that seats onto the airbox. This merely gives you a bit extra balls that it will seal up confronting the airbox.

When you refit information technology into the airbox, run your fingers around the circumference of the filter to ensure information technology is positioned correctly and air cannot enter around the border.

Summary

Now you are prepare to ride. The 3 most important things to remember for avoiding premature damage to your engine are:

Always ride with a make clean, fresh air filter.
Change your oil regularly with adept quality oil.
Ever run your cycle on the highest octane petrol you can get.

Today'south high-performance bikes require a flake more attention to continue them in expert guild. Only by doing these three things y'all volition give your engine the best chance for a long and trouble-gratis run.

Here'due south a swell video to amend explain cleaning your air filter.