Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods Clean those filters!

After two seasons of riding, sloth and general laziness with the Freak, I bought one of those K/N air filter recharge kits for $15 from the local parts guy. Holy buckets, you wouldn't believe the dirt and crap that came off. I think they weigh 1/2 as much as before. I bet the bike is happier now

For sure dood.
I clean mine every month or so whether they need it or not, but they always do.
I dunk them in a bucket of scalding hot water and Dawn dish soap for about 15 minutes. When it's cool enough to reach in, I dunk them up and down a few times. Cleans them right up.
I also use the red spray on grease, not sure of name, got it at Autoznoe for about $5, but you can tell when they are clean by the lack of red, and how red the hot water gets after cleaning them. Also makes it easier to greeze up as you can get a nice even coat with the red stuff.
Now, if the winter would just go away.....

Pat,

Next time your out in the garage could you check on the brand name of the Autozone spray-on grease please? It will save me some wandering and cussing in Autozone.

Thanks,

Tom

red spray on grease?

Frank

or red spray to clean grease?

Frank

Spray can of red colored grease.

Frank,

All the can says is "K&N air filter oil, part # 99-0504" the label doesn't mention any specific active ingredients, beyond "special formulation - keep away from children - and don't breath". I came dangerously close to taking a big hit until I read that last part. Sheeesh!

The trick becomes getting the filter itself mounted snugly onto the carburater intake so it doesn't fall off on a twisty road somewhere, not to insult, you probably already know that. I think I'll try isopropyl alcohol on the filter rubber bit to clean it real good and make it tacky. (that or the ever reliable duct tape).

JH

Haven't forgotten you Tom...
The stuff I use:
Klotz Foam Air Filter Oil
KL606
Big green spray can, $5.95US 15.25 ounces.
I have had mine a year+ and it still feels full.
Good stuff, a little goes a long way, and it expands slightly when you spray it on.

The stuff

Thanks FJ,

I thought of your fix & may do it yet. I mounted them back up the next day, following thorough cleaning and everything appears nice and snug. In retrospect, I should have weighed the filters before and after on a gram scale. Apparent weight told me two things, they do trap a lot of "dirt" and I shouldn't have waited so long to clean them properly.

JH

Good idea FJ. Did you just drill a teeny hole? Or stick it thru the wire mesh? I had one fall off too, but I had the cheeze graters mounted on, so it just stayed put.

Yeah, just drilled a little hole, but through the base, between the pleats, not through the mesh itself. The thinnest wire I could find was actually "doorbell wire." Cheap but effective. Bought a couple feet off a roll at the hardware store. Couldn't find "real" safety wire, the stuff you'd use to safety wire bolts and such. But it's a pretty low-stress application, and the loose filter thwapping against your leg, plus the crappy performance of an engine that's suddenly running very lean on one side, are your alerts that something bad has happened. Took me losing a couple filters before I figured that out.

Good to know. You know you could also probably separate some strands from phone wire...