Air filter options for R1150GS

**Endorphin Addict** · #1 3 Nov 2009

I am planning on an extended trip to South America of at least one year in length and perhaps 60,000km. Although I know that the OEM paper filters work well, resupply might be a problem. They need to be changed every 20,000km or even more often in dusty conditions, yet the size prohibits carrying spares. For this reason I am considering a washable and reuseable airfilter. I read not-so-good stuff about K&Ns and am looking now at the foam Unifilter or maybe the Blue filter from Wunderlich. I am not looking for extra power or anything like that, I just want to make maintenance easier, have less trouble finding parts, yet have a reliable and well filtering unit.

Does anyone have any experience with either? Like them? Hate them? Recommend them? What do other BMW riders do about the airfilter on long trips?

For the KLR it says to re-jet when using the Unifilter. Obviously thats not necessary with the injected beemer, but are there other side effects changing the filter?

Thanks for your responses!

jc · #2 8 Nov 2009

Going south is no problem for getting spares for your GS. There are BMW motorcycle dealers where you can get a new air and oil filter in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. The longest stretch is between Colombia and Chile (or Argentina, depending on your route, but even that should not be more than 20,000km, and even so, I would not worry about pushing it to 30,000km with a filter.

I've been down south and never had a problem getting spares. I serviced my bike in Texas, Colombia, Chile and Argentina and distances between dealers are never really much more than 10,000km in a direct line, so even with detours you'll be ok. My advice is to keep your GS standard, that way it will perform the best and will prove to be the most reliable. You might be surprized by the amount of GS's locally regestered in Colombia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina, even Costa Rica.

Johan

**desert dweller** · #3 8 Nov 2009

i've used K&N for about the last 180kkm on my r11gs. my first filter appeared to shrink in diameter at the end of its ~150kkm life, so that the airbox became difficult to close and i wasn't certain of a seal.
i was at home by the time that happened and K&N replaced it no questions on the strength of an email.
i often let it run 20 - 30kkm without cleaning, and didn't take K&N's cleaning solvent / oil to south america at all.
that said, i had a prefilter on - just a 'sock' of foam that fit in the air intake (sorry no idea of brand). i oiled that with filter oil and by the filth it collected i'd say it did a good job.
cheers,
andy.

**Bertrand** · #4 8 Nov 2009

Andy- the Blue filter (blue filter material) from Wunderlich is virtually identical to the K&N one (pink filter material!) - it functions the same and requires the same maintenance as a K&N. They are both higher airflow filters and, if no others mods are made to your bike, will make your engine run lean and could cause problems. I have noticed no performance difference between these filters on my GS1200 (fitted with a Remus, no cat.conv. and an electronic fuel controller to get the mix right)
These filters last a long time but do need to be maintained and you are right about the seals- they dry- I use silicone grease available in Maplins.
For very dusty areas, you are better off with a O.E paper filter which can be air-blasted cleaner whereqas the oily types will clog up faster and need much more maintenance-

If you're concerned about not finding spares (or wanting to take the time to find them), have you considered putting a pair of O.E filters in two zip-lock bags and duck taping them well on your bike / maybe in the dead space outside our cases between frame and wheel? as long as they are well sealed- they'll be fine- fit and forget!

**jimmystewpot** · #5 8 Nov 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Endorphin Addict

I am planning on an extended trip to South America of at least one year in length and perhaps 60,000km. Although I know that the OEM paper filters work well, resupply might be a problem. They need to be changed every 20,000km or even more often in dusty conditions, yet the size prohibits carrying spares. For this reason I am considering a washable and reuseable airfilter. I read not-so-good stuff about K&Ns and am looking now at the foam Unifilter or maybe the Blue filter from Wunderlich. I am not looking for extra power or anything like that, I just want to make maintenance easier, have less trouble finding parts, yet have a reliable and well filtering unit.

Does anyone have any experience with either? Like them? Hate them? Recommend them? What do other BMW riders do about the airfilter on long trips?

For the KLR it says to re-jet when using the Unifilter. Obviously thats not necessary with the injected beemer, but are there other side effects changing the filter?

Thanks for your responses!

I am sorry if this is irrelevant information for the R11xx series of bikes. I am only talking about experience from the R1200 which uses a paper type filter which by the sounds of it is similar. While doing just under 30,000 km from the U.K to Japan through the deserts of Kazakhstan and Mongolia we cleaned our filters using compressed air that we found at many of the motor mechanics along the route. Its not a 100% perfect job but if you take the time to clean it properly you shouldn't have any problems.

The places we found to be best are tyre repair shops who will almost always have compressed gas for use with tubeless tyres.. perfect for giving the filter a good clean and its free.... We used this method based on information we read in Haynes Manuals..

**Lisa Thomas** · #6 9 Nov 2009

We, Lisa and Simon, 2ridetheworld.com have both used K&N's in both bikes for the last 6 and a bit years....absolutely no probs with either. You just have to remember to clean and dry them properly!
Best to use the proper K&N cleaners etc... but they are small containers and dont take up much room.
K&N have served us well....and NO...we are not sponsored by them!

cheers

**MikeS** · #7 9 Nov 2009

Used a K&N on an 1150gs for the Americas too, around 35k miles.

The advice on the sticker on the side of the filter doesn't apply to the Americas, ie 'clean every 50,000 miles'... you'll need to clean it fairly regularly but these filters do the job just fine. Just bring enough of the cleaner fluids as you won't find many places selling it.

**Endorphin Addict** · #8 16 Nov 2009

Thank you all for your replies! Looks like the K&N is not so bad after all, and more or less the same as the Wunderlich. Unfortunately nobody has had any experience with the Uni foam filter.

From what I read here and the fact that the simplest solution is usually the best one, I think I will just go with the original paper filter. People have done it and fared well, so why not? No extra cleaning fluids and oil to carry and no mods necessary to keep it from running lean. I doubt that I can carry a spare, but apparently can get spares down there as well.

Thanks!

**Ride Far** · #9 17 Nov 2009

Two cents ... stay away from K&N for a long international ride unless you want to carry K&N cleaner with you. They do poorly with sustained exposure to dust and sand. I rode from San Francisco to TDF and back with a K&N on a KLR 650, sucked a lot of dust in Mexico, Bolivia, Ruta 40, and elsewhere.

By the time I got to Brazil about 22,000 miles into the ride, I was having major air flow issues, bike sputtering. I had cleaned it throughout the ride with soap. When the problems began I cleaned in soap many times and with compressed air and in desperation even gasoline to little avail. It would be OK for four or six hours and then I would have to clean it again. Stupid me, I didn't realize you can't effectively clean a K&N filter by traditional methods.

If you use K&N you NEED to use the K&N cleaner (you won't find it in South America). After I returned to the U.S. the bike continued to run poorly -- until I bought and used K&N cleaner. Incredible. Ran the bike another 10,000 miles with no problems.

Unless you want to carry K&N cleaner with you, go with a foam filter.

**MikeS** · #10 17 Nov 2009

As well as carrying the K&N cleaner, some garages in S.A. would clean it for me too and dry off with compressed air.

Of course the bike will run like sh!t if you don't keep the air filter clean in those conditions - It's basic bike maintenance!

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