K & N Air Filter

[dougM]

Hi all.
83 XT 600 Tenere
The bike needs a new air filter and I was wondering what particular brand is best. Plan on using the bike in fine beach sand so I require a good filter. Heard that K& N is quite good. Do they have a dealership in Australia, or a website if not. Any other tips to prevent sand particles entering engine besides a good well oiled filter installed.
Cheers Doug

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[A.B.]

K&N is a great filter but I wouldn’t recommend it off-road use and especially around fine sand. To understand why you have to understand what the filter does and it’s effect on the bike’s performance.

The combustion chamber (cylinder) burns a mix of fuel and air. Air is needed to get a good detonation and get the best performance out of the bike. The more air the better. So if you remove the air filter completely you’ll get the best performance out of your engine. However the engine will not last that long since all the dirt particles that enter with the air will slowly destroy it. If you install a very efficient filter that makes sure the air entering the engine is very clean it will somewhat restrict the amount of air and it’s speed and therefore de decrease engine performance.

Now what’s really important? A free flowing air filter or an efficient filtration filter? We’re not racing we’re touring. And the engine reliability is the most important. Besides the performance gains of the K&N filter are not that great to begin with.

K&N filters, and all other cotton gaze filters for that matter, are designed for high performance STREET engines and therefore have to let in a huge amount of air. To do so the air channels in the filter are not as narrow as regular paper filters and let in the very fine dust. Quite often you’ll find fine dust inside the air box and throttle body. That’s why K&N sells 2 types of pre-cleaner filters for off-road use that you wrap around the air filter if you’re driving in fine sand. One of them is foam and the other some sort of nylon mesh. These pre cleaners do a good job filtering but what’s the point of getting an already expensive filter and then an expensive pre cleaner just to get the filtering efficiency of a regular filter? Besides after installing the pre-cleaner the performance advantage of the K&N is no longer there.

So what’s the best filter for off-road use? Quality paper filters are the best when it comes to filtration. They don’t flow as much air as K&N, but as I said before the performance difference is not that great. The only disadvantage of paper filter is that they are not reusable.

Foam filters are supposed to be a good compromise between paper and cotton gaze since they are washable/reusable. But I found that most foam filter on the market simply suck. Poor quality foam is never a good thing since it won’t filter well to begin with and some of them deteriorate quickly in hot environments and actually end up throwing foam particles in the combustion chamber. If you want to go with foam filter (I did), either get OEM filters or pipercross is used extensively in WRC rallies.

Hope this helps

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A.B.
www.ShortWheelbase.com

[dougM]

You wouldn't happen to know the website for oem air filter by any chance, or if they have a distributor in Australia

Cheers Doug

[A.B.]

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. In this case Yamaha so check with your Yamaha dealer. Piper Cross are at www.pipercross.com.

Hope this helps.

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A.B.
www.ShortWheelbase.com

[alexpezzi]

Hello there,
I have a K&N filter fitted on my XTZ660 and I think I will swap it for a Pipercross foam filter before leaving for Iran India, do you think I will need to adjust the mix once I have done the change?

[samson]

for off-road traveling i never use oilsoked filters (never have the time to clean them) .
I just use the standerd filter . for very sandy conditions i pul a nurseheadcap over the standerd one . after the sandy part just trow the headcap away and take a new one
if you have a friend working in a hospitel they are for free
pac very smal

[Bonfireboy]

Just put a pipercross foam filter in my 2003 XT very nice, just like the idea that it can be taken out and washed. Got it from M&P.

[david lambeth]

The best air filter to use on an early kick XT600 (34l,43F,55W,2KF & variants) is the original Yamaha 2 stage foam filter. Oil both pieces of foam well and make sure the outer foam is in the correct position on the outside edge of the cage. (I've seen many of these cages with only the inner foam element in place - used this way, it will not filter properly at all) Also make sure the spring steel retainer is in place, holding the filter tight up against the airbox. If you also grease (I use spray-on filter oil) the entire inner surface of the airbox, you will find that you catch most of the dirt before it even gets to the filter. When we used to use XR400s for desert racing, greasing the airboxes meant we could leave the air filters in for 3 days instead of 1 day. When the grease is covered with dust, just smear it about & you will have a new sticky surface.

For 1VJ/3AJs the standard foam filter is best.

For 3TB,4PT & 660s the standard pleated, dry filter is not very good at all and will let very fine dust pass through. You can't oil them as you then get too much depression & a very rich mixture. Grease the airbox & use a very well oiled foam replacement filter in these models - or make one by cutting out the pleated element & replacing it with a glued in foam element. You don't get much surface area, but if you change/clean it often enough, you shouldn't end up with a rich mixture situation.

Best wishes.
David Lambeth...now based in Lincolnshire!

[thumper86]

On the subject,could anyone tell me if the K&N bolt on filters work well on 1vj tenere for normal road use???Because this model suffers from heat problems around the airbox just seeing if this may solve it as more cool air to the filters.Dont plan to go offroad as yet,more off a road bike.Thanks.

[tomwest]

Hi.

There is a feve easy modifications you can do to your bike,that will help keeping it cool.
If you search trugh the treads here you will find posts on the subject.

One easy and very effective one is to remove the lid from the filter compartment and trow it away.
Then you remove the two rubber"snorkels" that are sitting under the airbox ontop of the cylinder head and plug the holes.
Now your engine don´t have to live of the air that the engine has heated up.
If you want to go further you can relocate the oil cooler, make air scoops on the front end of your tank etc...etc...

Cheers.

[erdei82]

Hi All,

I have just purchased my 83' Tenere (34L). The airbox and air filter are not in a good condition. I have read that the K&N filter is one of the best solutions.

What are your opinions to change the whole system and drop off the airbox with the old filter and replace them with two of these kind of air filters?



So the filters would be installed under the seat but with no specific cover. More air would go into the mixture. But I beleive due to this fact they would recommend regular maintenence, cleaning and oiling.

What are your opinions?

[jjrider]

NO


Stick with an oem airbox and a UNI foam with filterskinz in dusty areas. Take the snorkel off , not much more to be gained without a bunch of other parts down the line.

[Bobmech]

same as jjrider says.
K&N filters provide good air flow, but don't filter very well, so no good in dusty conditions.

Bob

[Jens Eskildsen]

My first hand experience: KN airfilters filters perfectly fine, as long as its seated and lubed up properly. I've ridden in dusty environments where visibility was 10-20 meters, and the whole bike was covered in fine dust/sand.

Not a single peice of dirt made it to the airbox.

This is with orignial airbox, and an airfilter that replaces the original, not clamb-on filters.

[Ride Far]

K&Ns are a bad choice for extended overland travel. They need to be cleaned with proprietary K&N cleaner, and you don't want to lug a can of that stuff, nor will you find it in many countries.

I speak from experience. I used a K&N on a South America ride and 20,000 miles in, the K&N was so clogged with dust that the bike was sputtering badly. No means of cleaning solved the problem. At the time, I didn't realize the K&N cleaning spray was needed.

When I got back to the U.S. I got a can of K&N cleaner and voila all was solved. Better off with a foam filter that can be cleaned with detergent and oiled with motor oil.