Opinions on K&N air filter

[kjetil4455]

Hey guys,

I have K&N filters in both of my bikes. I saw the project farm video and it shook my bones! Shortly after I saw the video which I will post below. He basically says that the K&N filter ONLY works if there is vibration. He says a lot of interesting things that seemed genuine and real to me. Let me know what you think

 

[kjetil4455]

If you have a stock bike, I would throw a new stock panel in, and enjoy your trip. About the only down side to the stock unit is water, as in water crossings. I do MANY water crossings and water does get in the air box (with some of the deep crossings I do, you have to on the BDR) I suggest you push out the two drain plastic pins at the bottom of the (dirty side) air box. They just push out. If you get any water in the air box it will drain right out, and not just slosh around and get your filter continually wet.........

Great advice!!

 

[KGaron]

I believe you may be overthinking it a little. Unless you plan on riding only dusty conditions for a month, your stock filter should be just fine. You can always take it out and bang out the dust or brush it off lightly. I believe carrying an extra air filter is just more space/weight being lugged around without reason.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[sky4]

i run stock paper filters or an aftermarket equivalent. Ive heard k&n lets in more debris, airboxes are a finely tuned fluid transfer system, so i'm not that inclined to mess with them. The odds that i'll improve the system by throwing a few random aftermarket parts at it are pretty low. Also the super T isn't the fastest bike in the world, but power isn't exactly missing either.

 

[SpuBob]

Used to Run a class 10 race car in the Cal/Nev desert. NO ONE used K&N's for very long due to the fact that in very dusty conditions, common in these areas due to lack of water, they let way too much dirt into the engine. Most everyone used multi stage foam filters/prefilters. The nice thing about that is you can, usually, just swap the pre-filter and go. We used to have 3 or 4 pre-oiled and ready to change during a race. The filters on a race car, however, are easy to access and change. On a motorcycle, with the intake under the gas tank and covered with a bunch of panels, the problem is quick access. Another problem with filters ,that have to be oiled ,is the propensity for the oil to sag to the bottom of the filter leaving the upper section of the filter like on the Uni-pods I have seen.. Now that is not as big of an issue with a flat, K&N that mounts horizontally. If you live/ride in dusty conditions most of the time, like in the Dez, its just the way it is. If you dont mind checking/cleaning foam filters 2-3 times a year these are probably, IMO, the best way to go. I prefer to run the stock filter elements on bikes that have difficult access. Its not as critical on a mild performance motor. Just my 2c!