Trying to decide which type of air filter to use on my trip to south america. Paper you can knock the dust out & re use to some extent, but need to carry a spare. Foam can be cleaned & oiled if you can find something to clean it with (petrol just trashes the glued seams). Same with k&n but u also need special oil. Im erring towards foam with a filterskin at the mo. What are other peoples preferences/ experiences?
Karl.

I always use the standard filter which usually means paper on my BMW and Honda, they do 25,000 miles with an occasional blow out and don't upset the carb settings.

I've never been a fan of K&N - they flow more air by filtering less of it in my experience. That's good if you're heading down the max power route on dust free race circuits but not so good for off road overlanding.

Original paper (if your original is paper) is not a bad choice and as Mark says it won't upset the carburation but in serious dusty conditions they can clog up quickly. Tapping them out can help but enough dust / diesel fumes etc for long enough and they'll block. If you're planning on following someone across the desert for days on end then expect problems especially if you then head to altitude. Good luck with taking a spare. If you're anything like me it it would be in kit form by the time you needed it.

I've never had a foam filter disintegrate when cleaned with petrol. Two of my bikes at the moment have them as OE and I've never cleaned them with anything but petrol. A good quality oiled foam filter would be my choice with perhaps a pre filter skin over it to catch the big lumps but if I was buying in the aftermarket I'd be looking very carefully at both the mechanical construction and the quality of the filtering foam. You don't want them either to collapse under suction or have a matrix that lets the fine stuff avoid the oil.

I've had foam filters that have disintegrated in petrol, however not all do this. Twin Air is a brand I've washed and re-used many times.

But broadly I agree, if a filter is free flowing that suggests smaller particulates aren't being filtered out. The more you filter out the sooner the filter will need cleaning, by definition.

I'd not carry a replacement. There should be a replacement schedule. Use it, plan on where you'll be a bit before the schedule and have a replacement waiting for you there. It is not too hard.

A prefilter is a good idea .. knocks out the coarser dirt particles. Prefilters do a good job - no glue so you can clean them in petrol, use engine oil on them, they are cheap and being fabric pack down small. So you can carry spares easily. Put them over the air box inlet and your good to go.

Unless you riding desert, sandy trails you don't need spare air filter, I reused paper filters many times with no problems, knocked the dust off and washed them in soapy water, then let it dry on sun.

Recently I bought pipercross foam filter to my tenere as I ride in sand a lot, more confinement to wash. U use kitchen detergents not fuel.

A I read many studies paper filter are the most efficient anyway, while K&N the least.

If your travels involve lots of water crossings then foam filters have the advantage over paper of not collapsing if you accidentally get it wet.

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I like to carry a spare, pre-oiled (use motor oil) foam filter with me on long, dirty trips.

I can squash it down into a pretty small and light package in a zip lock bag for packing. Then, pull out the old filter, insert the new and I'm ready to go.
Wash the dirty one out with soap and water or gasoline, re-oil it and store it for the next change.

I have found that a foam filter (Suzuki) can be cleaned with gasoline a number of times before it starts to come unglued.

If I don't want to carry an extra, I just use a foam filter oiled with motor oil, wash it out with soap and water, let it dry a while and re-oil it.

Hint: don't wash it in a hotel room sink. It's bad for the plumbing and you'll never get the sink clean.

................shu

K&N. I've used them down the world, around the world and am now using them on the way to Mongolia. No need to oil, just tap or blow air to clean. Ignore statements about filtering less. A single cylinder 660 cc Aprilia has managed over 80000 miles on them (pity the electrics are poo)

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Airfilters for traveling long distance overlanding. My choice.

Foam. Washed with lots of dish washing detergent or shampoo and lots of water, dried in the sun, oiled with engine oil (or airfilter oil if available) and some grease on the edges ... all done on a regular bases of course depending on dust and time ... but normaly every 2-3000km (max a month). For Africa I carried a preoiled spare filter, so changing over could be done in two minutes.

My Yamaha and Suzukis came with foam filters.

mika

What does your X Challenge use in stock form? I'm guessing foam?
This question is pretty easily answered: look at what OEM's use that manufacture dirt bikes. ALL use Foam filters ... have done for 30 years.


All points well covered here. You can use petrol for cleaning but don't soak the foam filter in it for long. Dip it in, squeeze it out right away. Now rinse well with soapy water, rinse again with plain water, re-oil once DRY.

The small bead of grease round the sealing edge of the filter is a commonly overlooked service step. Important on my Enduro prep list. Makes cleaning more work but in serious dust, really can save your motor ... also keeps water out. (for a while! )

I've had filters get clogged (in competition) and my 2 stroke would no longer run. (plug fouled from DIRT in motor!) But that's riding behind 300 guys in
extreme Bull Dust conditions.

Filter Skins (or some form of pre-filter) are THE WAY. Means you do not need to carry a spare filter like I had to do when racing Enduro. You can even wash out and re-use your filter skins if need be.