haxor

The purpose of the air filter is to filter the air from dust & any stray particles that may damage the engine internals. An air filter over a period of bike’s usage gets clogged with dust. It decreases the air flow & makes the bike run slightly on the richer side thereby decreasing the fuel economy & affecting the performance negatively. Hence it is recommended to clean it regularly. More so when the bike is subjected to riding in dusty conditions.

This is a detailed post of the process of cleaning the foam type air filter at home for the DIY enthusiast. During the process of cleaning the hands will get dirty. If the job is done carelessly one may end up throwing kerosene or diesel on his clothes as well. Happy cleaning.

Tools required:



Just Kidding

Screw Driver




Air blower (Vacuum Cleaner)

Cleaning Agents required:

I just used Kerosene,cant waste petrol
and a plastic mug






Procedure:

• Keep the bike on center stand.

• Open the LH side cover.

• Open the bolt of the air filter cover using a screw driver pull it out

• Pull out the dirty air filter

• Take Kerosene in the mug and dip the air filter and clean it rigorously.

• Now fold the air filter from the middle & gently rub it thoroughly. Now squeeze it completely till all the dirty liquid are squeezed out.After cleaning it thoroughly gently squeeze the air filter using both your hands. Caution: Do not twist & squeeze the foam air filter as it will damage it.

• Now blow air all over the air filter using a air blower so that all the remnants of Kerosene & Diesel are removed from it. In my case I have a blower i.e. vacuum cleaner

• Now take the air filter & pour a few drops of oil on the filter. Preferably use engine oil (any grade will work) as it is used by all the service centers. This is used so that the dust & the particles in the air stick to the air filter easily.
• I have used 2T oil here.costs around 8 bucks and the remaining oil can be used to oil the chain.
  

• Now put back the air filter into the metal glass kinda thing.

• Fit the LH side cover back.

Precautions:

1. Never turn on the bike without the air filter. Foreign particles can enter into the chamber & damage the engine internals.
2. Don’t let any dust enter the air filter box when it is open.
3. Handle the air filter with care. Don’t twist it unnecessarily. Squeeze it gently using both hands.
4. Make sure u do not use petrol or WD40 for cleaning the air filter. Petrol & WD40 are chemically more reactive & will damage the foam filter by breaking it down thereby reducing its life & adversely affecting the filtering efficiency. Use either Kerosene or Diesel which are relatively less reactive.
5. Make sure u don’t dip the foam in water. Incase dropped in water let it dry completely for ample amount of time under the sun.
6. Store the fuels in a safe place away from sunlight or any other source of heat.
7. Make sure u have a vessel of proper size to collect the dirty fuel dripping down. In my case i have used my backyard where my bike is washed.

Attached Thumbnails

   

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Noor

DIY Approved

Some links to the images are broken, could you please repost them.

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Sumondatta

Seat Cover has to be dismantled to open air filter like seen in photo?

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haxor

No,you dont have to, I just removed it for the sake of it

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Pinaki

You are correct , only a high flashpoint solvent like kerosene is safe for cleaning foam air-filter units . Never use petrol like the mechanics do .
Dust gets really deeply impregnated into the foam . The kerosene is used as a cutting solvent to clean out the old oil . I further wash a foam filter element in warm detergent-water solution , and dry it hanging on a clothes-line in the sun for the whole day . It is perfectly safe to clean the foam elements in water and detergent , preferably warm water . This will remove the residual kerosene and the deep dirt . You are right that the filter has to be perfectly dry before being re-oiled . 2T / 20w40 engine oils or better still sae90 gear oil may be used for this purpose . Take care to spread the oil evenly in the foam by rolling it in your hands , and then squeeze out as much of the oil as possible . There should be no oil drip . Better to roll up the oiled element in clean paper sheets and store in plastic bag to dry overnight before refitting . Nicely written article .

vivekpetrohead

AFAIK, even service center guys user petrol to clean the air filter.

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djvenom9111

The reason they use petrol is that they take it out from your vehicle's tank. Its quite handy for them (Just twist the tap and take out in needed quantity)

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sid137

on my rtr 180 i had changed my engine oil and along with it i asked the mechanic to clean the air filter also..
so he used petrol from the free pipe that runs down the carb..
and later he put some drops of oil ( in my case a semi synth one)..
after that my bike doesn't rev freely now..
whenever i rev it, it comes down to about 3k and settles there for a while..
it never feels constant even when on idle it keeps varying from 1.5-2.0k rpm..
my mileage has reduced too

what do u guys think is the filter not clean??
or some other issue here??

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Drifty

Your filter should be clean but the semi synthetic oil poured on the filter might not be allowing sufficient air to pass through it cause of its high viscosity.Clean the air filter again in petrol/kerosene and this time apply 2T oil as mentioned above and see if you feel any difference.

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Pinaki

@ sid137 - Bro , you've done all the exact things that you're told NOT to do with your air-filter at the very begining of this thread , and yet you are looking for other issues ?