DIY Thread Approved.

Wonderfully detailed with pictures and text. Thanks for sharing this. It would help many a people here, I am sure.

Rahul,
Thats a wondefully written DIY, i have some queries which i will post below but first a special thanks to you, i kept pestering you but finally a brilliant thread is up here.

Query time now:
1. I dont have a 8mm T spanner right now (will get that shortly), last time i opened the air filter box i did that using a plier and it was comfy to do so but time consuming. Will the plier damage those nuts?

2. In the cleaning DIY, you squeezed that foam filter hard to remove dust along with kerosene but in caution you mentioned that ":Caution: Do not twist & squeeze the foam air filter as it will damage it.", am a bit confused here.

3. I have a small vaccuum cleaner cum reverse vaccuum funtion (blower) with it, will it work or i have to tap it on my hands? Cant we spray Kerosene on black mesh filters too?

Today i got 2nd service done and he adjusted CO alongwith cleaning of air filters (last cleaning done 1500 kms back), theres a lot of diff in how smoothly my bike behaves now, is cleaning air filter that important?

Whats the cost of this entire air filter kit (Foam one)?
Thanks, a lot of Q's from my side though so double thanks

Thanks & sorry for taking so much time..

You can do it with a plier as well but incase the teeth slip over the bolts, it would damage its head & in the worst case u might not be able to remove it with a T-spanner as well.

There is a difference between 'squeezing' & 'twisting & squeezing'. The latter may tear the foam filter. Just fold it & squeeze it hard. Do not twist it & squeeze like clothes when washed with hands.

Yes u can use the blower function of the vacuum cleaner.
Kerosene is more viscous (to be precise oily) than petrol. Also it is comparatively less volatile. So getting rid of the remnants of the dirty kerosene consumes more time. Not only this removing it fully isnt possible. When the bike is turned on after fitting the air filter back, it can also enter the engine from the intake alongwith air & Iam sure u wouldnt want kerosene or Diesel burning in your chamber which would deposit soot wherever possible. Whereas petrol evaporates instantly & even if it enters your engine it wont harm it.

Yes air filter cleaning is a very important ritual just like engine oil change. Fresh engine oil & a clean air filter instantly changes the behavior of the engine. I was actually wondering if i was riding my bike after the cleaning process.
A dirty air filter would restrict the air flow to some extent thereby effectively changing the tune of the engine. Over a prolonged period of usage the air entering from the intake may also consist of dust trapped in the filter.
It should be cleaned once 1500-2000 kms. More frequently if the riding conditions are dusty. My riding conditions are very very dusty & i happen to clean it every 300-400kms atmost.

The air filter kit consists of the foam type air filter & the black colored frame. It costs around Rs 90 & is advisable to replace every 10000 kms.

Nice and well-presented DIY there Rahul.

Couple of procedural details that need rectification though.

1. No need for both Kerosene AND Diesel. Kerosene in fact is preferable as it is a better solvent of deposited waxes and other heavier residues.
WD-40 can damage the foam structure as you've mentioned in the 'precautions' but petrol is not a problem with foams. It is the volatility of petrol which makes it a major fire hazard that its use for such purpose is discouraged.

2. Avoid SPRAYING petrol at all costs. Spraying is about atomizing petrol and such fine droplets are some 10 times more flammable than liquid petrol. Even a mobile phone ringing and attended to in this finely dispersed cloud of petrol vapor will ignite it and the consequences can be disastrous. The filter-retaining wire mesh can also be cleaned with kerosene and the excess dabbed away with a couple of absorbent face tissues.

3. 90 weight oil is NOT the right choice for coating the filter. The oil here needs to be just viscous enough for it to spread well and evenly to the inner-most cells of the foam. 90 grade oil is too viscous for this and no amount of spirited squeezing will make it spread evenly till the core of the foam. And you cannot visually ascertain whether the oil is spread evenly till the inside. The ideal choice would be 2T oil but 20W40 would also suffice. 2T oil is light enough to spread easily and uniformly and 'oily' enough to make dust particles adhere to it.

Nice Rahul...Thanks For sharing the piece with guys like me who likes DIY a lot and hates a mechanic touching and twisting things on my machine ..lol..Thanks again


1. Kerosene alone is used in PBK svc, Is it good enough to clean it?
2. Is that why there is signs of "DO NOT USE MOBILES " in petrol pumps??...I always wondered why they put it and my queries to petrol pump guys and friends were not satisfactory
3. Can we just use sae90 and spread it uniformly on the surface of the filter?






How often should we clean it or change it to a new one?....

Thanks for the kind words & rectification.

I was advised by the service engineer here not to use petrol. Itseems the foam used in P200 & P220's is a lightweight higher quality one. Hence not advised to use petrol as it would break it down soon. However i have myself used petrol many times & i havent found any difference in the total life of the filter.

Thanks for the critical correction Sir.

The reason for me to shift to 90 weight oil was that when i used 2T oil i never found the air filter dirty even after 2000 kms. But when i tried 90 weight oil the air filter needed frequent cleaning & was comparatively much more dirty. But still the correction taken positively.

[QUOTE=indian07_blood;379603]Nice Rahul...Thanks For sharing the piece with guys like me who likes DIY a lot and hates a mechanic touching and twisting things on my machine ..lol..Thanks again
You are welcome.

[QUOTE=indian07_blood;379603]
OF Sir has suggested not to use sae90 as it is heavier & wouldnt spread evenly.

It should be cleaned every 1500-2000 kms in normal conditions & much more frequently in dusty riding conditions or whenever the air filter icon starts flashing.

The filter appeared dirtier when you were using 90 weight oil since almost all the filtering was happening at or very close to the top surface of the foam where most of the oil was. The viscous 90 weight oil didn't go deeper. If you'd looked closer, most of the dirt would be on the air-box side and very little on the engine side. And if you'd cut up the dirty foam (don't waste a perfectly good filter just for that though ), you would find the core area to be pretty clean. With a less viscous oil the filtering would occur right through the thickness of the foam.

Another effect of a thicker oil is that since most of the filtering is done at the surface, it clogs up sooner and starts acting as a hindrance to the airflow. So in effect, you have a shorter service life of the filter before it needs cleaning again.

i would also like to add, that some form of oil/sealant is advised on the filter cover ( the cover panel that gets removed). I read the same in the ninja's service manual, and a similar type of filter is used on the 220. Its probably to ensure a proper seal and make sure no air/dust enters from the sides of the cover.

I would like to raise awareness about one thing. In the pictures for this DIY procedure, we see the topic starter handling kerosene, diesel and petrol with his bare hands. All of these fluids contain substances that can penetrate the skin and cause irritation or worse.

See also MSDS sheets: Kerosene, Diesel, Petrol

So please do not handle any of these fuels with your bare hands!

A pretty valid point raised here. Handling of kerosene with bare hands can cause problems, especially if there's a cut or a wound involved. Skin irritation is mild though in most cases. Mainly because all these three tend to dissolve our natural skin oils that help retain skin moisture and also keep it supple. With no protective oil layer, the skin dries up, feels stiff and suffers from micro-cracks. But this is not something serious or lasting. Most detergents can also cause the same problems and we don't end up using gloves for all our chores involving potential dermi-irritants.

Those with well defined allergies would do good to use protection. The majority of us can easily handle limited exposure to petrol, kerosene and diesel on our skins. All who ride bikes do end up handling petrol inadvertently sometime or the other anyway. Just that after using any of these three, it is important to wash hands properly with soap and water and then apply some skin cream or any oil, coconut, mustard or even cooking oil on the skin. A complete embargo like 'never handle any of these with bare hands' is not only impractical but also an over-reaction to a known and manageable hazard.

All said and done though, I would recommend eye protection to be worn during any and every maintenannce work that is undertaken. Broken metal/plastic chips, dirt flung up by a cleaning brush, soapy water splashed inadvertently, acid fumes from a rapidly charging battery, any of the above mentioned fuels getting splashed into the eye....any of these can mean trouble for an organ as delicate, sensitive and vital as the eyes. Those who wear specs get this bonus benefit. Others can use clear lenses. But eye-protection is a must.

I totally agree that this is a known and manageable hazard and yes, wearing protection while handling any of these is impractical. However, knowing the lax attitude that is displaying in some cases, I do think it's important to promote avoiding exposure. That was the goal of what I was writing, perhaps I overstated my post.

Also the thing to remember is to make sure your work area is well ventilated, clean and organized.

(Perhaps a thread about DIY safety would be an idea?)

Agreed about promoting caution. And about the work area being well ventilated, clean and organised.

And yes, a DIY thread on general hands-on maintenance safety is a good idea. I suggest you start something like that with as many points as you can put in. Relevant inputs can be added to it from time to time.

Thanks for the clarification Sir. This time i have used 2T oil on the filter & i can see that the service life has increased considerably under the same riding conditions.
I guess even if fine droplets of the oil enter the chamber, 2T oil would burn much easily than 90 weight oil.

Thanks for raising the safety issue Andante. I would be updating the post suitably.

On the P220s,a blinking air filter sensor doesn't necessarily mean that the air filter in unclean,it might be improperly inserted OR maybe you need to change the foam.

The SVC guys will force you into buying a new sensor for 300 but just change the foam and it will work