Completely agree bro K&N screwed the R15 main reason was it needed oiling and it attracted lot of dust as the oil was the culprit as it kept the filter wet, and the same was reason for dust particles to entr, while in cosworth its a completely dry filter and the air intake is designed in a way that it doesnt allow any dust particles to enter in, just clean air and nothing else.

Every one who used cosworth, none had any issues.

Hello again,

I've used MRF 100/90 profile tyre due to non-availability of 100/80. Any idea if this may screw the handling?

There is a slight misconception over here. While its partially true that a dry type of air filter is superior to a oil wetted filter or any other type (there are various other methods). It is not superior because of the issue mentioned above. Dry type air filter is generally consider superior due to its superior air flow vis-a-vis the oil wetted filter. But there is a trade off. The trade off is that reduced part (air filter) life i.e. generally lasting about 10,000 kms and entrapment of impurities vis-a-vis a potential life of a oil wetted filter being over 50,000 kms and superior entrapment of impurities due to the viscous and sticky nature of the air filter element due to the oil wetted medium.

What I am mentioning here is in general. There are lot of variables that make the above statements true or false. A lot depends on the design of the air filter, the materials used in the element and the type of usage it is put to. However, as a general yardstick the above is more or less applicable.

Replacement air filters have a drawback due the purpose that they are trying achieve i.e. provide less restricted and superior air flow compared to the stock air filter. A stock air filter is designed with a number of factors in consideration. To name a few; service life of the part, quality of filtered air, environment in which the bike will run (dusty, clean, etc), design of the air box, emission norms, fueling, etc. The design of stock air filter is actually a product of trade offs of all these factors.

Based on the design of the stock air filter and its is usage in the bike, the manufactures recommend a cleaning and replacement schedule.

A replacement air filter will try to achieve superior air flow through various means including but not limited to design, method of filtering, materials used in making the filter, etc. But one on most common methods used is reducing the mean area of filter element that the air has to traverse through to enter the engine. Due to this very reason replacement air filters require more frequent servicing and cleaning. Many make the mistake of assuming that the replacement filter can also last as long as stock filter. This mistake leads to the complications you have mentioned in your post. The other common mistake that most people make with oil wetted filter is over oiling the filter element. When there is excess oil in the element, it will get sucked into the engine. If the oil has already entrapped impurities in it, this will act like sandpaper on the valves, piston, piston rings and cylinder walls.

Personally, I feel that K&N has been given a bad rap without actually understanding the issues at hand. I have a K&N conical filter on my RXZ which is fitted with a Mikuni TM24 flat slide, Boyesen reeds, stage 2 ported cylinder and stage 2 expansion chamber. I have covered over 45,000 kms on it without any abnormal wear on the engine. The air filter is cleaned religiously every 2,500 kms and I have face none of the problems mentioned by you.

On my R15, I have a Simota plane type air filter which is oil wetted. The filter gets cleaned (washed) and oiled at every oil change i.e. 2,500 kms and I have done over 8,000 kms on it without any problems what so ever.

Irrespective of you selecting a K&N or a Cosworth conical filter, your problem is not due to the type filter element (dry or wet), its because of the design of the air filter i.e. its conical.

Agreed to what you said buddy, and dry filter also needs washing and cleaning every 4000-5000 kms once, or 6 months.

im planning to buy a helmet that would be fitting with my blue R15. I want it either blue/black or blue/white. Not too jazzy but not too bland as well. If u do know of any please let me know, which company helmet am i most likely to get?

please post your query in helmets thread.

Can't agree more. Most of the folks go for oil wetted Air filters and completely forget about the maintenance. I have used Simota air filter on my R15 for 10K+ kms and clean and oil it religiously in every servicing(2.5K kms). Though oil wetted filters normally come with million mile or life time warranty but it doesn't mean it won't need cleaning throughout. Simota cleaning kit(Cleaner and Oil) or K&N cleaning kit are available for ~1K and does the job really well for long long time.

PS: While oiling the K&N or Simota ensure that it's not over done. The extra oil will be sucked in the throttle body and may impact the functioning of throttle positioning sensor. I had to clean throttle positioning sensor to get rid of this oil, which in turn resulted in the engine warning light to blink.

Abhimanyu31 I hope you see this message. I have been having trouble sending a private message. I received the oil filters yesterday appreciate you a lot man. I am suppose to be getting a back tire for it tomorrow. The shop had to order it. When I get a day off I will change the oil thanks to you bro.

^^^ you are welcome ... Let me know how it goes....

@Veyron99: my baby has done 25390 clicks.

The service review

Prelude: The day before the service, the workshop supervisor Rahul after taking a test ride advised me to get the clutch plates replaced. He said they cost 2500 but he can provide me new ones for 1500. I thought he may have jhool-ed a set from the inventory.

The Yamaha Zoom Roady, Mahavir Enclave, New Delhi, service guys quite nearly took me for a Great Indian Ride, with regards to my clutch plate. Keep reading if you want to know more.

-The mechanic {Aravind} starts with the air filter unit, i asked him to put brand new air and oil filter.

-Next he drains the engine oil.

- He then opens the housing where the clutch plate is located and removes the clutch and pressure plates. And confirms that the clutch plate needs replacement. Then i asked him to point out the pressure plates, clutch basket dogs, clutch boss splines; and checked for any warping abnormal wear, grooves or notches. There were none, and appeared to be in great condition. Then i closely inspected the clutch/friction plates. They didnt look much worn out, except it showed blackish patterns like a prints {not grooves or notches} on the surface facing me.

The clutch was giving me troubles like: not slotting into gear effortlessly from 1st to 2nd gear, and according to workshop supervisor worn out clucth plates are resulting in decreased pickup{not that i had felt any significant reduction in pick up}. I said fine replace them, and while you are at it also replace the clutch springs, to which he said not needed, i still insisted as they are only Rs. 20. Then the mech and supervisor were asking me to go and sit in the waiting room.

While all this was happening another mech opened up the clutch housing of a wrecked up blue R15 right beside mine and took out its clutch plates . This was the point where they started dilly dallying and began wasting time so that i would get bored/distracted and go away. When that wasnt happening the supervisor tried to get me to go out for a smoke with him! I strongly suspected a classic switcharoo was about to happen. So I told him not now, i am not not budging an inch till i see the brand new clutch plates. He said yh yh its coming. Then finally after 30-45 mins the mech and the supervisor were like actually you don't need to change the plates, only needs minor adjustments were required!!!! WTF. First they tell me clutch plate replacement is required, and after so much dilly dallying they say not required, minor adjustments are sufficient. WTF.

So the mech puts the clutch plates back with the surface that was earlier facing out with blackish stains, now facing inwards. That according to him this was the minor adjustment!. Then he finally puts the housing back. Puts in the new oil filter and refills fresh semi-synth engine oil. Then he comes around to the left and spots that the clutch cable connecting to the bottom had lifted upwards! So he again drains out the engine oil into a jar, reopens the clutch housing and corrects it. Then he was about to add some fresh mineral oil to make up for the lost oil while reopening the clutch housing, i said no effing way, get fresh semi-synth oil. Which he then did.

All in all the earlier problem with the gear lever has improved. But i suspect not for very long as it may be due to fresh engine oil and chain lubing than the 'minor adjustments'.

Costs:
Yamalube semi-synth: 470
Airfilter: 237
Oilfilter:167

Service charges: The workshop supervisor asked me to pass him Rs.500 under the table, but i was mighty pissed with their earlier malicious greedy intentions. So i opened my wallet in front of him took out Rs. 250 and gave it to him. I looked at his face if he understood, he seemed to understand.

@ jayhaywalker

If such cheap service is going on at that SVC which you use for servicing your bike why dont you shoot a mail to the Yamaha Customer Service. Trust me they will get a bang of their life.

This is pure cheating man.

Think about it when you have mellowed down from this incident. Right now it was just clutch plates, what if tomorrow if they do such thing on other parts which are costly?? R15 parts are costly.

Chuck money what if they play around regarding the fitting (you mentioned he had installed the wire incorrectly for which he opened the engine again), if its wrongly done you might end up in a accident (touch wood bro). Its not safe neither a good practice.

Think about this post very seriously.

That is terrible!!! It's out right intent to cheat. You need to write to Yamaha about this. Not just for you but also for fellow Yamaha owners. Everyone seems to be wanting to make a quick buck, morals and ethics can go to hell

Hai guys my bike had good KmPL earlier(nearly 500 km from one F-Trip to another), but from last full tank my mileage had drastically dropped it now 420Kms for 10L of gas. by riding habits haven't changed, single user, same roads as earlier. Then what may be the reason for this drop?

@shrinathrao: I got the rear tyre&rim checked at MRF. After checking thoroughly with soap solution, the result was that the rim is not bent&there are no small punctures too!
What next-check the tyre fitting? Paint already removed from the inside of both rims&front is not leaking.

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YZF R15 handlebar height

can we fix a Karizma ZMR handle bar on the R15 ? Any other options for a conventional handle bar for R15 ?