An air filter helps to provide clean air to your motorcycle, along with improving your bike’s natural performance and bringing it to new heights. An air filter holds the utmost importance for your bike for such reasons.
How does it work?
Well, believe it or not, your motorcycle is like your physical body, where clean air is essential to keep going forward. Confused? Just so your know, the nose in which you breathe air works as a filter in your body.
It helps to block out the dirt and dust particles the air contains and provides clean air to your body. This is what an air filter does for your motorcycle. It prevents the pollutants in the air from getting through to your bike, thus, helping to improve your bike’s performance.
Furthermore, we’ll discuss every aspect of an air filter’s necessity for your motorcycle in our upcoming segments.
Let’s get started.
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Where’s The Air Filter Located On Your Motorcycle
You should know an air filter needs to be cleaned properly every now and then. Keeping it in mind, the motorcycle manufacturer made it so that it’s easier to reach and remove.
Usually, it’s located at the top of your motorcycle’s engine. Just so you know, your bike’s air filter and air cleaner are located on top of one another.
Take stage 1 air cleaner for Harley Davidson, for example. It’s located under your bike’s air filter and right on top of the engine motors. So that it can get much cleaner air and helps improve the motorcycle’s natural performance.
Role Of An Air Filter In A Motorcycle
As you’ve guessed by now, your bike’s air filter plays an essential role as you’ve guessed by now. It ensures 100% performance from your motorcycle. Air filters play two crucial roles for your bike. And now we’re about to discuss each of them.
Provides Clean Air For Combustion:
Your bike’s air filter provides clean air so that your motorcycle can have smooth combustion. It means an air filter helps your bike’s piston motors rotate smoothly, thus making proper combustion for your bike.
Prevents Pollutants Out Of Then Engine Motors:
Preventing the bad particles in the air from entering the bike’s engine motors is the central role of an air filter. It helps keep your motor running at full power without breaking down along the way.
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Think of the air filter as an air compressor. The more air it provides, your bike’s back wheels can generate more power, which means more air = more power.
How Does The Different Air Filter Work For Your Motorcycle?
Haven’t you ever wondered why there are different types of air filters and what makes them different?
Well, first there are mainly three different types of air filters for your bike. They all work a little bit differently to juggle the exact same thing, which is to get as much clean airflow as they can while blocking out the bad pollutant from the air.
By looking at those different types of motorcycle air filters, you’ll have a better understanding of them.
Let’s have a quick look, shall we?
Paper Filter
The first motorcycle air filter we are about to encounter is the paper filter. It typically comes with OEM( Original Equipment Manufacturer).
The paper air filter does a great job of keeping out the bad particles from the air, as it comes in tiny holes. But it comes at a price. Because of its little holes, it can’t provide as much as your bike will need for high performance.
Oiled Foam Filters
The oiled foam air filter is an effective filter that is about an inch thick. It provides much better filtrations than the OEM air filters.
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Because of its foam material, it comes with a soaking feature that helps to dry any oil leakage from your bike and prevent it from entering your bike’s engine, as it absorbs the leak oils. And because of oiled foam, it easily captures the dust particles, thus keeping your motor’s clean.
K&N Filters
K&N AKA oiled cotton gauze filter is overall an excellent air filter. This filter provides much better performance enhancement to your motorcycle.
It basically comes with oil-coated fabric that can hold tons of dirt pollutants while maintaining a clean airflow to your bike. This allows the K&N filter to provide better performance than your paper and foam air filters. It’s the main reason why it’s the perfect replacement for your OEM air filter.
Note: just so you know, some of these air filters come with a million miles warranty.
How To Choose The Best Air Filter For Your Motorcycle?
Choosing the bike’s air filter is like choosing an extension that’ll not only improve the performance quality but also your bike’s lifespan. So the choice depends on your riding style and if you want to add more power to your bike or not.
Yes, it’s true your bike comes with an OEM air filter by default. But as you’re aware by now, it doesn’t help much with your bike’s performance. Don’t get the wrong idea; these filters are great at keeping the dust particles out but not so great at improving your bike’s performance.
If budget isn’t an issue, we suggest you should go for either the oiled foam air filter or the K&N air filters. As they both provide the best filtration and performance enhancements. Indeed they’re both great at their intended job.
However, the K&N air filter provides slightly better filtration, leading to better performance enhancements.
How Often Does Your Bike’s Air Filter Need Cleaning?
Air is one of three things for your bike’s smooth combustion. Not just the air but a clean one. So keeping your motorcycle’s air filter clean is a must if you want a long and everlasting good relationship with your bike.
You should know cleaning the air filter from your street bike is pretty simple but when it comes to a dirt bike, it gets tricky.
Basically, there’s no set timetable for cleaning your bike’s air filter. Whenever it’s dirty enough, you should clean it properly. Remember, the cleaner the air filter is, the more clean air it can provide to your engine motors.
How Often Does Your Bike’s Air Filter Need Replacing?
Though your bike’s air filter maintenance is crucial sometimes, at some point, it needs replacing. As it tends to absorb all the dust particles from your bike rides on the streets.
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It’s bound to happen, right? Even the best air filter can cover up to 20000 miles of riding before your need to replace it. Less if you’re used to riding on dusty roads for long. To keep up your bike’s better performance, it’s better if you replace your air filter as it prevents your bike from causing severe damage.
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To have improved performance and a long lifespan for your bike is enough reason to get a good air filter for your motorcycle.
Now that you’re aware of what your bike’s air filter does, what are the different types of filters and their capacity to improve the bike’s performance, you won’t face any complications when choosing one for your bike.
Remember the cleaner the air filter your bike contains the better it can perform on the road.
Good luck choosing one for your motorcycle.
