did you guys know some air filters for your motorcycle will come with a million mile warranty?
i'm adrian from youmotorcycle. today's video we're going to talk about everything you need to know
about motorcycle air filters. what they do, how different air filters work differently from one
another, why a generic air filter costs half the price of a k&n one, and which filter is actually
best for your motorcycle. so what exactly does an air filter do? well your air filter has two
main jobs. the first one is to give your air motorcycle the air it needs for combustion
so you can start riding, and the second one is to filter out all the bad particles in the air
to help keep your motor running at full power without breaking down for as long as possible.
think of your motorcycle's engine kind of like an air compressor: the more air you can get to it
the more power can put to the back wheel. so does that mean we should just get rid of the old dirty
blocked up air filter and run with no filter? i mean it sounds like more air equals more good,
and less obstruction equals more air, so no filter equals more good,
right? theoretically 100% that does make sense in theory. but in reality not at all.
sure more air does equal more good, but more clean air equals more more good.
see clean air burns better than air full of dirt and other pollutants. clean air leads
to better and more complete combustion, which means more motorcycle performance,
literally giving you more bang for your buck. and of course there's another side benefit too:
all of that dirt and pollutants that are in the air can actually get into your motor and wear it
out prematurely if you don't have an air filter, so the air filter definitely has a job to do, and
you're going to want to make sure you get as much clean air, not just air, as possible into
your bike. so how do different air filters work? well there are three different main types of air
filters and they all work a little bit differently to juggle the exact same job which is get as much
air flow in as we can while at the same time blocking out as many pollutants. basically
we've got one filter for your vehicle with two different sets of competing responsibilities
that are at odds with each other and three different approaches to how we handle the problem.
the first motorcycle air filter you encounter is a paper air filter. these are typically what come
oem in your motorcycle. these guys do a really good job of filtering air because they have
really tiny pores inside of them. the flip side is they're poor at allowing filtered air to get into
your motor. because they filter so much the paper air filters can get dirty sooner taking away from
your motorcycle's performance. the next air filter type is the oiled foam air filter. honestly i use
one of these on my vespa. the foam is oiled which can help trap pollutants through the air and the
foam can hold dirt for a long time while still allowing clean air to pass through it without
much restriction. another reason why i like these and i use them in my vespa's airbox is because
vespa's have a tendency of getting knocked over. seriously, this is a problem in the city. people
back into vespas all time, they get knocked over, and vespa's are known for pouring a bunch of oil
into the air box thereby flooding your filter. if you have a paper filter once your filter is soaked
your vespa won't start. you can't give chase to the offender and get their insurance info,
but these foam filters, these things can get soaked and your bike can still run. so if you have
something that might get knocked over or if you work live in places that might be prone to being
more wet or you have a bike that's just prone to being on its side, foam filter might be the way to
go. so the third and final filter we'll be looking at is the oiled cotton gauze filter aka the k&n
filter. this is typically what i put on any of my more serious performance vehicles. so i use it on
my truck i'll use my v-rod basically anything where i want to have more serious power and
a little bit better throttle response i'm putting a k&n filter in it. essentially the oil catches
and traps air pollutants which allows it to hold a ton of dirt while still allowing maximum airflow
possible. meaning it'll help with performance over your paper air filter while at the same time still
not compromising the air purity entering your motorcycle. honestly one of my favorite things
about the k&n is that you grab one of these packs it's the k&n rechargers and that makes this thing
last basically the lifetime of your vehicle. i think the warranty on these is like a million
miles or something ridiculous. essentially how it works you open up the pack. it comes with
a cleaner bottle. you take the cleaner you spray the heck out of this. apply it. just let it soak.
then once it's all wet let it soak for 10 minutes. it's going to loosen up all the
particles and stuff that get into the filter. let it soak for a bit. you come back to it and
you rinse it. now make sure you rinse it whichever way the wind goes through if the air goes this way
you rinse it this way wash all the dirty stuff out not in. then you just let it sit wait let
it dry go have yourself a beer whatever you want. you get the oil and you oil in between the seams.
let that sit for a bit pop it back in your motorcycle or whatever vehicle you're using it on
and you're good to go. so of course now you're probably thinking is the k&n filter
actually worth it? it's twice the price of the boring old paper air filter but if you're like me
you've bought two to shoot a youtube video and you got to figure out which one you're
going to keep and which one you're going to throw out so let me answer this question
seriously though before i answer which one you should buy between a k&n or a paper filter,
if you are liking this video please do me a favor give me a big thumbs up it helps the algorithm
know this is a quality video that other people might want to watch. i would really appreciate
your support and if you want to see more videos with me basically just answering motorcyclist
questions please hit subscribe. okay on with the show. all right so listen if all you want is just
the normal filter that came with your motorcycle from factory that it was designed for that you can
use and not worry about and throw away and buy a new one the way consumerism intended by all means
use that paper air filter. i get it. it's it's the vanilla of air filters but some people like that
safe familiar feeling so go vanilla, whatever. but if you want something that's a little bit more fun
if you want something that will last the rest of your vehicle's lifespan that could potentially add
a little bit of added performance, k&n gives this thing a 10 year warranty or like a million mile
warranty it's ridiculous. whether you're gonna get one of these because you do want a little bit more
power or you want to try something different or maybe you're an environmentalist who doesn't like
the idea of using something throwing it out using something throwing it out this is a good option.
or if you're like me and you're not necessarily an environmentalist but you just want to get a little
bit more bang for your buck i like these a lot. does it cost literally twice as much as the paper
filter i just threw over there? yes but this more than pays for itself. can you go wrong getting the
paper filter? no not at all just be mindful that the requirements manufacturers have and your own
personal requirements might be different. so they might be making stuff lean or super clean to help
pass emissions. maybe you care about that but maybe you'd rather have a little bit more fun,
it's up to you. and i think that ties in really well to the last question i want to
answer which is what filter is actually best for your motorcycle? i mean we know that the filter's
job is to get as much air in and keep as much crap out. so which one's actually going to be
best for your particular bike? truthfully that's going to come down on application. i'm not the
biggest fan of paper filters. i will use them on some of my more low-powered machines where i don't
really care about performance. they're totally fine if that's what you want if you want to feel
comfortable having your vehicle completely stock by all means that's the right option for you. me
on my more fun vehicles or on my work vehicle i like having the k&n. i do get a little bit better
response i don't know if it's psychological or not. people have done dyno tests though so you
can actually look up dyno test on google your motorcycle model and you'll see charts that show
the different increase in performance so it's cool to check out. you can actually see results
on paper which is neat so if that's your jam k&n or the cotton gauze oiled filters are definitely
my recommendation. and truthfully the vehicle that i ride probably the second most is my
little vespa. i love that thing and i use the foam filter on that i absolutely love it
it does help to get more air flowing through you will notice it on such a small motor
the difference that it makes having a not so restricted air intake. you can feel a difference.
depending on what your application is if your bike might be getting knocked over a lot that might be
a good setup for you too. all right guys if you like this video please support me by hitting the
like button i would really appreciate that. if you want to see more videos by me answering your
questions or feel free to leave me a question down below hit the subscribe button i will answer you.
thank you guys for your support i appreciate it as always ride safe but have fun peace