You need to take care of your bike if you want it to last. Motorcycle air filters will help protect your bike as you use it, but they get dirty over time. The filter stops contaminants from getting into the engine, so regular cleaning should be a standard part of your motorcycle maintenance routine.
Keep reading for some tips on cleaning your motorcycle air filter. You may even want to consider a Sprint Filter air filter if you want to easily clean your air filter and get back on your bike faster.
The Importance of Cleaning Your Motorcycle Air Filter
The combustion process requires air, and air filters make sure this air is clean. It filters out things like dirt and dust so that they don't get into your engine.
When a filter gets dirty, it becomes less effective at filtering the air, which can harm your engine and affect its performance. As such, you need to regularly clean your filter to keep it at 100%.
Note that riding a bike in certain areas can cause your filter to get dirty faster. Riding a motorcycle off-road, for example, will mean that the filter is exposed to a lot of dirt that will quickly clog it. Make sure you think about the environments you ride your bike in when determining how often you should clean your filter.
How to Clean Your Filter
There are different types of air filters available, and as such, there are different methods for cleaning them. Foam filters are the most common, and the process is as follows:
- Remove the air filter cover
- Take the foam filter out of the plastic cage
- Wash it with soapy water
- Rinse it with clean water
- Let it dry
- Apply oil covering the filter
- Reinstall it
Air filter maintenance is important, but things can be made much simpler by purchasing a Sprint Filter. These can be cleaned just with compressed air, making this process incredibly quick and easy.
Filter Cleaning Tips
Every time you clean your filter, you should take the opportunity to check it for damage. If there are any notable issues, you'll need to replace the filter so there won't be any point in cleaning it.
Some people recommend using gasoline to clean filters, but you should avoid this. It can destroy the foam cells, causing your filter to degrade.
The filter goes inside the airbox, and you should clean this, too. This will get rid of particles that are trapped inside it, resulting in a more thorough clean overall.
Try to be gentle when cleaning your filter. Twisting it or wringing it out can cause damage, making it less effective at filtering contaminants out of the air.
Sprint Filter Motorcycle Air Filters
Motorcycle care is vital if you want your bike to last. Regularly inspecting and cleaning components should be standard practice, and make sure you have any repairs taken care of sooner rather than later.
Brock's Performance sells motorcycle air filters as well as various other parts. If you need to replace your filter or want to make an upgrade, take a look at our Air Filters page to see what we have available. You may want to choose a sprint air filter so you can simply clean it with compressed air.