The engine air filter is a component of the motorcycle fuel system, which filters and cleans the air from any external elements.
In fact, it is very important to keep the air clean from dust, sand, smog and other impurities when it is channeled inside and led up to the combustion chamber.
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What is it for?
Without this component, the air arriving at the combustion chamber could carry impure particles from the outside which in contact with the engine components could cause them to malfunction.
Among the most frequent problems we can mention:
- premature wear of pistons, rings, spark plugs, etc.
- contamination of the throttle valve and the mass air flow sensor, with the problems that this entails.
- Engine seizure, due to the accumulation of debris in the combustion chamber.
Without the filter or with a non-functioning filter, there would also be a greater flow of air into the combustion chamber, which would cause the combustion to become leaner. This leaning would automatically translate into higher fuel consumption.
As did?
The air filter is usually made up of two parts: a solid part, usually a sheath, which supports the filtering part; a filtering part, usually of a material such as paper, sponge, cloth, cloth, etc. The shape of the filter may vary depending on the model of the motorcycle: it can be rectangular, cone, cylinder, etc.
Il K&N Filters air filter has a conical shape, a length of 76 mm, a width of 56 mm and a height of 76 mm. This filter is particularly suitable for Yamaha motorcycles and is long lasting.
There is no set deadline for the replacement of this component. Its duration depends very much on the individual driving style and above all on the quality of the roads traveled. For example, if the motorcycle travels on city streets, which are fairly clean, the filter can safely last up to 20.000-30.000 km of travel.
Maintenance and replacement
Paper air filters cannot be cleaned and must necessarily be replaced. This is not the case for fabric filters, which can be taken apart, washed and reassembled. In this regard, there are special kits on the market with products designed to clean and oil this component.
The motorcycle air filter can be easily replaced by yourself, even if you do not have great technical knowledge, also as this component is always quite visible and its localization should not create problems. If in doubt, you can always consult your motorcycle booklet or do a quick search on the internet.
Once extracted from its housing and carefully inspected, if the color of the filter is uniform and the clogging is due to an accumulation of dust, in this case it will be sufficient to clean it. The extraction and control operation must obviously be carried out with the engine off and cold, after having safely parked the motorcycle; first, the fixing pins must be loosened, after which the filter can be removed.
