How To Change An Air Filter

[Stretch]

The air filter ought to be cleaned / changed every 12,000 miles.

Remove the fuel tank, described in detail here:  http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,5142

Remove the four T-30 bolts (a 5mm hex will do when T-30 bolts aren't too tight).  Until this day, I didn't know the previous owner had had a K&N installed.  I'll be changing it out for a new Triumph paper filter.


Withdraw the filter housing like a dresser drawer...


Remove the filter from the the bottom of the filter housing...

Bleh!

Reassembly is simply the reverse order.  Ensure that the filter installs into the housing from the bottom, with the filter's smaller flange facing up, as shown.

[fano]

Nice work Stretch!  

[Stretch]

Thanks, Bro.  I have a few more tidbits (from my 24k service) to post as I get the time.

[EvilBetty]

How much does a new filter run on average?

I found one for $30 here, but shipping may kill any discount.
http://www.bmw-ducati.com/eshopprod_cat ... Filter.htm

[Guest]

The air filter ought to be cleaned / changed every 12,000 miles.

  I'll be changing it out for a new Triumph paper filter.

Stretch, I thought the K&N provided better airflow and was planing to switch to a K&N. Is the K&N any better ?

[Stretch]

How much does a new filter run on average?

I found one for $30 here, but shipping may kill any discount.
http://www.bmw-ducati.com/eshopprod_cat ... Filter.htm

$30 is good.  I paid 42 for mine, plus shipping.

Stretch, I thought the K&N provided better airflow and was planing to switch to a K&N. Is the K&N any better ?

You're right, the K&N does provide better airflow.  However, it does not filter out the tiniest of particles very well.  Hold a K&N (or similar oiled gauze filter) up to the sun, and you will see scores of pinholes along the tops and bottoms of the pleats.  I used to have K&N's in every vehicle I owned, until I held one of the pinholes up to my eye, and I could read my license plate through the filter.

I ride lots of dusty unpaved roads and want my engine to live way past 100,000 miles, so I swapped the K&N for a Triumph paper filter.  Look at the film of powdery dust covering my airbox in the above photo.  The inside looked even worse, and those nearly-microscopically small grains of silica can easily pass through the comparatively large pinholes in the K&N filter.  Quality paper filters are more restrictive, but they're capable of trapping the tinier bits of dirt and sand that oiled gauze filters simply can't stop.

While the bike was still in pieces, I removed the airbox completely, and washed it inside and out with soap and hot water, to remove the dirt that was lurking inside.  I didn't want some chunk of goo coming loose in there and working its way into the intakes.

[2004Tiger]

You're right, the K&N does provide better airflow.  However, it does not filter out the tiniest of particles very well. ...

I agree with you, and so do ALL of the independent comparative tests performed on air filters. K&N survives on advertising, not on filtration performance. The little bit of extra air the K&N provides is useful only at high RPM and full throttle, how often do you need it? The dirt it passes is full time.

[zombie]

nice job and I use the triumph stock filter as it has worked very nicely indeed

[Advwannabe]

I nearly always go stock on airfilters. I bought a Katana with pod filters and the stock airbox removed. The only way I found to restore the stock torque and low down performance was, you guessed it, to replace the stock airbox.

If you can find mods to the intake that are endorsed by creditable people by all means give 'em a try.

By the way Stretch, I took a replacement filter with me on my round Australia ride which included a couple of thousand kilometers off bitumen. The filter didn't need replacement until the service after I got home, so its placement is pretty good.

Thanks for the write up!

[Stretch]

my round Australia ride which included a couple of thousand kilometers off bitumen.

Is this the ride, Thunderbolt's Way?  http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,4196

Awesome pics.  Post some more there if you have them.

[Cleaverid]

I use an Air raid filter on my Dodge Cummins diesel.  Company was formed by EX K and N employess that didn't like how their product worked or filtered.  Nothing has ever gotten through my filter driving thousands of miles down dirt roads with loads of fine silt and sand on them.  The inside of my airbox looks like new. You can't see through the filter like you can a K and N.  (I tried ) Nice stuff, too bad they don't make one for our bike.

[Advwannabe]

Is this the ride, Thunderbolt's Way?  http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,4196

Awesome pics.  Post some more there if you have them.

Thanks for the kind words Stretch. The Thunderbolts pic were from earlier this year. I wasn't into digital photos during the round Oz trip in '06 but I did take a few. Will see what I can dig up

Cheers, Russell

[EvilBetty]

I'm trying to get the new filter installed, but I can't get the filter to slide all the way into the housing.



I can put the old filter back in fine, but the new one resists and makes a squeaking noise (from the foam bezel of the filter I assume) as I try to force it in.

Anyone run into this before?

The filters are almost identical, but maybe the orange part is a bit more swollen than the older one...

[Stretch]

Mine was a bit stiff to reinsert also.  Maybe a bit of grease or vaseline on the gasket to lube it up?  That will help it seal better also.

[EvilBetty]

That did it!  A little WD-40 swabbed on with a finger and it slid right in!