Pulled my air box today...:eek:

[Ken Talbot]

I have used K&N cleaner that comes in a kit with filter oil and it works okay. I've also found that Castrol SuperClean and other similar products work as well or better, at a much lower cost.

More often, I disregard the warnings and use about a half inch of gasoline in a flat pan. I dunk the element into the gas one side at a time, and use a swinging motion to gently wave most of the gas off. GAs only needs a few seconds of immersion time, not the 10 minutes recommended by K&N for their cleaner. Any residual gas evaporates quickly. Of course, no smoking in the area, don't wave off the excess gas onto your asphalt driveway, etc, etc, and don't ask what I do with the dirty gas.

The sealing foam on the ends of the filter appears to be a pretty generic upholstery type form that is easily cut and shaped with scissors and a razor knife. It can be tacked on with a bit of contact or cement or gasket adhesive. When installed, there is no sideways movement to worry about.

[jamak]

airbox part 2

I pulled my airbox today, and yours looks pristine next to the rodent condo I discovered! As soon as I figure out how to post a picture on here, I'll share this one. I rode this bike 80 miles home from the PO house and another 75 after I got the electrics straightened out. I don't know how it ran, the airflow was so choked.
And I ran into this for the same reason. Just changed the oil and mid/final drive fluids and had to pull the box to fill the mid.
After evicting the little devils, I took it for a ride, and it's not even the same bike! I thought I had a leak down problem too, but it was just not enough air to flow the gas correctly. Remarkable.

[draketrumpet]

How on earth did they get in there??? I assume they were mice...does the intake hole on yours not have a little meshy foam type filter??? Was the air box not attached to the carbs when you got it?... sheesh

[CatatonicBug]

How on earth did they get in there??? I assume they were mice...does the intake hole on yours not have a little meshy foam type filter??? Was the air box not attached to the carbs when you got it?... sheesh

The intake snorkel is just an open tube. No filter on that part. Once the creatures find the opening of the snorkel under the seat, they can easily nest in the center of the filter. There and the end of the mufflers are the most common places to find unwanted passengers in the Spring.

[b.walker5]

How do you wash it? scrub with a soft brush under running water or in a mild detergent? what kind of foam do you use to replace it?

thanks

I just use a spray can engine degreaser and then a wash in warm soapy water, followed by a cold rinse. Done that twice a year for the last 11 and havent had any problems. Filter still looks like good. The foam strip can be bought at any hardware store, you know the stuff, it's sold in rolls at varying widths and thicknesses, with a peel off tape to expose the sticky bit, and is used mostly as sealing strip around doors and windows, etc.

Most will say it's not fuel proof and theyre probably right but it's on the intake side of the carbs and unless somethings wrong it shouldnt ever see any fuel. I replaced foam a few years back and it's still there, so thats good enough for me.