Air Filter Oil/cleaning

[dasher]

Guys,

I was advised that to clean the Airfilter I should use hair shampoo. I tried this, which ended up in a gunky mess which took some cleaning off.

This was probably the oil reacting with the water.

I was advised again that there are water-based Oils for filters which will allow the use of cleaning with water and then can be re-oiled afterwards.

So, can you please advise on teh following couple of things really:

# How to clean the filter

# What Oil to use afterwards

AND if the 'gunky' crap described above was the result of water & oil mixing - surely this is a valid argument for using only water-based oils i.e. that this effect must be happening in damp/wet weather to a lesser extend most of the time in UK climate!

[putrid_fruit]

Hi Dasher.

I used to believe that dish washing liquid was perfectly acceptable, in warm soapy water, as it is made to remove oils/fats and the like....

However I was recently giving the ol' air filter a wash and thought that I might like to get the stained portion a bit cleaner too, so I mixed some laundry detergent ( a liquid variety) with warm water, and it got a whole lot more dirt out than just the dishwashing liquid.

For the record I use silkolene/fuchs/bellray ( not exactly sure which at the moment) aerosol spray for air filter oil.

I clean my filter every 4-6 hours riding. I advise against petrol as a cleaner and the like since it might damage the glue in the filter ( and leave holes!).

I have also had it suggested to me that it is good to use a smear of grease around the sealing surfaces on the filter as it helps to ensure that all the air is passign through the filter. I do this too.

Cheers,

Chris.

[dasher]

thanks chris.

Im messing with the carb at the moment so have until next weekend to decide on optimum solution.

It would be interesting to see if anyone uses a waterbased oil, type etc.

[jer]

You can buy air filter cleaning kits which consist of one big bucket type container, which you fill with cleaner, plus a smaller container you fill with oil. The cleaner and the oil come with the kit as does a wire mesh which goes in the bottom of the cleaner container to stop the filter resting in dirt washed out of the filter. Once you've washed your filter in the cleaner you wash it out in water, leave it to dry then immerse it it the oil, squeeze most of the oil out then put it in your bike. The one I've got (silkoline) cost about

[gwrev3]

I've always used washing-up liquid squirted directly onto the filter, which I massage through before rinsing off with clean water. Once dry, I apply a small amount of two stroke oil (Castrol TTS) and squeeze the filter to ensure even distribution. I have used a PJ1 spray in the past, but I found this made the filter harder to clean and in addition, it had a tendancy to make a mess inside the airbox.

Also, Jitsie filters seem a lot better than the original Beta filters, with regards to cleaning and durability.

[pandelboy]

have a look into no toil air filter oil and the cleaner. its biodegradable oil which can be washed out with water in your sink . its really good oil that stops water ingress and all dirt and dust. i have been using it for about 10 months now and would not go back to conventional oils. just google no toil and have a look at the website. for supply over here look at racespec. hope this helps.