Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Motorcycle 101: When to Change the Air Filter?

What nose is to a human, an air filter is to a motorcycle

 

As everybody is thoroughly aware, a motorcycle is composed of thousands of parts and each of those parts plays a significant role in the functioning of the motorcycle. In this motorcycle 101 article, we have written an overview of an air filter, which is another crucial part of a motorcycle. It requires maintenance from time to time and also demands to be replaced after a certain duration. 

 

To begin with, an air filter is the nose of a motorcycle. It filters as much dirt as possible and only allows pure air to enter the engine. The engine requires clean air to generate optimal combustion because of which; the motorcycle delivers smooth power transmission and better fuel efficiency. 

 

The air filter is made of multiple layers placed inside an air box. This air box is located near the engine’s air intake and every time the engine is in operation, the air filter cleans the air that goes into the engine. To naked eyes, the particles may not be noticeable but the minuscule fragments are enough to thwart the parts inside the engine such as piston, bore and more. Not to forget, if the particles get stirred up with the fuel; the engine may fail to function and could end up with a seizure. Therefore, an air filter is one of the most important parts of a motorcycle. 

 

Moving on to the maintenance of the part, an air filter requires regular clean-ups because when it filters air continually; it accumulates too much dirt and fails to clean the air after a certain period. Therefore, air fails to enter the engine through the filter and the engine’s performance gets degraded. In short, the engine becomes incapable of breathing.

 

An air filter of any motorcycle must be cleaned every 10,000 kilometres. However, if somebody rides a motorcycle with a bigger engine (above 400), it is advisable to wash the filter after every 7,000 kilometres. When it comes to replacing the old filter with a new one, it should be done after an interval of 20,000 kilometres. Last but not least, it is always better to employ an after-market performance air filter rather than sticking to the stock air filter regardless of what motorcycle one rides.