Cleaning the Air Cleaner

[DarkOnyx]

if there are two screws on the bottom, you are on the wring side. only one screw should hold the side on where you remove the filter.

Really? I am on the left hand side of the bike and it's the chrome plate in front of the left side cover that is in your pic. I thought I saw two screws when I took a look at it yesterday before I posted. I'll have to take another look.

Thanks again all.

[Guest]

My mistake.Sorry gents.I thought we were talking paper filters.I would still put in a new filter so you have a good place to start a bit of bike history for your own reference.Cheers,Simon.

[Nessism]

I thought the filter cover is on the right side of the bike?

[catbed]

the cover you see in my sig is not the cover to remove the filter. the other side of the bike is, #4 cylinder side, brake side, whatever. its the right side that you can remove the air filter. should only have one screw.

[Dogma]

the cover you see in my sig is not the cover to remove the filter. the other side of the bike is, #4 cylinder side, brake side, whatever. its the right side that you can remove the air filter. should only have one screw.

I was pretty sure I put mine in from the left... Could be wrong, I suppose. It was only last week. No matter. It's in there somewhere.

[Roostabunny]

GS850 takes a foam filter. Proper maintainance technique is to soak it in solvent, let dry, oil it, reinstall. No need to replace it unless the foam is deteriorated - which does occur, but takes a number of years.

What do you suggest for solvent? Coulda sworn somebody said dish soap.

[DarkOnyx]

the cover you see in my sig is not the cover to remove the filter. the other side of the bike is, #4 cylinder side, brake side, whatever. its the right side that you can remove the air filter. should only have one screw.

Intersting. The manual says that it's on the left side. Just to be certain "air cleaner" and "air filter" are synonymous right?

[Dogma]

Intersting. The manual says that it's on the left side. Just to be certain "air cleaner" and "air filter" are synonymous right?

Air cleaner is when it's working. Air filter is when it's clogged and filters the air out.

OK, I made that up. These terms should be synonymous, referring to the foam thing in the bottom half of your air box.

[bwringer]

I wash my air filter element with warm water and dish soap.

In the kitchen sink.

When my wife isn't looking.


When you re-oil, use very, very, very, very little oil. Don't soak it in 10W-40 and stuff the drippy mess back in there, or it'll be badly restricted. If you can squeeze the foam with a paper towel and still get any oil on the paper towel, there's still too much oil.

About two seconds with a spray can of foam filter oil, available at any auto parts store, is plenty.

If it's a K&N, get a clean and recharge kit from your local auto parts store. Don't try to fart around with homemade substitutes.

[Guest]

I'll second that on the amount of oil. I tried the aerosol filter oil and followed its instructions to spray it long and hard and soak the filter. Bike would barely run after that. The oil is there for dust to adhere to, nothing more.

[Dogma]

Silly me, I followed the instructions in the service manual that said to soak it and squeeze the excess out by hand. A laundry wringer would be more like it. Fortunately I had what I needed to deal with the big puddle of oil that appeared under the bike the next day. It does run alright though, and only makes a few drips by the next day. I'm hoping a good long ride will suck the excess out and rectify that situation.

[Nessism]

My experience in terms of oiling is to give the filter a good gurgle of engine oil. Squeeze the filter with your hand a few times to distribute it evenly through out the filter. After that, give the thing a hard squeeze to get out as much excess as you can. Follow that up with some light blotting with a clean paper towel. I like the filter to be wet, but not excessively so.

Hope this helps.

[Johnny K]

Just get a K&N with the recharge kit and your bike will thank you:-D