SE Air cleaner maintenance

[Monk]

My XL has the SE Sportster stage 1 air cleaner kit installed...

it needs a new filter element or the old one "washed".

How does one wash a filter like this? The K&N replacement says it can be "washed and reused hundreds of times".
Much rather do that than shell out $50 for a new one if it's not needed!

[WideOpen]

I had a K&N on my Dyna, not a SE but just the K&N branded item. Washed it with cleaner and water, rinsed it really well and let it dry for a day. Then renew it with oil spray from a K&N kit. I think the kit came with some kind of cleaner spray and the oil spray.

[vlade]

Should have a cleaning re oiling kit at the dealer But not certain that the SE is the same as [email protected] Depends model year I think

[Strat HD]

Yeah, like Wide said you can get K&N maintenance kits. Cleaner spray and oil spray. Got mine at Autozone.

[Monk]

Thanx guys, Autozone I've got!
I looked at the filter in there and it's made of that same kind of heavy cloth-like material as the K&N stuff I think.

[CLL375]

I also got the cleaning kit from Autozone. I have a K&N filter in every vehicle I own, even bike. It always buy and extra filter though. When I take one out to clean it I pop in the freshly cleaned and oiled one. After cleaning and oiling the old one I stick it in a plastic bag and wait for the next time. Just a thought.

[Monk]

I actually did some more reading and came up with this... I rinsed out the OEM SE filter from the inside to the outside only with denatured alcohol.
It's supposed to deform the fibers less, and it worked pretty well, just rinsed through and let dry.

I probably will buy one K&N, and keep this one for those 24 hour periods the K&N must sit to dry following cleaning. I hate down time!

Just ran it around the block and it might be my imagination, but it does seem snappier (probably the alcohol fumes in the mix).

Two K&Ns would be better, then I could rotate 'em like CLL - good idea!

The benefit of this process was I learned more about my bike. I knew it had the stage 1 work, but didn't know it used the SE parts on the A/C.

Learn something everyday!
:cool

[Boss]

Might as well pop this question in here...How often should this cleaning be done?

[CLL375]

Might as well pop this question in here...How often should this cleaning be done?

When its dirty. It all depends on where you ride, how many miles you put on it, open element or not. I check mine every few months to see what it looks like but I've only swaped it out once since I got the bike. I've seen them still clean after a few years but by then they are dried out.

[Monk]

Mine had 12k miles on it and I'm not sure if the dealership cleaned it @ 5k or not.
It wasn't givin' me any problems, but it was one of the maintenance points I wanted to hit in keeping with the 10k dealer svc it never got.
At 12k it was pretty dirty! Barely passed direct sunlight at all.

So far it's had new tires, the drive belt adjusted by the custom shop, new iridium plugs, adjusted the primary chain myself, synthetic oil top and bottom (again), fork oil changed and forks pre-loaded, added fork brace and now the A/C has been cleaned... I'm thinkin' I'm pretty much on top of it mechanically.
Still need to get the cover gaskets replaced.

It's a lifestyle, I'm beginning to see.

[Crocodile56]

Damn, I missed this thread.........sorry Monk!
I just hit mine filters with carb cleaner and blow from inside out with 50lbs air pressure then spray with WD 40 and blow again lightly and reinstall!

And Frank asked how often to do it, well that depends on where you ride and how much dirt is in your air! City folk have less dirt to deal with country folk have more dirt!
I check and clean mine every 5K........

[Happy Hours]

Good thread,Thanks for posting everyone.


btw,my replacement foam filter for the S & S carb is black? Looks like a light color would have been a better idea but DAMIFINO

[MOTOCROSSER]

k&n has a filter charger kit that has the cleaner and aeorsol spray for the filter. the main thing is do not over oil the filter!!!!!!

[Monk]

The SE element is a "dry filter" and doesn't get oiled. I am gonna get one K&N HD-0900, which does get re-oiled after cleaning.

Got a $35 bid in on one at eBay right now... probably won't get it, but the buy-it-now listings are all for the same as K&N or J&Pcycles online prices.

[JimP]

Hey Monk, one thing that was mentioned in another thread was on brake fluid and the need to change that out from time to time. Not sure what the frequency is but it may be worth checking