Now for the REAL WORLD why these filter are better....
Most people never ever ride their Spyder enough to see any real motor wear under normal riding conditions, whether using a mesh type or paper type filter.
Lamont has almost 25K with his Green filter and almost 50 total on his machine and it is nowhere near needing any motor work, using oil or smoking, and he rides the wheels off it every chance gets!
So to all you "million mile" riders maybe you want a smaller micron filter than mesh type filters provide, I don't know. :dontknow:
But, what I do know is this....
EVERY RIDER does ride their Spyder enough to notice, enjoy and use the improved performance the extra air flow these filters provide everyday.
So, if you are thinking that you will have 1,000,000 miles on your Spyder before you sell/trade/upgrade it, than get the smallest micron filter you can by all means.
But, if you are going to be like most owners and get rid of your Spyder before it has even 40K on it. Than I would tell you why not have your Spyder "be all it can be" and use a filter that will provide reasonable protection while providing improved performance.
Now I'm not 100% sure, but a believe DOC has this type of mesh filter in his Spyder with almost 70K on it by now, and still no problems at all. (so how long are you really goning to keep your Spyder before you get tired of it anyway?)
He lives near the ocean in FL with all that sand in the air too. He also rides it like the devil is chasing him everyplace he goes, so it's not like his Spyder has had an easy life.
I also know both GREEN and K&N certify that all their filters meet or ecxeed all factory warranty requirements. So with any of them it's not like they are letting rocks in your motor ether, or will void your warranty. :thumbup:
MM
Kinda what I meant when I said "boats dont even have air cleaners" But much better stated.
I sure would like to see some dyno numbers documenting the increase in performance though. (and not from K+N)
Most experts agree that it takes around a 10% change to feel it in the seat of pants dyno.
If just a new aircleaner makes 10hp on the spyder then I owe you lunch.
Normally that extra intake noise (or exhaust noise) does give the rider the impression of more power but it is mostly psyc.
(I am talking about the BMW guy article where he said he "felt more power")
More flow is not always better.
Valkyrie case and point:
The factory exhaust on a Valk is like 3/4 inch. All the aftermarket systems use like 1 and 1/2 inch
I have tried them all and you will loose 7-12 HP when you install these larger pipes. (you can get back 5-7 with jetting but the stock pipes outperform hands down)
Every engine configuration is different.
Think of you engine as a length of Pipe flowing water. The whole pipe is 6 inch diameter. If you change out a section of it with 8 inch pipe will the entire pipe flow more water???? Nope.
Another scenerio:
6 inch pipe again but it contains a length of 4 inch pipe in the middle (think of this as a restrictive air cleaner) Change that piece of 4 inch pipe out for 6 inch snd you will see major improvemet in flow.
The pieces of pipe in an engine are
Air cleaner
Intake runner
Cyl head port
Intake Valve opening
Piston suction (valve overlap and other factors control the Manafold absolute pressure "vacume") )
exhaust valve opning
Exhaust port
Exhaust system
This is bit over simplified but it does make the point.
The point:
If you happen to find the "small piece of pipe" in your engine you will increase performance dramatically. otherwise ...not so much...
The factories spend a lot of energy optimizing this (Dont you think Can-am would love to be able to advertise 120 HP if it was a simple as changing the air cleaner)
They are restricted however by noise/emission/and possible liability issues which is why in some cases you can get a boost from a simple mod.
Here is an example of a cheap simple mod that will give a power increase on a HD with Drag pipes
Note that the need for this mod arrises from adding the drag pipes in the first place that have decreased power.
"I want to thank Terry for remembering this trick and bringing it to my attention. He was looking for some additional power from this bike. The cost of a new set of pipes was not in his budget at the time so the following suggestion was made by the Motorcycle Performance Guide staff: "If you want to use the 'poor boy' trick to make your drag pipes work better, just drill a 1/4" hole about 1" from the end of your drag pipes then put a 1 1/4" by 1/4" bolt through it with the shaft inside the drag pipe. Place a about 1/2" of washers inside the exhaust on the bolt then add a lock washer and nut. Tighten it down and take if for a ride. This should improve the mid range power, and it might have cost you $2.00 . You can actually tune the power range a little by adding or removing washers, or altering the length of the bold. Cheap Trick!!" Note from Papadad: This cheap trick really works!!! Try it. Works the same with the long "shot-gun" pipes like the Sampsons and the home-made pipes that are common over here too. Ever wonder why Screamin Eagle, Kirker, Bub, Cycle Shack and other "slip-on" pipes sound really good (just like pipes with the baffles drilled out) and seem to have WAY more torque than straight-though pipes? Take a look inside. See the bolt/washer/plate combo? Yup...sometimes welded in place. The MOFOMOCO knows something !!!! It's easy to drill an inconspicuous hole in the bottom of your straight-through pipes to insert a bolt and some washers for some added torque. Some companies are charging as much as US $40 for a set of "power cones" ... sheesh. Another yuppie-scum rip-off. Just buy a couple bolts for 10 pesos each at your local hardware store and you're all set. "
