Lamonster
SpyderLovers Founder
I have ran mine without the plastic on and there was not a noticeable difference. Once the airbox is removed there is not only more room for the air to circulate but the air from the front scoops gets pushed towards the filter.
The best solutions would be to cut some holes under the headlights as they are directly in front on the filter. You would probably want to put in a slide of sorts in case of rain.
If you have a temp gun shoot the inside and tell me what your air temp is. There is no way that it's even close to ambient. I've talked to the BRP guys about this and they said that their testing showed as much as 230 degrees under that cowling. They used a temp prob while driving.
Here's some good reading for you tech guys. http://www.rscycles.com/tech_articles/air_density.htm