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Air filters

9K views 36 replies 22 participants last post by  Pirate 
#1 ·
I know, I know
But I'm going to ask anyway!
Has anyone figured out a way to clean the air filters on the Talon? I fully understand the "no compressed air" , with that said, I'm trying a vacuum and maybe some kind of foaming type carpet cleaner to help lift the dirt, we have high volume vacuum systems were I work to move plastic pellets so I may tap into that? Lol I know, I know!
Trying to save $50 on a $25,000 machine, I know about particle separators, and all the things going down that road. With all that said, I like messing around and figuring out things and I'm a cheap ass....... Anyone else try anything? (I've yet to chance anything yet by the way, I'm still experimenting)😃😎🇺🇸💯
 
#2 ·
I know you are looking for cheap hacks and not a scolding finger but I'll be that guy who gives you what you don't want.

There are a few items on the Talon that you should not go cheap on. Air filters are one of those for several reasons.
1. Cleaning a paper filter pushes contaminants into and past the filter material and thus into the engine.
2. Honda will not honor warranties if the air filter is cleaned and not replaced.

If you are looking for a cheap fix for how quickly the air filter gets dirty, I recommend adding the uni air filter inside the airbox. An alternative to Particle separators, Snorkels or other Pre Filters | Honda Talon Forum (talonsxsforum.com)
 
#6 ·
Ryan, welcome to the forum!

There have been a few folks here who have experienced engine failures (on various types of machines) due to inadequate filtration of K&N filters. This has mainly been experienced in the southwest US or where there is a lot of dust/dirt. Some people who run K&N's, run two or even three K&N filters in series or a K&N as a pre-filter to the factory filter. For off-road UTV use, there is enough skepticism (with some evidence to support it) to warrant some caution.

I dont know if where you ride has a lot of dust. If it does, a solo K&N may not be adequate. If your riding grounds are not dusty, you might be ok.

I dont know what type of UTV or off-road experience you have but I suggest you do a search of this forum for "K&N". You will find various experiences with them but enough bad experiences that might make you re-evaluate a solo K&N as your only air filter.

Either way, enjoy your Talon!
 
#7 ·
I'm another 'K&N sucks' kinda guy. There are several online filter comparisons and K&N finishes in the bottom third of all filters tested. (n)
 
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#8 ·
I run the BVC prefilter on mine, and the "dirty" side of my airbox is so clean, I don't really need to change out the internal factory filter (but I do now and then anyway). I run the K&N with Outerwears (you can run foam if you like), and change the Outerwears whenever it starts to get packed up. Makes a particle separator seem silly to me!

 
#10 ·
I started another thread here looking for input on filter minders that may interest you. They are in widespread use on heavy equipment and diesel engines. They have a simple resettable gauge that measures the vacuum pressure on the clean side of the air filter. When the vacuum gets too high the gauge indicates it and you change the filter. You really can't tell if a filter is shot by looking at it and dirty filters actually do a better job of scrubbing the air than new filters. Another advantage is not having to break apart the airbox and possibly create a new problem.
When I bought my diesel truck the people told me not to ignore the filter minder because a diesel engine with a clogged filter can actually just suck the filter into the block. I don't know if they were trying to scare me or what but they made their point and I checked it at least every time I refilled the DEF fluid.
 
#11 ·
I also use a pre-filter UNI. Have two, one in use and the other ready for quick switch out if needed. Ride dusty Michigan trails. I use the Honda internal service monitor and switch out the UNI every 600 miles. The factory filter looks great but I exchange it each spring. We don't use our machine in the winter, snowbirds. We average 3500 miles a summer. Factory filter looks ok but I feel better replacing it at the start of each riding season. I do spray the UNI filter. The inside of the box remains clean.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Just buy a new factory replacement filter when you need one. Attempting to clean an unsupported pleated air filter is asking for trouble.

I have been running around in the dusty western states for the last 40 years and I will tell you that K&N's (without additional protection) will not filter properly and you will wind up wearing out an engine in short order! If you do add additional protection to your K&N (which causes air restriction) , then whats the point of the K&N?

For those of you that think a particle separator is silly, well I've cleaned way too many foam air filters in my life time to not want to do it anymore.

First, there's the messy sticky removal of the filter.....
Second, then there's the cleaning of the messy sticky filter.....
Third, then you have to let the filter dry after cleaning.....
Fourth, then you have to re-oil the sticky messy filter......
Fifth, then you have to re-install the messy sticky filter......

And don't forget the time it takes and the price of the cleaners and the oil for those sticky messy filters.....

It takes me just a couple of minutes to empty and clean my particle separator!

No I don't work for them LOL!

I'm just tired of cleaning air filters!

Rand
 
#13 ·
In April I cleaned my K&N after 760 miles since I installed it with UNI 3" pre-filter. The K&N was perfectly clean and didn't need to be cleaned. The Uni was caked with dirt on the inside, but looked clean from the outside. The inside of the airbox was clean. I would say the Uni pre-filters are the least expensive and simplest way to fix the poor air filter life for these machines. I am sold and don't feel the need to spend a lot of money or time on something different at this point. I have a new stock air filter on hand if I feel the need to swap it back in. I bought more 3" Uni pre filters to have at the ready to change when needed. I do most of my riding in the fall and early winter because I work in Agriculture and have no time spring and summer. Since I last pulled the filter to check and clean it in April, I've only put another 140 miles mostly riding around the farm. I'm coming up on my riding season again and will pull the filter and do the 1,200 mile service. I have two more UNIs ready to swap out along with a brand new factory filter if the K&N appears dirty. K&N or not, the UNI pre-filter is worth the $25 or so that they cost and will extend the life of the main filter. Money is tight these days under the inflation of the Biden regime, so the UNIs are definitely cost effective.
 
#19 ·
I would have to take your word for that as I don’t go out west. But where the heart of alot of trail riding goes on Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Indiana I have 700 miles on my main filter. It looks like it was made for the machine as well. I originally had planned to do the KWTuntil this came out as I kept putting the KWT off because I thought it was big and ugly. Glad I am running what I am for trail riding in the mountains.
 
#21 ·
For me, cleaning the filter every ride is standard practice since the 2-stroke days. Trails can be very dusty in WI. I would have looked at the 10-80 setup if it was available when i bought my machine. So, I have to clean my BVC pre-filter every ride. I just can't get over the bulky look of the particle seperators.
 
#25 ·
I usually wash the air filter on my dirt bike and then oil them after every four rides. I used dish soap, water, and oil designed for cleaning the air filter. After cleaning an engine air filter, it’s important to apply oil to it because it actually improves the filter’s ability to trap dirt and debris.
Just to be clear here, the OEM Talon air filter is a one time use and should NEVER be cleaned/oiled or even blown out. It is made of some sort of compressed paper that is oiled and water/compressed air will ruin it and your engine may get dusted. About the only thing you can do in an emergency is remove it and tap it on the ground to get some of the dirt off it so you can get somewhere to replace it.

There are cleanable replacements available but I would not recommend any of them. Every time you open up the filter box, you chance disturbing/dislodging and/or pinching the seals and dust WILL get in if the seals aren't perfect. This is why you get new seals with a new filter, they are not meant to be constantly opened/closed like would be required with a cleanable filter.

If your ride in dusty conditions and want to make the OEM filter last longer, install some sort of washable pre-filter or a particle separator.
 
#30 ·
Respectfully, I’m honestly not trying to be offensive here but you’re tripping over a buck to pick up a nickel. Any money you save now has the potential to cost way more later. That strategy sort of defeats your whole cheap ass approach.
You could save money on cheap oil but it just brings that catastrophic failure sooner.
 
#31 ·
Just my 2 cents worth. CID has a point. Take a K&N filter and coat it with their filter oil...and out here in the West, the filter will be covered with a sort of mud before you know it.
Now, Outerwears makes covers for just about all K&N filters. Outerwears are made of a material that will not pass any particle larger than 5 microns, or 0.005". So they work great
for keeping dust out of the engine. Coming from the Polaris world, if your air filter fails and dust gets through. It mixes with gas in the throttle body. That mixture, mud, gets into the engine
and it catastrophically fails shortly. That happened on my RZR 800. The lower engine half case was useable, everything else was scrap.

If you want to clean in intake side of an air filter, like the Talon has, use a shop vac, holding the nozzle 2" from the filter face and it will vacuum off the dust. Been doing it for 14 years!
Pirate
 
#32 ·
Just my 2 cents worth. CID has a point. Take a K&N filter and coat it with their filter oil...and out here in the West, the filter will be covered with a sort of mud before you know it.
Now, Outerwears makes covers for just about all K&N filters. Outerwears are made of a material that will not pass any particle larger than 5 microns, or 0.005". So they work great
for keeping dust out of the engine. Coming from the Polaris world, if your air filter fails and dust gets through. It mixes with gas in the throttle body. That mixture, mud, gets into the engine
and it catastrophically fails shortly. That happened on my RZR 800. The lower engine half case was useable, everything else was scrap.

If you want to clean in intake side of an air filter, like the Talon has, use a shop vac, holding the nozzle 2" from the filter face and it will vacuum off the dust. Been doing it for 14 years!
Pirate
Just my 2 cents worth. CID has a point. Take a K&N filter and coat it with their filter oil...and out here in the West, the filter will be covered with a sort of mud before you know it.
Now, Outerwears makes covers for just about all K&N filters. Outerwears are made of a material that will not pass any particle larger than 5 microns, or 0.005". So they work great
for keeping dust out of the engine. Coming from the Polaris world, if your air filter fails and dust gets through. It mixes with gas in the throttle body. That mixture, mud, gets into the engine
and it catastrophically fails shortly. That happened on my RZR 800. The lower engine half case was useable, everything else was scrap.

If you want to clean in intake side of an air filter, like the Talon has, use a shop vac, holding the nozzle 2" from the filter face and it will vacuum off the dust. Been doing it for 14 years!
Pirate

here is my advice, don't futz with the air filter, use only Honda OEM, do not clean, reverse air, shop vac, wash for Christ sake, etc. - I do trust Honda on air filtration to keep the engine happy -


its a $45 main filter, expensive - there are many prefilter solutions and the preferred solution other than endless new filters out there on the market to save the main filter that work outstanding as the desert riders have reported. we are here to help and know a thing or two - so just ask



I think the K&N, etc. filter are all BS
 
#33 ·
here is my advice, don't futz with the air filter, use only Honda OEM, do not clean, reverse air, shop vac, wash for Christ sake, etc. - I do trust Honda on air filtration to keep the engine happy -


its a $45 main filter, expensive - there are many prefilter solutions and the preferred solution other than endless new filters out there on the market to save the main filter that work outstanding as the desert riders have reported. we are here to help and know a thing or two - so just ask



I think the K&N, etc. filter are all BS
For reference - I installed the external Uni prefilter (behind the passenger's head) before my first ride. I'm still running the original stock filter and I have 12,923 miles. It still looks almost new. The Uni needs cleaning every 600-1000 miles. I have 3 of them and can R&R in 5 minutes. Plus it's right out in the open where I can keep an eye on it. Plus II - I'm not taking the airbox apart repeatedly, which is trouble looking for a place to happen.

Prefilter details here, for the curious, plus a lot of other basic Talon information.

Motor vehicle Automotive tire Hood Automotive lighting Automotive design
 
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#34 · (Edited)
Ken and Norm started a great company way back when most serious off roaders ran Donaldsons. It was some of the best technology available at the time. Many drag and street cars used them as well as they flowed air very well. K&N has a long, good reputation for many reasons. Team Honda even specified that those using their pit services for the Baja 1000 and other races run a K&N filter until at least pretty recently (of course those motors were expected to be rebuilt after the race).

Although a K&N may still be a good choice today for some applications, there are much better approaches for off-road, as others have noted above.
 
#35 ·
I ran K&N's for years in my 1985 FL350 Odyssey however, this was a triple system.

1.) K&N filter first
2.) K&N pre-filter second
3.) K&N Outerwears on top of both of those.

Then and only then will a K&N System give adequate protection for extreme dust environment.

Rand
 
#36 ·
Not sure what the fuss is all about. While I would never run a K&N as a primary filter, as a prefilter in the BVC system it does a splendid job. I change the Outerwears whenever it gets really dirty, and I carry a spare and can do this out on the trail if necessary. I change the K&N itself out every 3 rides or so. These are usually day long rides in the dusty southwest deserts and mountains. The "dirty" side of my airbox stays spanking clean! I didn't want the mess of running a foam prefilter, and the K&N results in little or no restriction of air flow.
 
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