Experience with K&N Air Filters

[cowboyup3371]

Does anyone have any experience with K&N Air Filters for the 550s? I'm thinking of changing out mine to one but wanted to know if they were worth the high cost compared to the OEM foam filters.

Edited to add that I am referring to the stock style - SU-5500 and not any pods. I am keeping the stock air box.

 

[bobgroger]

I have the SU-1200 OEM replacement in my 850 because the original foam filter was disintegrated. No problems, best running bike I have. Buy it once, million mile guarantee.

 

[Guest]

Last year I bought a 6,000 mile non-running, 1980 550E.
I had lots of problems getting it dialed in after a carb clean/rebuild until I found an info site that suggested stepping up your main jet 1 or 2 sizes if you have a K&N in a stock air box. I went up 1 1/2.
I swapped out the jets and it runs great now. Even better after I sync'd the carbs.

 

[Nessism]

K&N's flow lots of air because they don't filter it very well. Most people don't keep their bikes around long enough for it to matter though.

 

[Guest]

I've had my K&N for 32 years now, it gets cleaned and reoiled once a year. I think it works just fine, engine has 63,000 miles on it. Still no oil use.

 

[Nessism]

I've had my K&N for 32 years now, it gets cleaned and reoiled once a year. I think it works just fine, engine has 63,000 miles on it. Still no oil use.

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

 

[Juergen]

My CX500C 1981 and my 97 Astro van have K&H. 75,000 on Honda, 380,000 on the van. Both doing well. Working on my GS850L 1983 Now. That one I got this month. Carbs done, electrical repaired, engine fired. Now on to the new fuel tank from E-bay.

 

[rudeman]

I know it's totally seat of the pants but...my Ford P/U runs noticeably better with a K&N replacement over the OEM paper filter.

 

[JJ]

I have K&N air filters on all of my vehicles, both two and four-wheeled. It is one of the first changes I make to any vehicle I buy, for the past 30 years or so. I have never had a problem with filtration, airflow, or engine wear. I'm going to keep using them.

 

[Nessism]

The data clearly shows K&N's allow more dirt through to the engine than a good paper filter. I won't run them for that reason but you guys are free to. Anecdotal evidence saying "I never had any issues" is fine and all, but I just don't see the point in using an air filter that's less effective at doing what air filters are supposed to do, namely clean the air.

 

[tkent02]

If you want your engine to run for 300,000 slow assed miles without even buying new rings then stay with the stock paper filter. If 293,000 faster miles is OK and you don't mind buying a few jets along the way K&Ns are fine.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Thanks all. My stock filter is a piece of foam that I'm sure works great and I haven't had too many issues. I typically have replaced it when I needed but I actually sat down and tried to wash it today using mineral spirits and cold water. I am temporarily using a new one for Charmayne's bike since she can't ride for awhile but I will put mine back in as soon as it dries.

The point was to look at other options than the stock and I read some decent reviews online. I'll read up on what you posted Ed and then go from there.

 

[wymple]

I have a fairly new K&N for an 81 850G hanging on the wall. They might last, but not worth the trouble to clean & keep properly oiled to me. The factory doesn't use them. I bought this bike from my son and the filter is as close to new as it gets, so if anyone wants it........

 

[JJ]

I have a fairly new K&N for an 81 850G hanging on the wall. They might last, but not worth the trouble to clean & keep properly oiled to me. The factory doesn't use them. I bought this bike from my son and the filter is as close to new as it gets, so if anyone wants it........

I clean and oil my K&N filters once per year. K&N says if you can see the wire screen on the entire filter, it doesn't need cleaning. They are supposed to go 50K miles between service under average conditions, but I feel more comfortable with once a year.

Yes, if it's too bothersome to take it out, clean and re-oil it once a year, you probably don't need to be running one. The reason the factory used the foam filters is because they're CHEAP.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

I think this thread should be moved to the Vortex!!!
biggrin-new

 

[tkent02]

Considering the 550s never had paper filters to begin with, the little sheets of foam that Suzuki sells for the filter don't fit all that well and that 550s are seriously lacking in low end grunt, go for it. I have used those K&N filters in several 750s and 1000s, and quite a few cars, they all run better but a tad leaner. You may need a bigger main jet.

Scott, speaking of grunt, when are you going to do the 675 conversion?

 

[JTGS850GL]

I've been using K&N filters for many years with no noticeable damage to my engines. My Chevy astro had over 350,000 miles on it. Are they the best in the world? No, but they do work better then a 30 year old warped, leaking OEM filter hands down. Much easier to install then trying to repair the old one as well.

 

[Guest]

As with any research article, there are always two sides to a story, they just showed theirs and nothing else. I would like to see others and the makers research as well.

 

[Nessism]

As with any research article, there are always two sides to a story, they just showed theirs and nothing else. I would like to see others and the makers research as well.

How about some basic common sense...

K&N's flow lots of air.

Why? They only have minimal restriction to airflow.

Why? The filtering media they use doesn't get in the airflow path to the extent more restrictive filters do.

What is the consequence of this? Less effective air filtering abilities.

The only real question here is does the less effective filtering matter to the end user? By most accounts the differences in filtering ability won't affect most users. Users that live in a dusty environment and/or people that want the most protection possible for their engine are probably not the best candidates for using such filters though.

 

[CanadianGSguy]

I just put the K&N SU1200 filter in my bike this year. It seems to run fine and seems to idle a lot better. I'm just going to keep my eyes on the plugs to make sure there isn't any heat issues there. If there is I'll need to re-jet.