We’ve said it before – your air filter is the engines last line of defense against dust, dirt and nasties getting into your engine. So do yourself a favour and keep it clean. Don’t know how? Well…thanks to Suzi and us, now you do.

Cleaning your air filter is a right pain in the ass. It’s messy, annoying and if you do it properly, it’s a little time consuming. Though there is no doubt that a fresh, clean and sparkly filter sitting in the airbox looks pretty darn pretty! So here is a step by step account of cleaning Suzi’s air filter. You can do the same with yours.

Step 1

Get into the air box either via the seat of air box cover. Get a rag or cloth and wipe away any large or lose clumps of dirt in and around the filter and air box opening. You don’t want them falling into your air boot when you remove the filter. Then carefully remove the air filter from the air box and place that to one side.

Step 2

Go to work on the air box as best you can by cleaning it out. We find brake clean works really well to remove the old air filter oil, grease and dirt from the air box. A good trick is to stuff a clean rag inside the air boot so if some dirt does fall in there it will be caught and not end up in your engine later. Once you are satisfied that you have done your best in the air box’ it’s time to clean the air filter.

NOTE: To do the best job possible, you will need two buckets; one for the filter cleaner and one for the hot soapy water. Filter cleaner will get rid of about 80-90% of all the gunk on the filter. The hot soapy water deals to the rest and should help remove the dullness from the oil and solvents, making the filter look like new again.

Step 3

Take the filter cage out and submerge the dirty filter in the filter cleaner liquid and start squeezing the filter and rubbing it together to clean the dirt and grime off. Try not to wring the filter out as that can damage it in the long run. Once you think it is as clean as possible. Squeeze out as much of the cleaner as you can back into the bucket for the next filter. Give the filter cage a good clean out too.

NOTE: at a pinch you can use petrol to clean your filter when you are out of options. Absolutely safe to use a few times, however long-term use of petrol for cleaning filters is not recommended because it speeds up the process of the glue on your filter breaking down.

Step 4

Put the filter into the soapy water and do the same thing. Squeeze and rub the filter together until all the rest of the dirt is out and it has that brand-new look about it. If you are super pedantic give the filter another quick rinse in clean warm water too.

Step 5

Allow the filter to fully dry out by hanging it somewhere out of direct sunlight. That scorching sun can quicken up the perishing process of the glue on the filter.

Having a chicken is optional but recommended.

Step 6

Totally submerge the dry filter in the filter oil and squeeze out the excess back into the container for use on the next one. Spend a few minutes squishing the filter together to guarantee coverage on all parts and add more if the filter looks like it needs it. If your filter oil is spray-on, make sure you spray both inside and outside of the filter totally and squish it together to ensure complete coverage.

Step 7

Reinstall the filter onto the cage and put it back in the bike. The Filter will only go on one way correctly and you want to make sure this is done right. Look for the locating lugs and shape of the cage to determine which way and how the filter sits in the air box. Once you have tightened the locking screw, it is good practice to run your finger around the rim of the filter where it sits on the air box, to make sure there are no gaps where dirt can get in and you have a complete seal.

This very simple design from Suzuki has many features to help you install the filter in the correct manner. Firstly the locating pin, which sits at the top when installed, combined with the slots on the centre bracket guarantees that the filter is installed the right way up. You will also notice the asymmetrical shape of the filter, also meaning that there is really only one way it will fit correctly and it will be very obvious when its not. So a smart and easy move from Suzuki here.

TIP: if you know you are doing an especially dusty ride, run some grease around the rim of the filter for extra sealing and increased protection against fine dust..

TIP: place your air filter screw in your seat bolt hole so you never lose it and it is always handy.

There you go - jobs a goodin!

Yes, the process is somewhat annoying but a very real necessity for proper bike maintenance. Another good trick is to buy another couple of filters and prep them all at once. That way you could go for 3-4 rides, swapping in clean filters and not have to wash them every time. It takes nearly as long to wash one filter as it does to wash three filters.

Now get out there and do some more riding! As pictured here on Suzi :-)