My motorcycle air filter is utterly filthy. Without going into a long song-and-dance, let’s just say I want to clean it, not replace it.
Now, this is not one of those foam filters that is marketed as being washable. It is the old-style, accordian-fold paper kind that is attached to a metal box frame that pops onto the bike.
I don’t expect to wash the filter indefinately. I just need a quick-fix that can get me through the next few weeks until I get a new one.
I don’t think a simple vacuum cleaning would do too much; the dirt seems greasy and sticky, not just dusty. So, I’m thinking a bath and light scrubbing in dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent or kerosene. Would that work? Would the paper endure a good soaking? Would the cleaning process render the filter useless even if it appears “clean”?
The K&N filters are made of a paper like filter and can be washed over and over again.
Try it. I would fill a bucket with a strong detergent solution, maybe pretreat it with some purple like cleaner and let it soak for about a hour. Swirl the water/soap solution around a bit and then rinse it a few times from the inside out.
Inspect it carefully after it dries to make sure it is in good enough shape to use again - you don’t want to send a bunch of filter material into your engine.
And you really don’t want kerosene fumes getting into your carb.
Give it a shot if you want, but be prepared to throw it away if it even looks funny - better to go with no filter than one which will toast your engine (unless the filter is being used as a flash suppresor on a back-firing engine, in which case the air filter is the least of your worries).
And - when you go to the store - buy two. Keep a spare around.
I once cleaned a car’s paper air filter with the output of a pneumatic compressor - just used the hose to blast the dirt out from the backside of the filter. It was quite effective.
I have blown car filters with compressed air and it works well because they have dust and no oil but bike filyters tend to have oily stuff on them. I have washed these filters many times with good results so you have nothing to lose by trying.
I will point out thet the air filter is only relatively indispensable. If you are operating in dusty environments then you need one but I have many times made my own filters with a couple of layers of cotton cloth (like Tshirt).