[hortoncode3]

So, my standard filter (2009 G-5) was finally cruddy enough to merit replacement..so I went with the K and N cone..however...the thing didn't come with cleaning instructions or use instructions either. Some of my buds swear it needs to be "prepped" before use. I have noticed that idle in traffic is like a roller coaster now..up and down , up and down. Nothing terrible annoying but noticeable. Thoughts?

[Jack Leis]

 The K&N filter is very easy to prep and maintain. You can find complete instructions on oiling and cleaning on their website.

[Ducati Scotty]

If you still have the Bosch spark plug switch to the NGK, that should stabilize your idle.

Scott

[gremlin]

hunting at idle seems to be a funtion of the O2 sensor cooling off at low RPM.  Though, spark plug replacement has become a common fix.

[agram]

I always thought that K&Ns came ready to go. As confirmed by the bit of paper my filter came with saying that it was already oiled and just needed to be fitted.

[barenekd]

They are ready to go, but for cleaning and reoiling instructions, they are on the Cleaner and Oil bottles.
Bare

[Okie Enfield]

They are ready to go, but for cleaning and reoiling instructions, they are on the Cleaner and Oil bottles.
Bare

+1...Just bought the K and N for my 10 C5 and was preoiled and ready to go. Did seem that the cumpooter was hunting for awhile but seems to have leveled out..still waiting for my upswept pipe to finish her off.

[hortoncode3]

Yeah I did the plug swop too...the old Bosch was skipping at 70 and up. It started hunting for idle right about then.

[dick_deck]

When I was trying to get my K&N in, I couldn't get the filter to stay put while I placed the metal cap on and screwed down the wingnut. I ended up having to put a few dots of gorilla glue on the filter and gluing it to the cap (the previous filter seemed to have the same treatment.)

Just thought I should mention it in case your filter slipped while installing it. Not sure if this would cause problems.

[Hobbydad]

The metal cap fits inside the lip of the bigger end of the filter, the lip will hold it in place while you put everything back together. I didn't put the plactic inner cover back on my C5, it wouldn't fit without smashing the filter somehow. My metal airbox lid has a very tight fit, I tested it with a hose for openings and it was completely dry inside, figured that was good enough for me.

[BrashRooster]

So is there any increase in performance with the K&N that replaces the stock filter? Probably not noticeable with a stock pipe though right?

[hillntx]

I switched to the K&N early in my break-in period and it seemed like the computer had to relearn to adjust to the greater air flow.  After a couple rides, no more issues.

[barenekd]

You can hear it sucking more air than the stock one, must be something to that.
On the other hand, there are a lot of different K&Ns being installed on Enfields, so it's kinda hard to make direct comparison. I have one that is a BMW air cleaner. It's tubular, no taper. I've seen several others, not necessarily sure what they are from.
Bare

[gremlin]

The minimal diameter ones that fit right on the throttle body probably don't really breathe much better than a standard filter in the airbox.   However, a K&N style oiled gauze filter that directly replaces the airbox element (same physical dimensions) is going to breathe much easier !

[Arizoni]

I bought and installed the K&N filter that is made specifically for the UCE powered bikes and installed it in the air filter compartment.

Ignoring the first time when I had overoiled it before installing it and speaking of the second time after totally cleaning it and reinstalling it I can honestly say I felt the performance was slightly less than the stock paper air filter.
I removed the K&N and went back to the original paper filter.

This decrease in performance is just my opinion and I don't have any hard evidence, just the feel of my butt and the fact that the fuel mileage dropped about 4 mpg.

My guess for the reason the performance decline in my G5 is the K&N filter is noticeably larger in diameter and I suspect it is blocking off some of the air into the connection to the throttle body.
It may work better in the C model bikes.

As a side note, I just replaced my air filter with a new paper OEM filter.