Air Filter Replacement - Honda NC700

[neil700]

I have the BMC and the bike runs like a dream. I think they have to be marketed as track use only in some countries . I also did some research and there is no doubt that off the self the oem is better at filtering, but, once dirty, the K&N / BMC type filters come into their own. I read a test that some guys did in the US between an old and dirty K&N and a new one. He worked for fram I seem to remember so had the equipment to test air flow and dirt retention. Once dirty, they performance filters did flow more, but also retained as much dirt as the oem. Personally I reckon fit and forget.

[EcoRider]

Thanks, I received the BMC filer today, had a good look at it, and decided to install in during the next weekend:




The BMC doesn't seem to differ much from the K&N's I used in a Kawa 1100 for years. Before the Kawa was sold the engine was stripped, and the cylinder walls were still in 100% condition - so I think I just freaked out way too soon when I saw the word "racing" at the BMC ad...

[murray]

ouchy, must be honest and say never had such issues with my K&N in my mx-5, the real airflow improvement was much lower, and well within the computers ability to adapt to a slightly better breathing apparatus, for me its more about the service lifespan versus cost. But that being said, if the improvement it outside the machines ability to adapt to the increased airflow.... I sadly do not recall where, but in my homework before buying the NC i read somewhere, (could have been on one of the other forums) that the OE airfilter despite lower spec's etc on paper compared to the 'race' ones from BMC and K&N actually had better real life turn out.

There is also the caveat, that if you read enough, you will find the answer to any given position or theory. But a cheaper filter with comparable performance is certainly high up on my list.

[murray]

E please let us know how the whole episode unfolds, from the tear down, fitting, rebuild, and performance aspects

[EcoRider]

Jan 21, 2015 9:22:31 GMT 2 murray said:

E please let us know how the whole episode unfolds, from the tear down, fitting, rebuild, and performance aspects

No problem, I'll try not to freak out before the installation again

[wwitte002]

@ecorider, i'm also keen to know how it went?

Also, are there any other filters than BMC available?

[Deleted]

just my 2c on the filter debate. These long life filters need to be coated in a special oil, if this oil get over your air sensor your bike is going into limp mode. And as for the performance increase i call it a placebo increase. It will make a difference to the consumption...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAIxeQUSg-Q

Above is a video on "performance filters", i have a K&N in my car and the only thing it did was make her slightly lighter on gas. I have a big motor 6cilinder 4L 231HP 380NM car so a filter wont make a difference to my car unless it was a blown motor but she is n/a.

[EcoRider]

Hi Wilhelm,

In short, the filter has been installed during the weekend - and yes, I am quite convinced that these filters (BMC) do cause an improvement as far as performance is concerned. Having said that, I am not convinced that the filtering properties of these filters will be as good as the filtering properties on OEM paper filters .

Since my previous post I did some additional reading, and also compared a couple of K&N and BMC photos. By comparing the number of grooves / lines on the different filters, it looks like the BMC filters only have just more than half of the filtering material the K&N filters have. My gut feeling tells me that should the BMC "race" filters allow 25% (or whatever percentage ) more air flow, it will also allow more or less the same percentage more dust to be sucked into the engine.

Although the BMC filter has been installed, I might eventually replace it with an OEM filter again. Although it might sound stupid, I started fabricating a modification, and hope to install it during the next weekend.

I will forward some photos, as well as info which might be helpful as soon as possible.

[neil700]

Thanks Hondafan, most interesting video clip. I guess the only reason to change is the cost saving over a long period, but performance gains are n/a. I had a Ixil Hyperflow on my NC. Looked fantastic, sounded brilliant, but the motor lost torque. Put the stock one back, sold the Ixil on gumtree, all is well again and it running brilliantly with loads of low down torque just like it was designed for.

[EcoRider]

For the time being, just two pics which gave me quite a wake up call:


My first paper filter has been changed at 27 700 km. The bike has been serviced by myself at 24 000km, and I never made an effort to have a look at the air filter, because I thought I find myself in an area which is fairly dust free.......Well this is what I discovered - the filter should have been replaced quite some time ago !








When I removed the body panels, I noticed a layer of very fine dust, which covered the filter Housing, in fact, the fine dust could be seen everywhere,,,


Moral of this post - check your air filters regularly guys, I can kick myself for not having a look at my air filter at 20 000 km !

[ryc]

How difficult is it to remove the panels etc?

[EcoRider]

Quite easy to remove the panels, but one needs to be careful, and understand how the clips at the ceter of the steering colum works. I will pass comments and forward photos this evening.

[murray]

Thanks E, for the information, and pics. Look forward to hearing about the mod you are planning

[neil700]

The stock one looks pretty bad. New Honda OEM filters are R990 just as an aside. A huge -off I think. Affordable, economical bike with HUGE parts and service costs

[wwitte002]

Thanks everyone for sharing.
So its not even worth getting the bmc just to avoid buying a new oem filter every 20,000kms?