You maybe ok. I've used their filters and tighten them up to 26nm over the past 7 years and this is the 1st time they've failed me personally, however there was a time 3 years ago when they caused others to leak oil on the track getting them band from racing events and some track days they (k&n) issued a recall that year for models with an h letter in the serial number, I think it was h. The point is I'm not using them anymore.
He also recommends using an OEM filter. You can only torque it to that amount using a filter cup that goes over the whole filter, not cranking on a single spot welded nut on the end of a filter
Smear the O ring with oil ,,,,,, Nipp up ,,,,,,, then 3/4 turn by hand ,,,,,, warm up and check for leaks . good enough for me Rubber against metal is always harder to undo Sump plug and new crush washer need to be torqued up definitely
Every nut and bolt has a torque value quarter by the Honda, ever watched a shop mechanic service a bike ? Whilst I agree certain items are definitely torque specific and I follow that advice with a high quality calibrated torque wrench, some items are just done by feel and experience, and in my 40+ years of riding and rebuilding and servicing bikes, I have never torqued up a canister filter, maybe just got lucky, who knows ?
Hope you don't think people are getting at you Speed Lemon, does seem pretty conclusive that most of us wouldn't use the nut to tighten. In your defence though K&N should be making that clear, or if not make the nut capable of taking it.
Yeah it states on the K&N website its for removal. But it's also there as its cross drilled allowing it to be lock wired which I hadn't thought of before.
Yea, problem is how many people look at the website. I've had the same K&N filter on the last 3 services and don't think its mentioned on the box...I could be wrong though. I've only ever tightened them by hand, never had a problem.
Slightly different direction, but what’s the issue with just using the Honda OEM filters, being old fashioned always used them along with top quality oil. The 2 most important components in terms of the protection of internal engine components....... well chuck coolant and an air filter into that conversation as well I guess.
As a genuine question, why would you use a pattern oil filter when the price difference between pattern and genuine is so minimal? Personally I always use genuine parts for just about everything for piece of mind. (ok, so I did own a Harris Honda at one point but I learned my lesson the hard way!)
My OEM filter arrived today from SBS (18 hours after I ordered it) and I removed the K&N one, which I had torqued up correctly but the nut rounded off and I had to use an oil filter strap to get it off anyway... Took the OEM filter added some oil into it, fitted it on and tightened by hand. Added about 300 ml oil and and level back to top of dipstick and no fears about the K&N filter failing. Did same with my Kawasaki too, but that filter came off with the nut, however I had to drain all the oil and refill with fresh as the filter is at sump level. Whole exercise may have been technically unnecessary, but was worth it for peace of mind and I didn't miss much as the weather has been crappy all day!
Valid question. The short answer is laziness, there is a store about a mile away that stocks the k&n oil filters on the shelf. I've learned my lesson.
.....same, K&N filters are more readily available to me. Local Honda dealer closed last year, my nearest is now 30 miles away.
I also torque up oil filters, but then that's more down to my lack of trust in my mechanical abilities than anything else. If I do it that way I know it is done correcrly and shouldn't be too loose/tight, unlike the last one I tried to undo that was fitted by a dealer mechanic that was so tight I almost rounded off the removal tool.
Me too, but then I torque everything!. Torque once, quick check after a few rides then forget LOL I used to be so OCD that I used to mark the bolts/nuts that were torqued, think I'm passed that stage now!
cross drilled filters are for track use as they like tracks oil free. I have only ever hand tightened car and bike and not had an issue, The only issues I have had is getting them off from previous owners ( they might not have been changed for a long time )
eek I'm one of those that does leave the oil to drain overnight followed by a quick flush of about 200ml of the new oil, wasteful I know. You don't want to get me started on my OTT brake bleeding process, it's generally 2 days elasped!!
This isn't intended to criticise what anyone else does but the following has worked for me for 25 years and I've had no issues with the bikes I've kept for a long time... I drain the oil with the back of the bike lifted up on a paddock stand or similar if the drain plug is facing forward. I'll remove the drain plug and the oil filter and loosen the oil filler and I'll leave it for as long as it take me to make a brew before reinstalling the filter and then the drain plug. If the filter won't come off by hand I'll use a chain strap tool if it's to hand or I'll drive a screw driver straight through the filter body and use that for leverage. I generally don't use a new drain plug washer unless the one on the bike looks damaged in any way. If it's copper I might anneal it. I don't torque up the drain plug as I know what tight enough feels like by now. I tend to use hi-flo filters from ebay. I smear a little oil on the filter o-ring before installing. Before fitting the filter I'll make sure that there's no oil on the filter body or on my hand that would make it slippery. I tighten it by hand as tight as I can get it and won't use any tools to do this. I'll generally use castrol power semi-syth oil as it's readily available at Halfords but if they don't have it I'll use their own brand oil that matches the same specifications. I fill to the top line, run it for a minute (checking for leaks), let the oil settle and then fill to between the two line. I change the oil and filter each change annually unless I hit the mileage limit in which case I'll do it earlier. This should take half an hour to an hour depending on the fairings.
