BMC vs K&N?

Originally Posted by Ash_sv650

i know alot of people with the bmc race filters, and they do come highly recomended but at the end of the day its not called BMC RACE filter for nothing lol, i used K&N's on my previouse bikes and i'm loyal to them lol, but the BMC filter with a re-map sounds like a plan, more pricey though.

I don't mind spending a few more bucks on the BMC Street if it is known to be better than the K&N.

i dont know if its known to be better, its all down to your set-up, if you go for the bmc race and a re-map then you will be sorted, but then its the engine life??, but a k and n on its own would be ok, but i can guarantee you it would be running lean, probably the same situation with the bmc street filter as the k and n.

Originally Posted by Ash_sv650

i dont know if its known to be better, its all down to your set-up, if you go for the bmc race and a re-map then you will be sorted, but then its the engine life??, but a k and n on its own would be ok, but i can guarantee you it would be running lean, probably the same situation with the bmc street filter as the k and n.

I may try the BMC Street. At the same time, I am shopping for a good deal on a slip-on or full system. I am hoping to find a really clean one on the used market. This is my 3rd bike in my garage and mostly a daily rider, so I don't want to sink a LOT of money into it. I would like it to sound a little better though. No rush. I have plenty of time.

[jambo]

To the best of my knowledge the K&N and BMC Street should be direct replacements to the OE filters and shouldn't cause big running problems. For the 99-02 bikes THE filter to have was apparently the BMC Race RS (more free flowing than the more common Race filter). I'm less clued up on the K3+

What i would say is if you're after a washable filter that doesn't need an injection remap then the BMC Street, or K&N will be fine, it doesn't matter which flows best, as neither of them flow as well as the race filters. Buy the cheaper one.

If you want an actual performance gain, buy the most free flowing filter you can get your hands on (Used to be the BMC Race RS for the curvy as I said) and budget to have someone re-map your standard ECU using a yoshi box or similar to smooth out the fulling and make sure it's not too lean.

Pipercross also do filters that would fit I believe. Again they have 3 levels of filter:
http://www.pipercross.net/motorcycle...p?m1=12&m2=165


HTH

Jambo

Originally Posted by crazyhawk99

I don't really want to go with the BMC Race and sacrifice long term engine life.

Where did you here that BS from?

BMC race is a far better filter, personally I would opt for this over the K&N any day!

Originally Posted by jambo

To the best of my knowledge the K&N and BMC Street should be direct replacements to the OE filters and shouldn't cause big running problems. For the 99-02 bikes THE filter to have was apparently the BMC Race RS (more free flowing than the more common Race filter). I'm less clued up on the K3+

What i would say is if you're after a washable filter that doesn't need an injection remap then the BMC Street, or K&N will be fine, it doesn't matter which flows best, as neither of them flow as well as the race filters. Buy the cheaper one.

If you want an actual performance gain, buy the most free flowing filter you can get your hands on (Used to be the BMC Race RS for the curvy as I said) and budget to have someone re-map your standard ECU using a yoshi box or similar to smooth out the fulling and make sure it's not too lean.

Pipercross also do filters that would fit I believe. Again they have 3 levels of filter:
http://www.pipercross.net/motorcycle...p?m1=12&m2=165


HTH

Jambo

Thanks for your input. I hadn't heard of pipercross before. I will check them out.

As far as i know BMC only made a " race filter" for the 99-02 bikes, For 03 and up they only make the one. I have had the BMC on my bike for over a year now. Noticable increase in the sound department, not so much in the power. Seems to run out a bit better. No flat spots or hiccups in the rev range! I also have a Fuel slip on exhaust. Haven't needed to remap mine, checked the plugs at last service, engine dosen't seem to be running lean, so all good!

P.S. Heard a nasty rumor that the K&N filters first made for the 03 and up were more restrictive than stock. Seems the have fixed them now but who know's?

Also expect your oil to get dirty more quickly as all of the K&N style filters allow more dirt with the more air!

Originally Posted by joshuasv

As far as i know BMC only made a " race filter" for the 99-02 bikes, For 03 and up they only make the one. I have had the BMC on my bike for over a year now. Noticable increase in the sound department, not so much in the power. Seems to run out a bit better. No flat spots or hiccups in the rev range! I also have a Fuel slip on exhaust. Haven't needed to remap mine, checked the plugs at last service, engine dosen't seem to be running lean, so all good!

P.S. Heard a nasty rumor that the K&N filters first made for the 03 and up were more restrictive than stock. Seems the have fixed them now but who know's?

Also expect your oil to get dirty more quickly as all of the K&N style filters allow more dirt with the more air!

Thanks for the info. If they don't make the Race filter for the 03 and up, that will make my decision easier (by approx 1/3) anyway.

I hadn't heard anything about dirtier oil if using a K&N or any other aftermarket filter. I have run them on bikes in the past and not noticed it, but it's worth mulling over.

If either filter opens up the sound even a little, I will be happy. I have noticed that on most of my previous bikes, when I added a K&N, you could hear the carbs "breath" a little, although when I added one to my 04 ZX10R, I couldn't tell any difference.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave

Where did you here that BS from?

BMC race is a far better filter, personally I would opt for this over the K&N any day!

The road one just looks to have more induction noise killing baffling.

Anyway to the OP and others. What's a "good" filter?

So far lots of people have said "yeah the [insert whichever one they own] is da best innit"

Are you wanting power, noise, economy?

BMC Race will cause no damage to a street engine and the do not allow any hazardous particles though either, whoever told you that must be after a commission for BMC street filters! I personally have the BMC Race SP filter, thankfully fully serviceable as they are no longer available!