Homemade Prefilter

[CarlS]

The filter is hard to get to on the Tiger 800 and 800XC. The tank must be removed or, at least propped up, to check and change the filter. There is a prefilter available from Australia by Uni; but it does not work with ABS equipped bikes. Here is a homemade solution that I found on the Tiger 800 and AdventureRider forums.

Someone on the Tiger800 forum had used a KTM Twin Air foam filter and zip tied it around the snorkel after drilling a series of holes on the side of the snorkel. Another 800 forum member did the same and, says, it works great! H e says it is now a 5 minute job to service the prefilter.

Take your snorkel down to the KTM dealer, get a roughly square filter about an inch or two longer then the opening in the snorkel. drill 5 or 6 -1" holes on the inboard side of the snorkel, oil the filter,wring out the excess, let it sit overnight. Wipe off the excess oil, then wrap it like a taco from the bottom (the snorkel being the taco filling), leaving the forward end of the snorkel open and untouched; use 2 zip ties to secure the filter around the snorkel-insert the male end of the snorkel into the airbox, bolt 'er down and you're done. One bolt install/take-down-easy peasy!

 

[Rocky]

I'm sure the Tiger crowd will find this very interesting

 

[CarlS]

Obviously, the idea is to use an easily accessibly prefilter to prolong the life of the hard to access filter. I am going to give this a try myself.

 

[The Seeker]

How come the filter turned from white to green?

Posted using Tapatalk 2 via my RAZR

 

[CarlS]

The oil, maybe?

 

[coffee]

Does the foam filter w/ oil restrict enough air to make the holes necessary?

 

[CarlS]

Apparently so according to two riders who have tried this.

 

[devo]

Does the foam filter w/ oil restrict enough air to make the holes necessary?

I'm picking the purpose of the holes is so as to utilize more of the foam filter, otherwise just that small part at the bottom will be used.

 

[coffee]

I'm picking the purpose of the holes is so as to utilize more of the foam filter, otherwise just that small part at the bottom will be used.

Quite possible. I'm wondering what affect this has to air flow & to the pressure within the airbox; & what those variables do to engine performance. I'd love to see this bike on a dyno & compare stock to this set up & the other prefilter set up. I'm just curious, that's all.

 

[devo]

I imagine that the a/f meter would adjust mixture to suit but that certainly does not rule out any drop in power as a result of impeded air flow.
The other thing to be wary of is don't over oil the foam as oil on the meter element will upset the readings.

 

[CarlS]

Over oiling a foam filter is a common mistake.

One of the guys who this first tried using the foam filter without drilling the holes. He suffered a big loss of power above 45 mph. That prompted him to drill the holes. I would like to see an exhaust gas analyzer results with the this prefilter in place.

 

[avion]

yeah, you can't have too many holes in the snorkel. The plenum effect is created by the air box volume itself, so, as long as the actual air box can 're fill' it's air all will be unchanged.

The only disadvantage I could possibly see is if you regularly do river crossings in saddle deep water.

 

[Sea Dog]

Thanks for that Carl. It is certainly a big problem with the Tiger having a 40 minute job just to get the air filter element out. Really poor design for a bike designed to be used off road and the associated dust.
I really like the "Taco" solution and will set it up within the week, as I currently have the tank off the Tiger with the dirty air filter element sitting on my work bench waiting for the local dealer to get one in. Sad to say, they did not have any in stock and it is a weeks wait to get one in. The original filter has done 10,000 kms and is very dirty, however the engine side of the element is pristine. It has done its job brilliantly. The "Taco" should at least double the life of the filter.

 

[hendo01]

talking to a lad here in oz who has done the same thing like copy book said it work fine

 

[avion]

all this talk of air filters convinced me to clean mine.

yep, long job. filters drying @ the moment, DNA.

It was filthy after 7000 kms. musta been the rain riding as I don't do much off road.

gatvol now. will put it back in tomorrow.

...

 

[CarlS]

Thanks for that Carl. It is certainly a big problem with the Tiger having a 40 minute job just to get the air filter element out. Really poor design for a bike designed to be used off road and the associated dust.
I really like the "Taco" solution and will set it up within the week, as I currently have the tank off the Tiger with the dirty air filter element sitting on my work bench waiting for the local dealer to get one in. Sad to say, they did not have any in stock and it is a weeks wait to get one in. The original filter has done 10,000 kms and is very dirty, however the engine side of the element is pristine. It has done its job brilliantly. The "Taco" should at least double the life of the filter.

Please post your results and details about how you do it. I am also going to do this mod over Christmas.

yeah, you can't have too many holes in the snorkel. The plenum effect is created by the air box volume itself, so, as long as the actual air box can 're fill' it's air all will be unchanged.

The only disadvantage I could possibly see is if you regularly do river crossings in saddle deep water.

Exactly. As long as the air can get to the airbox, it is good to go.

 

[Sea Dog]

Prefilter job done. No change in the performance or engine behaviour.



Dirty side of filter after 10,000 kms.



Engine side of same filter. Stock unit really does an excellent job.



Original snorkel



Ready for stocking



Four layers. Two legs worth.



Oiled ready to go



Fitted in place. Will be interesting to see how often it will require replacing. Total cost was $4 for two pair of stockings, a bit of filter oil and 3 cable ties.

I drilled 37 x 10mm holes in the snorkel, which now gives it 2.5 times the original air inlet area. I anticipate that this will more than compensate for the restriction the stocking creates.

Was tempted to steal my wife's fish nets, however it would have convinced her that I had finally tipped over the edge.

 

[CarlS]

Very good. Thanks for the report and the pics. I have used panty hose as filters for electronics in the desert. It worked well.

 

[CJBROWN]

Pyg did a group buy on ADV for the UNI from AUS/NZ, I think there were about a 100 of them brought in. I got one for mine. It's no picnic to install it into the airbox, it has a rubber grommet that fits in where the snorkel was, and it's UNI foam almost a foot long. I had to access the inside of the airbox to install it, but they claim it can be done from the outside with just the seat off and the cross brace for the ABS unit.

Also claimed to stop 95% of incoming dirt, so ostensibly you never have to service the original.

I wouldn't use the sock thing although it probably does block a lot of dirt. Just plan to check your main filter on regular factory specified intervals.

For the guy waiting for a factory filter, you could blow out the dirty one for temporary use, get you by 'till the new one arrives.

BTW, Bike Bandit is selling oem parts. Lead time is a bit long, but I was able to get a cooling hose from them within a week or so, and the parts are discounted.