Motorcycle Air Filter Care

What should you wash a foam air filter with?

A foam filter is not cleaned with petrol or solvent. Both dissolve the adhesive bonding the foam layers and dry the material out — after a few such washes the filter starts crumbling and passes dust straight into the engine.

OC1 Air Filter Cleaner dissolves old filter oil and contamination without attacking the structure of the foam or the adhesive. The filter is soaked, squeezed (not wrung!), rinsed and dried right through.

For a workshop or a team there is the 5 l canister — enough for around 125 cleans, at the lowest price per wash.

Why oil the filter after washing?

This is the step most often skipped — and the most expensive to skip. Clean, dry foam does not filter. It holds back only the largest particles, while fine dust passes freely through it and reaches the carburettor or injection, and then the cylinder walls.

It is the oil that makes the foam catch dust. OC1 Air Filter Oil creates a waterproof coating and carries a green control colour — you can see with the naked eye whether the oil has covered the whole surface or left dry patches.

The aerosol goes on evenly and dries quickly. The filter should be saturated but not dripping — the excess is pressed out through a clean cloth.

How many spare filters should you keep?

A sensible minimum is two. After washing, a filter has to dry completely before oiling, and that takes several hours — with one filter you either wait or ride on damp foam, which means worse filtration.

Riding in sand and at races, competitors carry three or four, swapped between sessions.

How often should this be done?

It depends on conditions: after a sandy track, potentially after every session; on firm ground, every few outings. The look of the filter is a better indicator here than the calendar.

We covered the full step-by-step procedure, with frequencies for different conditions, separately: how often to clean the air filter in a motocross motorcycle and the motorcycle air filter and how to care for it.

Everything needed for a clean in one box: air filter care bundle.