Are K&N Air Filters Really Worth The Money To Install On A Non-Race Bike?

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On my 2004 R6, I use it to cruise, go to school/work and wherever else. It does have 23K miles on it and I ride it everyday unless really windy/rainy etc...

But, it has a K&N Air Filter on it. It seems to hesitate at low to mid RPM range when giving it full throttle. But once it hits around 7K, then it really kicks in and it flys. Haven't really redlined it yet but I took it to a lil' higher than 14K RPM and at that point, it's really hard to control and I almost fell off. So I rarely take it past 8K.

But until then, it seems to hesitate. Like not enough air flow until a certain point.

I have heard debates from both sides saying K&N air filters flow less, some that say they are really good to have and some say that they aren't worth it unless it's a race type application. I don't race it so just wondering if it's worth it to keep it on rather than switching back to the stock filter.
Well on my bike, I heard it's a common problem on R6s from people with the same one as mine. Struggle at low to mid RPM range. And at a certain point, there is goes. The filter flows well from a certain range so I guess I'll just live with how it is. And when I mean, hesitates... I don't mean it as a bad thing. Just not as much power as it has at higher ranges. It is a 600cc so nothing crazy but anyway...

...what damage can be done with these from what you say?
 
Dude, K&N are probably one of the best Filters on earth.

You can run Japanese Filters and it's probably the same or worse quality.

Most K&N filters will also work if it is wet, and even work better when wet because it creates vaccum. K&N is resuable too.

So in the long run and performance, you can't lose.

Every machine I own, I buy them and one of the first thing I do is a tune up and a K&N filter, everything.

It's not even an expensive tune up item either. So run your bike for a bit until you want to buy a K&N, then change it out!
 
> But, it has a K&N Air Filter on it. It seems to hesitate at l

The hesitation is a different problem.

As for the K&N, I think these HIGH FLOW filters are BAD idea. They flow better because they filter LESS. They let in a LOT of fine dirt - that cause a lot of damage. The primary purpose of air filters is TO FILTER AIR, not to just let air pass with all the dust and find sand like particle.
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Have you notice that they always shows how WELL they let the air flow, but they NEVER show how well they filter? Air filter that is NOT TESTED for filtering....

Good luck...
 
I use them on all of my bikes-a 1999 1500 Vulcan Drifter and a 2000 Ninja 250 as well as a 1985 Honda 500 Intercepter. I see the difference in smoother performance in my applications. More air in = more gas which equals more power. When I switched my FI Drifter over I noticed an immediate, if subtle increase in power. Quicker starts from lights, faster rev limiter hits, and better overall performance The lil ninja, had some improvement, but nothing major. I would not expect a whole heck of a lot out of a 250 engine! The 500 intercepter is a work in progress so I have not had it running yet to judge performance
 
K&N filters are typically less restrictive than standard air filters.

In most cases you can install one without any other tuning changes, but it sounds like the increased airflow has messed with your low speed fuel mixture - it's too lean (too much air, not enough gas).

Some stock FI maps will compensate for this, others won't.

If the R6 standard FI map won't compensate, you'd need to purchase a performance chip to get your low end throttle response back.

Now, the downside to the K&N is it does allow more dirt into the engine. A TINY bit more. A stock filter will filter down to 5 microns, the K&N filters to 8 microns. As long as you do proper maintenance and don't ride in dust storms very often, it won't be an issue.

The K&N can cause increased engine wear in dirt bikes (because they ingest more dirt!), but I've never seen an issue with street bikes.
 
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