Air filter...or lack thereof.

Hey guys, just joined the forums and have my first question...

I bought my bike and like the newb that I am, I guess I didnt check for an air filter. Anyway, when i opened the seat up, after purchase, this is what I found:



Looks like some kind of heater filter?

Now the bike appears to run fine, but I dont know too much about bikes just yet. Will this cause me problems in the long run? Increase fuel compensation? reduce my power?

I have been checking ebay but have not been able to find the missing part I need, so im wondering if filter pods might be the solution...?

Post edited by: Robjb84, at: 2006/07/25 19:23

Post edited by: Robjb84, at: 2006/07/25 19:24

wow thats the cleanest,whitest filter ive ever seen!what kind of bike is it?

Ugh my bad, put an ftp instead of http for the pic <-n00b

Its a 1980 Kawasaki KZ440 A1

A piece of low density, open cell, polyurethane foam works well. I use scrap and cut my own filters for the power yard tools and the XS650 before I sold it.

Duck, would you suggest me crafting my own makeshift filterholder with the polyurethane as opposed to fitting pod filters?

Kind of tempted by pods but then while perusing the archives I see people tend to lose a lot of power with them and more often than not you need to re-jet...

That looks like some sort of ventilation HVAC stuff to me.I might be worried about sucking some of that down the carbs do you suppose?

I flipped it the other way so that the fluffy stuff is on the outside, but yeah, its not ideal the way it is right now, though im sure it keeps some of the crap out. Whats on there now is whatever the guy i bought it from put there, no idea what exactly it is

I'm a newb but our bikes though different models are both '80 440s. Mine doesn't look like that...I just have an element that sits in there...is it just me or does this seem like a terrible air box design?

Im missing the actual airbox, the whole square thing that your cylindrical air filter fits into is not on my bike

by the look of mine, missing the airbox might be an improvement

Rejetting the 440 carburetors is somewhat problematic if pod filters are installed. New and larger Keihin pilot jets (or slow jets I think Keihin calls them) are not available. You can get larger main jets and secondary main jets and shim the jet needles. Pods do not provide a still air supply and you may notice some surging when passing or being passed by larger vehicles on when there are crosswinds but otherwise, will work better than no filter at all. Many owners complain of hardened air filter connectors making removal of the carburetors difficult and pods will certainly make carburetor removal easier.

I got my bike without any airbox {550}. It doesn't do to well when hot. I am new too. I need one bad.