How to Clean & Oil your Air Filter in under 30 Seconds

Sick of spending endless amounts of time cleaning and oiling your air filter between rides? Or maybe it's the first time and you're just not sure how to do it... Either way, this is the method my dad taught me when I was a little kid and to this day it remains the best one I've ever seen. All done in under 30 seconds, this is how to thoroughly clean your air filter and make 100% certain that you don't miss a single spot when oiling it back up. The air filter is the only line of defense between your precious engine, and the elements... Using this technique, I've never had a single engine failure of any kind, and I've been riding and racing high-performance dirt bikes my entire life.
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Starring:
Ash Sowman
Edited by:
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Camera Operators:
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Ash Sowman

[@ashsowman]

Help the channel grow by becoming a Patreon supporter and gain early access to new videos, plus exclusive behind the scenes! AND your name will appear on the end screen of each video: www.patreon.com/sowmanfilms Please only do so if you can afford it though, rent is more important 🤪

[@weekendwarrior6285]

Not ideal sorry... Should be: -Bucket of mineral turps to wash old oil away(kerosene is also fine), this can do alot of filters. -FULL bucket of clean warm water and a couple scoops of laundry powder (replace this each time), rinse filter for 1-2mins only In the top half of bucket, all dirt/debris comes off and sinks to the bottom of the bucket, this removes all dirt particles as well as rinsing away the solvent wich is also very important. -Final rinse under running water. -Let dry before re oiling ideally. I can guarantee you will have alot of debris left in that filter after your kerosene, your only saving grace will be reoiling will hold onto the majority of that dirt. Also you are not rinsing away the kerosene you just used to remove the dirty oil, the properties of the new oil you put on will be degraded from the get go. Sorry for the negative comment Love your videos from one kiwi to another, I'm just very pedantic with maintenance and try and encourage every racer to be the same.

[@Fried_hippos]

yeah a fuel soaked filter going straight into the the oil is going to destroy the oil

[@jasonmccarthy3695]

Yeah I agree. The amount of fine particles that comes out during detergent and water is massive.

[@KyleighsPH]

Why is a 30 second toturial 5 mins

[@ashsowman]

I see a lot of you guys commenting about how this isn't the most thorough way to clean an air filter... I'm aware. This is how you do it in under 30 seconds. And it can't be all that bad, because I've been riding and racing high-performance dirt bikes since I was just a little kid, only ever cleaning them this way and I've never had a single engine failure of any kind. A lot of you will have seen the 100+ hour piston that came out of my YZ250 in the first episode of Crafting a KTM Killer... the thing should never have been in there that long and yet it still looked great, as did the cylinder. Up to you guys whether you take or leave this advice, but it's how I've always done them and will continue to do so henceforth

[@Logan-tf6nk]

This is the same type of argument like "my dad smoked two packs a day a lived until 90 so it can't be that bad for you" just because you haven't had any engine failures it doesn't mean that doing it this was is good.

[@elihautamaki547]

there's always gonna be more than one way to do something, but never a perfect way...

[@Motoinc]

Maby the engine wont EXPLODE but you vill scratch and shorten the life on piston clut yeah everything. The bike will still run but at 70% of what it should......just listen to a good mechanic or a shop and see what they sy

[@Motoinc]

Your smug answer just realized what kinda person you are, instead maby listen to others that know what they are talking about

[@Linus.Lindroth]

Perhaps we are the ones who do it too complicated? I was also going to write the same comment. The fact that the filters are very thick and in this case soaked with filter oil will most likely not let any dirt fly by.

[@jcurtisnum1]

Quickest way imo is having multiple filters chuck a new one on for the ride, then when you have a couple dirty ones then put them in the washing machine on gentle cycle with no toil…. Easy as way to wash 5 plus at once

[@ShawnBlais]

Now this sounds like its up my alley... you don't get a bunch of sludge in your washing machine?

[@jcurtisnum1]

@@ShawnBlais no sludge if you use the no toil filter oil that comes with the powder. It does not work for Petroleum based oils I believe…. This method may could possibly be harder on the filters but it’s much easier, and my filters last fine!!

[@ShawnBlais]

@@jcurtisnum1 Right, makes sense and sounds great! Thx bud

[@OtisFlint]

This. I do 4 at a time. No Toil oil on the filters, for the wash use about 4oz of Oxy clean (works just like No Toil cleaner) with a bit of detergent. Perfectly clean filters, no mess in the washer, no time wasted.

[@nzmarkb8713]

That filter isn’t clean I use kerosene (have done for years, petrol is not good on the glue in the filter) then warm soapy water, then rinse 4-6 times in clean water until there is no dirt in the water Try it and you’ll see how much dirt is. Still in your filter

[@ThisTall]

Did you not see the part right in the beginning of the video where he said Petrol is bad on the glue in the filter?

[@richardhammond2633]

Certainly a quick method and by submerging the filter in the oil you get full coverage which is safer than the spray pack method. Good to see you wearing proper gloves and using Kero. I've been guilty of using petrol at times,it's too harsh.

[@stevesvids]

Never liked using fuel to wash out filters. I've always bought spare filters, so always have a clean fresh one to hand. I use K&N spray filter oil, so no dunking, gloves and squeezing out needed. The used ones I just wash out under the hot tap with a squirt of dish washing-up liquid. It all comes out good and then just hang it back up in the shed to dry ready. I just couldn't hack having buckets of fuel kicking about.

[@nigelc2629]

Nice, I’m Kero/water+dishwashing liquid/water then dry, finally plastic bag for filter oil. This is way faster, I like the two kero step and skipping the water steps ( they’re a pain ).

[@gruntabro1]

There was a air filter oil product I used back in the 90s it was some sort of synthetic stuff that washed out in water , you didn’t need to completely dry your filter before reapply the filter oil and installing it back in you our bike it was quick easy and clean , when using say petrol to clean your filter that removes the filter oil but then you should dry it then wash the filter again in warm soapy water to remove the dirt dry again then apply filter oil , I would put the freshly oiled filter between sheets off news paper and press down hard to remove excess oil before installing filter back into the bike

[@gohobby9934]

Like the title states, this is a way to clean your filter in 30 seconds...there are better ways to do it that take longer. Best to plan ahead, so you you don't have to do this important task in just 30 seconds. Basically, the only thing I would change is to rinse and squeeze in water with dish soap after the kerosine step, then let dry, then oil...but that makes it a 2 hour job on a warm sunny day.

[@jackjohnston1019]

Hey ash I reckon you should do a video on the wr maps and what you run I think you would give it a really good description

[@Mrfruitz]

Nice work mate, will tell the boys this. Great info much appriciated.

[@billyhall6432]

Kerosene wash warm soapy water let dry then oil

[@jakeowens1770]

Yamaha manual says let air dry then oil

[@Morganwmahan]

Intro got the sub

[@dds272]

Interesting. Never tryed Kerosene. I always used Warm Soapy Water. But ill keep this in mind

[@alexsmith9994]

Cheers for the video Ash. In place of Jet A-1 will standard kerosene do the job?

[@JayGee6996]

Yeah 👍

[@Motoinc]

if you rinsed that filter (before oiling)in a clean white bucket with water it would leave ALOT shot at the bottom just test it....do same 30sek clean and try .....do it here on the channel and see if everybody is WRONG.......

[@nickofcambodia2980]

Love your videos man, Wish I could support you on patreon but I really dont have the funds.

[@ashsowman]

Fully understand mate. Still appreciate ya 👊

[@KBK650]

Hi Ash I have a WR 250 as well just wondering if you could make a video on the mapping or recommend some maps to me

[@browie316]

How long do let it sit before riding?

[@ashsowman]

Allgood to ride straight away

[@lewismx8815]

Chur, that's how me and the old man do ours, except I usually let the kero dry off before oiling up

[@tonyg4709]

I Notice that you don’t let it dry before the oil stage .. I was taught that drying was important but I guess not? .. doest the kerosene effect the oil ?

[@ashsowman]

Doesn't seem to. Petrol might but jet a1 is a bit less agressive

[@Shoorit]

The kerosene doesn’t evaporate and will just thin the oil on the filter out. The filter oil has solvents in them already to thin the oil out so it’s easier to apply but these evaporate leaving a sticky oil on the filter. That kerosene is just making the filter oil left on the filter perform poorly. The reason kerosene is good for cleaning a filter is because it breaks down the really sticky filter oil that’s supposed to be on the filter. Yeah it might be working for now but it’s far from ideal. 1. Clean with kerosene. 2. Rinse properly with soapy water. 3. Let thoroughly dry. 4. Dip in filter oil or completely coat filter if using spray. 5. Let the filter sit so the solvents in the filter oil can evaporate leaving a nice tacky oil. 6. Install back on the bike.

[@ShawnBlais]

I do it similarly, but I rinse with soap water after the gas dunk and then let them dry before oiling. The oil in a bucket is a good trick, gonna toss that in the mix!z I've read Varsol / Paint thinner works good here, might be a little cheaper than Kerosene.

[@octane_matty]

Mineral turps then sikolene for me Wash in an ice cream bucket then after drying oil it in a ziplock bag

[@matthewjones9569]

Ohh yeah so we should contaminate the filter oil with kerosene so it brakes down the new oil and doesn't stick or work properly? Not ideal mate!

[@twowheeledadventuresuk2739]

Two words - No Toil - simple. Can’t understand why more people don’t use it.

[@jemd7326]

I just wash mine in Petrol which takes 20 seconds let it dry by waving it around in the wind and then put oil on it and it is ready btw I have the exact same bike as u

[@nzmarkb8713]

Petrol break’s down the glue in the filter, kero is way better

[@leevancleef553]

Hey I like that. I use kero, then soapy water and it takes forever to dry in winter. Fuel would evaporate yeah?

[@travisbennett9865]

Ive used petrol for 40 years too.. never had a filter break down early.. .i always rinse it pretty quickly.

[@RealDisrespecful]

Or just buy no toil ail filter cleaner and do it quicker and easier

[@jcurtisnum1]

Agree

[@dirtlifenz]

Agree

[@aaron___6014]

I've been at it an hour. But then my filters have 50 hours each

[@belabartha3071]

Wtf, guys this is NOT how to clean/oil an Airfilter😅

[@ferguscatopike7560]

Are u selling ur wr 250

[@ashsowman]

Yup, shot all of the content I wanted to shoot with it. The final few vids will be coming out soon, now I'm going to move onto something else!

[@ferguscatopike7560]

Cool man

[@julianlaustsen1991]

why in the fuck would u put the air filter in the air filter oil when it has kerosine in it?

[@Shoorit]

This is the worst guide I’ve ever seen. Please research how to clean and oil a filter. Twin air make some good videos. The filter needs to be dry before applying the oil. The kerosene on it will break down the oil(which is why it’s used to clean the filter) You need to let the filter dry after applying the oil as well so the solvents evaporate and the oil becomes nice and tacky.

[@dutjery7655]

what kind of oli? Sae 5w? 10w?

[@Shoorit]

@@dutjery7655 air filter oil, once the solvent evaporates out of the filter oil it goes very tacky which is what you need for an air filter.

[@diman1248]

I would never clean my air-filters like this.... maybe for you it works but I will never trust this method for my bike.

[@jasonmccarthy3695]

Sorry Ash, i enjoy your videos but this is probably the worst version of air filter maintenance I've ever seen.

[@Motoinc]

WORST EVER....THINK MAN THINK...... Dont do what this guy recomend. first buy 5 or more filter so you always have a clean one use korosine Rinse 1 time water soap THEN rinse 2-3 times with clean water.... then dry..... then put oil.

[@dutjery7655]

what kind of oli? Sae 5w?

[@Motoinc]

@@dutjery7655 TwinAir filter oil or oldschool Belray filter oil the thicker one