How to clean the v-belt (CVT) air filter on a Yamaha Vino 125 scooter

How to clean the v-belt (CVT) air filter in a Yamaha Vino 125.
Cleaning the foam air filter is an important part of regular maintenance for your Vino, and can reduce the likelihood of expensive damage to v-belt components.
This process is generally very easy, requires no special tools, and takes little time, however, there is a risk of stripping a few screws that are over-torqued by dealers. If you have motor oil and dish soap handy, this maintenance should have ZERO cost.
You will need:
- #3 Phillips head screw driver
- 6mm hex L-wrench
- solvent or degreaser (dish soap should work too)
- motor oil
- bucket
Warning: To reiterate, the Phillips head screws on the damper cover are torqued VERY tight and it is very easy to strip the screw heads. Use a #3 screw driver and be ready to resort to an impact screwdriver. I was able to cheat by tapping my #3 screw driver with a hammer, but your mileage may vary.
Good luck.

[@mlindsay527]

Thanks for the heads up on the tight screws! I used a #3 phillips and grabbed the screwdriver with vice grips for extra torque. Worked like a champ! I would have boogered them for sure otherwise! Got the non-running Vino in a trade and have been fixing it up. Only had 2200 miles but the filter was pretty caked. The foam started to dissolve when I tried to clean it, so I will need a new one. My fan casting was all cracked as well. Don’t think the variator could make enough heat to do that without smoking the belt, probably just a cheap part. Surprising though, I would have expected more from Yamaha.

[@raybarrera7281]

I am no mechanic..thanks to people like you ..my 2008 has over 20.000 miles on it and still running like new!!!!! Thanks!!!🛵

[@fuzzzyyellow]

Thank you for the video. I just checked my filter after 4600 miles, all clean city driving, and it was just like the one in the picture. Totally crudded up. It was only $4.50 for a new one so I just swapped it out. Replaced the #3 phillips with the allen head screws like you suggested, great idea. Thanks again for taking the time to post, it sure helped.

[@marcogonzalez3298]

Man. This helped me soo much. Screw stripped, number 3 Phillips and a couple of taps. Worked just as you said. Thanks again!

[@tinman5924]

Thanks for the video! My wife bought a 2009 Vino 125 with 800 miles on it from one of her girlfriends at work. She doesn't even ride it but I put 1,000 miles on it. I had to go to Harbor Freight today and get an impact screwdriver kit to get the four Phillips screws out. It worked like a charm and was worth every penny of the $9.50 spent on the kit. The filter looked exactly like yours (black with crud). I cleaned mine with Palmolive dishwashing soap and air dried. Looked like new, oiled and reinstalled. I'm going to change the Phillips to the socket heads like you did. I plan on keeping this little gem for a long long time. I rode it 41 miles to Harbor Freight and had a guy in the parking lot ask a bunch of questions about it. I always get questions and most folks are disappointed when I tell them Yamaha no longer imports the 125 Vino. Thanks again for all the Vino videos!

[@CraigMammalton]

+TinMan Thanks for your comment, and it sounds like your wife got a great deal on the Vino (and in-home mechanic). I also bought the Harbor Freight impact screwdriver, but I found it just as easy to tap the screw with a screw driver and hammer before trying to turn. I think it breaks the threadlocker and makes the whole process a lot easier.

[@frankmurray5313]

Thanks Craig. I tackled this job today thanks to your video. The filter on mine was an recognisable greasy fibrous clump of disintegrated filter material. I made a new filter element from generic automotive filter foam which appears to do the trick. 🙂👍

[@jackleonard2088]

Such a helpful video and lovely music. I will be doing this service immediately. Thank you.

[@CraigMammalton]

I'm glad that the video was useful to you. A decent impact driver would have saved so much time and headache in this process. Also, that's a good tip on using the hair dryer to dry the filter- I'll try to add it to the video using those pop-up's.

[@saquesas]

Like your video. Had to pause now and then to read but no big deal. I appreciate your effort. It's a great help to me in 2018.

[@CraigMammalton]

Thanks for the comment and I'm glad that the video was helpful. If you want to save the $4.50 next time, you could just clean with dish soap and water! Happy scootering.

[@banakula]

This is great. I learned so much! Can’t wait to do this.

[@banakula]

Do you know how to add brake fluid?

[@thebobhannah]

I cleaned my nasty filter today. Thanks for the upload.

[@williemach]

Thanks for the socket head screw suggestion. Only difference was that I needed M6 1.0 x 20mm on my 2005 Vino. Maybe they are different from year to year? The 30mm started to push against something when it had about 10mm left. I didn't want to keep going, so I went back to OSH and picked up the 20mm length. They work great and I got my screws off with a impact screwdriver.

[@CraigMammalton]

Sorry to hear about the stripped screw. The easiest solution is a screw extractor set used with an electric drill/driver. I extracted my stripped screw with an Alden grabit kit, but many companies make similar products.

[@robertpenner4432]

What a lot of people don't understand is that Japanese Philip screwdrivers are different (only slightly) and therefore Fidel up and out of the screw head when used. If you plan to work on your Japanese motorbike you should invest in a set of these special Philip screw drivers made specially for Japanese motorcycles. I got mine on ebay for approx $25.

[@CraigMammalton]

That's good advice. I think my dealer also used a lot of thread locker on the screws which probably contributed to the stripped heads.

[@AnhYeuEmMaiMai69]

easiest way to remove screw is to lightly tap the screw driver with a small hammer. It will then break loose and you can un screw it. Also thread locker is not required. just torque it down to factory spec...

[@CraigMammalton]

@cpolydoroff Thanks for the suggestion and good luck with your filter- careful on those Phillips head screws. You're absolutely right that this video feels long for a process that is so simple. It probably feels like an eternity for experienced gearheads, but I wanted to make a video for noob diy-ers like myself. I also personally dislike videos that make procedures seem deceptively easy through editing. Hmm, maybe I'll make a 'cliffnotes' version.

[@johncapuchino4216]

I am new to scootin and I just got this 09 vino w 300 miles on it I think its premature to do this maintenance but thanks I will definitely keep this in mind.

[@CraigMammalton]

+John Capuchino It's amazing how many Vinos are floating around out there with super low miles in almost unused condition. Such a bargain for lucky newcomers like you to our scootering family.

[@CraigMammalton]

Sorry for the mix up. I must have been looking at the wrong set of screws since my vino is the same model year as yours. I think I used the 30mm screws to replace a different screw- it might be the one holding the red air filter.

[@CraigMammalton]

thanks for the comments! I'll check out your vids, too. Sorry to hear about problems uploading at more than 720p. Could it be an issue with your editing software? I used a canon camcorder (vixia hf20) that is a few years old but still works decently. I think you can sometimes find refurbed ones for less than $200.

[@CraigMammalton]

@Dynamo55b I checked out your vids and they are very impressive and succinct- the Zuma forums are fortunate to have your expertise. I was aiming this vid for complete Vino DIY noobs like me, which might explain the length and zzz's.

[@johnhuggard9072]

thanks very helpful as was not sure where to find the v-belt air filter

[@CraigMammalton]

I bought the screws from my local hardware chain store (OSH); most larger hardware stores or auto parts stores should have it. Ask for *socket head screws* with these measurements: M6 1.0 x 30mm. Don't be like me- I kept mistakenly calling them "hex heads," which is something else entirely.

[@ill08]

I used M6 1.0 x 20mm

[@OjaiRoy]

Thanks again for the tutorial

[@a8vdeluxe]

the square foam insert was forgotten. I have a 2008 vino 125, i had it (stock, no mods) at 60 mph today briefly. though I wouldnt keep it at that speed continuously for any length of time. my filter was never cleaned for some reason also.it had 5500 miles when i bought it used. though mine had no cracking like that one.

[@andres1sierra]

U were right I stripped one of the screws so bad... and now I don't know how to fix it.... any ideas????

[@DavidMortaz]

Craig... we have one of these which has been sitting for 6-8 months! I re-charged the battery, but the motor won't crank!! I might not even be starting it right. Have u done a video on fixing these.

[@thomasm514]

Would a dirty v-belt air filter cause problems starting? But only after running the bike for 20-30 minutes, killing the engine, and trying to start again?

[@williemach]

Where did you get the replacement no. 3 socket head screws? Do you remember what length they are? I like the idea of replacing them.

[@cpolydoroff]

thanks for the video craig. i'm wondering if you have the capability to edit your footage though. you could probably trim this 14 minute video down to 3 minutes or less and get all of your information in. i'm going to clean my filter later this morning! my scooter has 3,500 miles and is five or six years old so i may be in for a surprise. again, thanks for the video.

[@TxTFamGuy1]

@cpolydoroff 3500 miles? Do you never ride your scooter? My Vino 125 is 6 years old and has 16,100 miles. It's all stock, does 55mph all day, gets 85 mpg and runs like new!

[@CraigMammalton]

Sorry for the late reply. I'm not sure where the $4.50 price that was mentioned was found. I usually buy my vino parts from boats.net.

[@80skid83]

if you use the tool that comes with the bike , the screws don't strip. I have now found out the hard way

[@profpmoney]

Hi, all. I thought I might try to add some helpful info. The other day I went to clean the air filter on my new (purchased used) vino. Upon removing it, I noticed it was burned and damaged in some places. I'm not sure why this was, actually. Perhaps they cleaned it before and did't oil it or maybe they ran it with low oil engine or gear oil. Does anyone have any ideas? Anyway, I went to order a new one and found bulk "filter foam" on amazon. Fitting bulk filter foam seems to be the way to go.

[@CraigMammalton]

@bikinibit Hey, sure- i'll put something together. It'll be short, though, since most people just rotate the filter to move the dirty spot.

[@3bo__odi]

do you know how to replace a camshaft for moped??

[@Estrobui]

Where did you find the filter for $4.50? Much appreciated =) Thanks!

[@markdlt2989]

What year is this Vino, I have a 2006 125cc but my air filter is a 50mm in an airbox. I'm new to scooting too, is there another air filter? bc mine doesn't look nothing like the one in this video.

[@MiguelBricaBrac]

Mark de la Torre, I think you are confusing this v belt filter for the carburetor air box filter which is located above the vbelt housing.

[@scotthenske4281]

You gotta get an impact screwdriver

[@joannasmith6590]

where do you find replacement v belt filters, i have searched high and low on the internet. even went to boats.net and didn't find any.

[@CraigMammalton]

+Joanna Smith I think this is what you're looking for: www.boats.net/parts/detail/yamaha/Y-4CW-E5407-10-00.html

[@Dynamo55b]

Cue dramatic music.... annnnnnnd Meet the V-Belt Air filter!!!

[@shaunsunderland156]

Do not put the oil on the filter it will collect more dirt it will become sticky it happened to me

[@osamaallamy1959]

Tom and gory this music

[@benjamin4214]

No tienes ni desarmadores y no puedes quitar un tornillo 👎🏻

[@waterisfuel14]

An intelligent person would not have made a video with illegible text and irritating music instead of intelligently spoken explanation.