Does antone on here have a BMC air filter fitted to their 2012-2013 model bike?
If so what benefits / disadvantages have you encountered, was it in your opinion worth the money?

Neil

Don't have one...but the race filter is not really supposed to be the best for street filtering.All the reviews I read about the factory air filter said it's the best one going for the big ninja.From Brock and a few others.Produces the most power(airflow)and filters excellently.

What Grn14 said...

I have used a BMC race filter in my 08. It seems maybe a bit more snappy. Prety hard to know. I sure would not know if someone snuck and switched a BMC for the OEM filter. What I have heard is that it ads 1-2 hp. That is worth it in terms of $s but a very small gain if those #s are correct.

There is not any dif in the mapping for a BMC than with an OEM filter. It matters that little. A BMC Street filter would flow a little less than a race filter.

The BMC Race is whole .15 oz lighter than stock!

I will use mine once in a while but not if I'll be around dust.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/8/2013 @ 12:28 PM *

Brocks says the best filter for the 2012 is the stock.IN fact, an aftermarket filter actually decreased output.

Got to taking with Ivan and he expressed to me...save the money you would spend on a BMC filter and buy Something else because there's no benefit to it on the ZX.

Yeah when i called up Ivan he said that the stock filter was the best as it does a great job of filtering the air. He explained that the k&n filters let too much fine dust through and to check the stacks to see how much dust is stuck there.

However... I do have a k&n filter (the last dealer I talked to wanted $120 for a stock filter and $140 for the k&n) so I opted for the k&n filter. I didn't feel nor see any dust on or around the intack stacks, not sure if its how I oil the filter or the fact that I use plenty of that "grease" that comes with the filter to seal it in the airbox or if i just didn't notice the dust.

$120 for a stock filter ? damn where is this dealer ? should only be about $45 .....

I had a K&N in my 07....it seemed to work very well...no dust in the stacks ever.Recleaning was a lot cheaper than getting those stock ones at somewhere around 45 dollars.That 'cleaner' in the spray bottle....works great on rims!;)

Ya can remove the Spark arrester (mesh off oem) it does let them breath better with the peace of mind of not letting Grit into your motor!

I read the first part of this thread before I had everything apart and was shocked to find a lot of "grit" inside the airbox cavity, which I thought may be the fault of the BMC filter. I oiled a fresh clean rag with light machine oil and wiped out the cavity and was amazed to find almost nothing on the rag. Turns out, the rough casting surface on the inside of the frame is very gritty-feeling even when clean. The BMC stayed in place.

Turns out, the rough casting surface on the inside of the frame is very gritty-feeling even when clean. The BMC stayed in place.

while on the topic of air filter sealing, it bares mentioning that the updated filter element cover is best to use on the GenI. The 06-07 plastic one is horrible and the 08 works (I have one) but is a heavy chunk of steel. IDK exactly what year they started the stamped sheet metal one but that is very light and works best to seal. Order a 2011 and you will get the best updated version (for the GenI). I'm sure Kaw retained the stamped steel filter element cover design for the GenII

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/10/2013 @ 11:46 AM *

I could definitely feel the difference in the way the bike accellerated and pulled a bit easier than with the stock filter....removing the metal spark arrester with the stock will really enhance air flow too...by about 50% cause it is 50% blocking the air from flowing.

Am using it on the street, but will remove and clean it about every 2500 miles to make sure no fine dirt gets by the very thin filtering.

I have ordered one of these for the beast. A DNA filter (part # DNA-P-K14S12-01), I have seen some good reports on them, around the same price as the BMC & assume the K&N will be similar when it finally surfaces.
I am not looking for more power I simply don't want the cost of replacing the OEM filter every ? Kms at nearly $100.00 a time.

My tuner recommended them over the other brands, so I now wait patiently for it to arrive, hope it gets here before the 22nd Feb.

Neil

* Last updated by: Neilp on 2/12/2013 @ 1:59 AM *