roosteater
~SPONSOR~
- Dec 27, 1999
- 216
- 0
I've recently purchased an 04 CRF450R. I've heard people screaming bloody murder over the tight airbox and complaining about how difficult it is to change it. I went out in the garage tonight and started playing around with it a bit. Just to get my technique down, I used a completely new and dry filter for practice.
I've found that it definitely helps to not only remove the seat, but also it helps greatly to remove both side panels. Each side panel has a vent that protrudes into the inside of the airbox, taking up valuable space. In fact, the filter seems to want to catch on these vents. Once I figured out to totally remove the side panels, it wasn't nearly as bad as anticipated.
It is a bit tricky to get the filter lined up "just right" and to get the filter screw started. It almost seems as though the filter screw could be just a few mm's longer so it would be easier for it to grab the threads. After talking to my brother-in-law who has an 03 CRF with the PC Racing Pro Seal thing installed, it's even more difficult, as you have to really press the filter in a lot harder before the threads will grab due to the added padding at the filter lip.
Any thoughts on this last part? Do you suppose that Honda makes a slightly longer air filter screw to help ease this?
I'm not complaining. Actually, I thought it was a bit tricky at first, but if you get a methodology down, it doesn't seem too bad at all.
For filters, I'm going to be starting out with No Toil filters and oil. I'll pick up a couple of Twin Air's as well. I've used both Uni and Twin Air in my KX. While both were good, the Twin Air always impressed me more with the way they fit and line up. That combined with the smaller size seem to make it a good choice for the CRF. The No Toil filters seem to be sized right between the Twin Air and the Uni's. But I'm thinking they must be made by Twin Air, as they seem to be the same material and even have the nifty rubber grommet like the Twinnies.
I've found that it definitely helps to not only remove the seat, but also it helps greatly to remove both side panels. Each side panel has a vent that protrudes into the inside of the airbox, taking up valuable space. In fact, the filter seems to want to catch on these vents. Once I figured out to totally remove the side panels, it wasn't nearly as bad as anticipated.
It is a bit tricky to get the filter lined up "just right" and to get the filter screw started. It almost seems as though the filter screw could be just a few mm's longer so it would be easier for it to grab the threads. After talking to my brother-in-law who has an 03 CRF with the PC Racing Pro Seal thing installed, it's even more difficult, as you have to really press the filter in a lot harder before the threads will grab due to the added padding at the filter lip.
Any thoughts on this last part? Do you suppose that Honda makes a slightly longer air filter screw to help ease this?
I'm not complaining. Actually, I thought it was a bit tricky at first, but if you get a methodology down, it doesn't seem too bad at all.
For filters, I'm going to be starting out with No Toil filters and oil. I'll pick up a couple of Twin Air's as well. I've used both Uni and Twin Air in my KX. While both were good, the Twin Air always impressed me more with the way they fit and line up. That combined with the smaller size seem to make it a good choice for the CRF. The No Toil filters seem to be sized right between the Twin Air and the Uni's. But I'm thinking they must be made by Twin Air, as they seem to be the same material and even have the nifty rubber grommet like the Twinnies.
