Will the 1050 benefit from getting a K&N airfilter at next change?

[bonne]

I search but couldn't find newer threads on this subject.

One benefit could be that is it reuseable.

Will it benefit performance (Is airintake a bottleneck on the 1050?)

Will it improve air filtering or worsen it?

[Ianmc]

    In my opinion after 60 yrs.in the trade K&N air filters are a total waste of time and money, they need cleaning and re-oiling (with “special” K&N oil regularly,they are not particularly cheap and are nowhere near as efficient as the standard filter.I bought a standard filter for my K9 Wee some years ago, changed it and cleaned the original with biological washing powder, then a rinse in warm water and let it dry.It came out as good as new and was reused a couple of times,and it is in my L2 now with a cleaned filter waiting for the next time it is due.I did the same with my diesel car air filter in 2014 when I bought it.Other opinions will be available shortly no doubt.

[Mr Nick]

A K&N filter is marketed as improving airflow, but that will be at the expense of more fine dirt getting through due to the design & materials used. You won't notice any benefit in terms of power, so the only potential benefit is that you never have to replace it. That comes at a higher price though, so you need to balance the popping a new filter in against taking the K&N out to wash & re-oil how ever often you feel the need. You also need to think about about the environment you will be riding in: more dusty roads will play against the K&N as I've seen the dust caking inlet ports on engines with K&Ns fitted.

Personally, I wouldn't go to the trouble of washing a paper filter as they're so cheap that it's not worth the work: if they were £100 a pop and had to be changed every 6 months I might re-consider, but each to his own.

[Brockett]

IMHO a lot of hocuspocus rubbish is talked on this subject and I would only use the authorised product. 

[Rixington43]

My bike came with one and I will keep it as I object to throwing that large rubber gasket and plastic shroud in the bin each year along with the paper element on the Gen 1. I certainly don't expect a performance improvement from it but I do think it will pay for itself in the time I keep the bike vs OEM filters (it definitely will since I didn't pay for it). Given the option I'd more likely go a multi-layer foam filter like Pipercross if I was the one buying it from new.
As others have said, if you decide you want to go the lifetime filter route on cost or sustainability grounds then just make sure it gets cleaned thoroughly and re-oiled at regular intervals, a dry K&N is worse than a paper filter.
One pain in the backside of the lifetime filters is that they have to fully dry to be ready for re-oiling so you can't get a service done in a day.

[Barbel Mick]

I only use OEM air & oil filters. Last year I had a good search around for a decent priced air filter & found an advert on e-bay selling an 'original one' for £24 & free delivery (£39 + delivery from Robinsons) I took a chance & ordered two, with the thought I can send them back if they're not the real deal.
They arrived in two days and complete with Suzuki packaging. I checked the box, against an old one I had, for coloring & print style etc & was satisfied it was a 'good one'.
One's in the bike now & the other one will be available in a year or two if I remember that I bought it & where I stored it!! 

[Mr Nick]

Might be a moot point anyway as I don't see K&N listing a filter for the 1050 yet on their UK site: is it the same as the 1000 & they haven't sussed that yet?

I have used foam filters in the past and found them to be superior to the old recycled y-front cotton ones in terms of catching fine dust, but same lack of specific listings