Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

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Sidecar Bob
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Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#1

Post by Sidecar Bob »

There must be others here that have Uni brand foam filters in their 'Wings. I've had mine for a few years and it works well so I want to look after it. IIRC, I didn't clean it in 2016 and I didn't drive the bike last year so I want to do it right this time. I see references in my log to cleaning & oiling it but I can't for the life of me remember how I cleaned it. The instructions say "Products like Simple Green dish soap or mild solvents can be used if Uni Cleaner is not available at the time of cleaning. Pour cleaning solution in a bucket; dunk the filter several times until clean." so I made a strong dish detergent solution (about 100ml per 3L of water) and let it soak overnight (actually about 20 hours - I just remembered it). I just rinsed it out in fresh water and then hosed it out and it looks clean (not that it looked particularly dirty when I started) but it is still really sticky from the old oil.

Do I need to clean all of the old oil out or just the dirt? Will this have cleaned out the dirt? Should I use something stronger?

BTW: On the 650 I modified an old original filter to use a piece of Ramair filter material and I clean it by removing the foam and washing it out in mineral spirits but that one isn't glued like the Uni on the 'Wing is (not to mention that a new sheet of foam would cost a lot less than a new Uni) so I didn't want to take a chance doing that to the Uni.

So what do you guys use?
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#2

Post by Bugdaddy66 »

Have them on my XS650, when they get really dirty I use a water soluble degreaser like purple power. After completely dry I lightly oil and squeeze to distribute evenly. I also like to use an outerwear covers because my filters are exposed and the bike is used in dirt. Hope that helps!
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#3

Post by Gowing »

Soap and water. That’s what I used.
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#4

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Maybe it is already clean enough then. It is nearly dry now and not nearly as sticky as it was before I washed it. Now to try to get the oil spread through it without over oiling. I think next time I'm going to buy the spray oil....
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#5

Post by SnoBrdr »

Gowing wrote:Soap and water. That’s what I used.
I use Dawn dish soap.
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#6

Post by OCR »

You can also clean them with gas/petrol and then oil after.
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#7

Post by Doug Hasert »

Or you could buy the Uni filter cleaner/oiler kit.
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Uni foam air filter - what do you guys clean them with?

#8

Post by Sidecar Bob »

What I ended up doing was pouring some mineral spirits onto the filter to wash off a bit more of the old oil and then applying some new Bel-Ray filter oil and massaging it into the foam, then putting it in a plastic bag overnight so the oil would be carried through the foam by the solvent. If I ever finish putting the bike back together I'll find out if I used too much oil or just enough.

Its much easier on the 650 because the foam is removable so I can wash it out properly and gently wring it out to spread the fresh oil.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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