TE250 Air Filter

Is it me, am I the only one? Or is getting the air filter lined up and back in a PITA on the TE250?

I'm an absolute freak about getting that part of things right. I almost loose sleep over it!

On my 07 TC, I grease up the back-fire screen, then install same, then install the filter on top of the pre-greased screen border. On all my bikes they only go on one way due to indexing fingers on the filter frame. I bet the battery is in the way on yours, no?

On mine it makes the job much easier to flip the battery over upside down on the fender, that and it only takes a minute to pull the side covers so you can see what is going on much better. I have also learned it is way less messy to grease around the rim of the flame arrestor than the rim of the filter before installing.

I like the husky system with the pins through the filter, it only goes on one way and when it is on, I know it is right and going to seal. Ken

I did slide my battery up and out of the way but I didn't think to remove the side panels. Next time I'll remove them and grease the screen instead of the filter.

is that the backfire screen? has anyone ever had a flameout through the airbox ever? i cant say i have ever experienced this or even see it happen (not just on huskys) ...i'd say toss the screen

That is what I did...

I'll let you know if my bike goes up in flames.

Later,

Before you toss it.....

Make sure your element is coated in something that cannot burn. Even a small *chuff* can singe it and kill the filtering ability...leaving you stuck with a bunk motor at the end of a ride.

It aint worth the risk. Once is all it takes. I wont run w/o it.

Also- the filter frame is designed with that screen boarder thickness in mind. May or may not affect clamping force.

Jut my 02 FWIW...

yeah maybe ..i've been on modern 4 strokes since the original yzf400 and i have never seen it happen and thats almost 8 years, not including xr400s before that. also the nut will keep threading through until it pull the filter frame tight so the force isnt affected, in fact you will get more of the *shoulder* of the filter frame around the filter if you know what i mean. each to our own little idiosyncracies i suppose

i know having said that i am destined for this to happen to me this weekend

If the center part of the frame, where the screw goes through, bottoms on the air box cross-member before the shoulder of the frame/filter hits the outer circumerance of the boot/box it will reduce clamping force, regardless of how long the screw is.

I'm sending un-jinxing vibes for ya filter, laddy.

Mine has never had that screen, and haven't had any problems yet......

I haven't tried it but I understand the Moose replacement has a rubber lip that requires no grease.

I took the battery out to do mine (have to re-set the clock on re-install). Put the cover on and washed it out, then installed the new filter. I'll take the side covers off next time...simple....and then you can really see what's going on.

I hold the battery out of the way with a strap and take one of the side panels off. Still a bit of a PIA but much easier that way.

That is exactly what I do and it's pretty easy now that I take the side panels off first. One word of warning though, be careful with the battery when flipping it out of the way. Last time I turned it upside down and accidentally touched a terminal to the frame for a split second. Spark scared the crap out of me

Also, I ordered an extra Moose filter from Motorsportz and it's very nice having one that's clean and ready to go. It also goes on much easier

I'm leaving mine in, even if it does cause a stream of profanity to issue from my mouth each time! Even though I have small hands it still takes me forever to get that screen on.

No one mentioned K & N filter here...I bought an extra Twin Air right away so I could just swap them out and got so frustrated just like you guys. Researched K & N and saw their dimensions were smaller and ordered one. Because it's smaller (same diameter, but not as deep) it goes in easier, but here's the magic....it's 2-part...the cone part has a rubber seal that doesn't need grease to seal, then you put the stock mounting bolt through the flat top (which is also their patented rippled air filter element) and keep it off the cone so you can see the end of the bolt going into the threaded nut inside the filter, then push the top on to seal and tighten the bolt...it is so easy compared to the stock setup. Did I mention more air flow too...not that anyone wants more performance here.

That's one of the reasons why I take the battery out - don't need those sorts of surprise! The other reason is that I don't like moving the battery too far from its normal position with the cables still attached in case it gradually weakens the cable or terminal tags and something eventually breaks. Downside, as mentioned earlier, is that you lose the clock setting (and the trip meter).

I also have two air filters and have one of them cleaned and ready to fit so I can clean the used one when I have a spare moment later, but I do find it tricky fitting the new filter and I often wonder if it's seated properly all the way round. I've been greasing the spark arrestor rather than the filter as I found that easier, but I haven't tried removing one or both side panels. Now it's been mentioned it seems obvious it would make things easier so I'll give that a try next time.

Another useful tip from Cafe Husky!

I had bought 2 Moose filters and was pretty happy with them. One of them had the rubber grommet split at the screw hole. The local shop replaced it for me and the new one came with out a grommet so he ordered another one, same thing, no grommet. Has anyone got a Moose filter with out a grommet?

The Twin Air filters claim to have a flame resistant innner foam. I still run the screen though.