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Post by RedAndBlack on Jul 24, 2017 10:10:16 GMT -7
Hello everybody, reposting my post from another forum. This incident actually happened a few weeks ago but figured I would share on here as well:
I had heard rumblings of K & N oil filter failures and quite honestly, didn't pay much attention to it. Figured most of the complaints were people who hand tighten their oil filters or crossthreaded the filters. But this weekend I finally got to witness one for myself. While on a spirited Canyon Ride, one of the rider's bikes in front of me started to smoke really bad. Thankfully, despite continuing to ride for about another minute before noticing, the rider was able to safely pull over despite his rear tire being completely covered in oil. We checked the oil filter and saw what appeared to be the source of the leak, the tip of an aftermarket K & N oil filter. My friend used his roadside to get home and immediately pulled the bottom fairings and the oil filter, and sure enough, discovered the fracture in the part of the oil filter where the 17 mm bolt head joins with the rest of the filter. Within 6 hours, another SoCal Rider posted in a Facebook group that his K & N oil filter also failed that day, confirming in the comments that the leak was in the same place. Plenty of google searches confirm many riders all across different forums have experienced the same. I was also told by a friend that a K & N oil filter was the source of a crash that led to our local track org to ban all non-OEM oil filters. www.roadracingworld.com/news/cvma-banning-all-aftermarket-oil-filters/I personally am ending my use of K & N oil filters. Hope everybody else here heeds the warnings. I wish I did! Edit: Link to FB post. Should be viewable by Public. Both aforementioned riders commented in comments including photos. www.facebook.com/groups/MotoRidersUniverse/permalink/1921988238114735/
(If you expand the above picture, you can actually see how one side of the bolt head cap is raised up)
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Post by evitzee on Jul 24, 2017 10:52:03 GMT -7
I've used K&N oil filters for many years with nary a problem, but I've read and heard the same things that you did. To be on the safe side the last time I changed the filter I used the OEM Yamaha part, it wasn't that much more expensive than the K&N unit. I'll miss the convenience of the welded 17mm nut but there does seem to be a problem with the K&N unit right now.
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mother
Junior Member
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Post by mother on Jul 24, 2017 10:56:38 GMT -7
I also assumed the reports I had seen of these failures were exaggerated by the internet, as things tend to be. Then it happened to someone in a group I was with in the middle of a ride. I haven't changed out the one on my Superhawk yet, but have no plans to put one of these on my FZ-10 or any other bike I own for that matter, unless K&N comes forward about it and illustrates that the issue has been resolved.
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sam07
Full Member
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Post by sam07 on Jul 24, 2017 11:40:31 GMT -7
Thanks for the heads up. I've used a oil filter wrench for years and a adaptor that grips the housing for those in tight spots. On our bikes, piece of cake.
I wonder if people are torquing the hell out of the filter on install?
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Post by 0002s on Jul 24, 2017 11:47:00 GMT -7
Yamaha OEM doesn't seem to have the problem....  |
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doctorzoidberg
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Post by doctorzoidberg on Jul 24, 2017 13:06:48 GMT -7
I've used K&N oil filters for many years with nary a problem, but I've read and heard the same things that you did. To be on the safe side the last time I changed the filter I used the OEM Yamaha part, it wasn't that much more expensive than the K&N unit. I'll miss the convenience of the welded 17mm nut but there does seem to be a problem with the K&N unit right now. My previous bike was a CBR 600RR, and I remember reading about K&N oil filter failures on the 600rr.net forum, so I made the switch to HiFlo oil filters: HiFlo HF204RCThis filter is inexpensive, reliable, has the very convenient nut on the end, and it has performed well on my old 600RR. According to Cruizin, this same model of oil filter is compatible with the FZ-10, and I plan on using it along with Motul 300V 10W40 full synthetic oil on the FZ-10. |
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doctorzoidberg
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Post by doctorzoidberg on Jul 24, 2017 13:15:12 GMT -7
Yamaha OEM doesn't seem to have the problem.... Here in Canada at my local stealership, the Yamaha OEM filter is about $30, whereas I can order the HiFlo filter for about $10 online. I don't mind paying extra for the OEM filter, but not unless I have a good reason to. |
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Post by RedAndBlack on Jul 24, 2017 13:58:36 GMT -7
Yes, HiFlo and OEM definitely seem to be the recommended replacements. People told me that OEM filters for a lot of bikes are actually cheaper. Will probably be going to OEM from here on out.
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Post by Cruizin on Jul 24, 2017 14:31:45 GMT -7
Damn, this is happening on like every motorcycle forum online right now !
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Post by Cruizin on Jul 24, 2017 14:32:23 GMT -7
I heard hiflo and K&N are the same?
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Post by RedAndBlack on Jul 24, 2017 14:50:03 GMT -7
I heard hiflo and K&N are the same? I'm not exactly sure, I heard that hiflo makes K & N and some OEM filters. They were basically the same as K & N minus the bolt head. But apparently now hiflo is releasing filters with the bolt head as well? I basically wouldn't trust the bolt head design anymore.
Likely Going OEM
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Deleted
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Registered: Apr 26, 2024 15:33:04 GMT -7
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2017 14:52:24 GMT -7
OEM for me!!
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fzwaffle
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Posts: 88
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Registered: Apr 3, 2017 9:50:38 GMT -7
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Post by fzwaffle on Jul 24, 2017 17:12:58 GMT -7
Even if there was a 1% failure its enough to make me and most people not buy k&n, theres no way Im risking it.
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doctorzoidberg
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Post by doctorzoidberg on Jul 24, 2017 18:24:20 GMT -7
I heard hiflo and K&N are the same? I'm not exactly sure, I heard that hiflo makes K & N and some OEM filters. They were basically the same as K & N minus the bolt head. But apparently now hiflo is releasing filters with the bolt head as well? I basically wouldn't trust the bolt head design anymore.
Likely Going OEM
I also read on the interweb that HiFlo makes K&N filters, and they do look the same (and have similar designations). The HiFlo filters come in two flavors: regular (no bolt head on the end, e.g. HF204), and racing designation (with the bolt head on the end, e.g. HF204RC). If you look around on different motorcycle forums where fellow riders are discussing oil filters, there are many, many complaints and stories about K&N failures (seals and the nut on the end of the filter), and almost none relating to HiFlo. Of course, the safest bet will be to go OEM, but I personally also wouldn't hesitate using HiFlo filters. There's no way I'd use K&N filters though, even if they were given to me for free. |
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Post by Cruizin on Jul 24, 2017 18:29:11 GMT -7
Yamaha OEM doesn't seem to have the problem.... Here in Canada at my local stealership, the Yamaha OEM filter is about $30, whereas I can order the HiFlo filter for about $10 online. I don't mind paying extra for the OEM filter, but not unless I have a good reason to. Be careful, Hiflow makes alot of these K&N filters for K&N. I dont know if theirs are failing too. I totally recommend using OEM until this gets straightened out! Get OEM here cheaper than dealer # 5GH-13440-50-00 OEM Yamaha Filter click here # 5GH-13440-50-00 |
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Post by pjfz1 on Aug 3, 2017 4:49:55 GMT -7
We've seen 5 of these failures in our shop in the last year, and we won't install a K&N Filter.
HiFlo used to make the filters for K&N, but K&N moved to an asian manufacturer about 3 years ago. We use the hiFlo with the nut, and haven't seen or heard of any failures.
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Post by Cruizin on Aug 3, 2017 5:31:13 GMT -7
Thanks for that clarification!
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Post by RedAndBlack on Aug 3, 2017 9:31:34 GMT -7
Yes thank you! That's some good info!
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doctorzoidberg
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Post by doctorzoidberg on Aug 3, 2017 11:07:24 GMT -7
We've seen 5 of these failures in our shop in the last year, and we won't install a K&N Filter. HiFlo used to make the filters for K&N, but K&N moved to an asian manufacturer about 3 years ago. We use the hiFlo with the nut, and haven't seen or heard of any failures. I just did my first service oil change yesterday, and put in a HiFlo filter (the one with the nut on the end), torqued to spec, and there are no leaks or any issues. Now that the break-in time is winding down, I'll be using Motul 300V 10W40 from here on out. I've used HiFlo filters on my old Suzuki C50 (my bike before my 600RR that I traded in for my FZ-10), and have always been satisfied with their performance, convenience, and price. I wouldn't go near a K&N oil filter, though, because of all of the horror stories one hears about their failures. What you're saying about K&N and HiFlo coming from different manufacturers makes sense to me, since I've never heard of HiFlo filter failure (not saying it can't happen, just that I've never heard of one), but have heard a lot about K&N filters crapping out. |
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