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Does anyone have any suggestions on how to change the air filter? I have checked the FAQ and maintenance section, but did not see anything on this topic. I have the service manual, but tips to make the job easier are always welcome. Thanks much for your help!

zeke wrote:Does anyone have any suggestions on how to change the air filter? I have checked the FAQ and maintenance section, but did not see anything on this topic. I have the service manual, but tips to make the job easier are always welcome. Thanks much for your help!

They say you can take it out without removing the tank. Last time I was into mine I already had the tank off. Pull the seat and have a look. i was looking at mounting my AP-2 fuse panel the other day and there's a lot of the cover showing.

You do not have to completely take the tank off, but you have to loosen it, and tilt it forward.

Be sure to pad the tank at the front to avoid any dings.

I was able to change out the filter without loosening my tank, it was a little tight in there and putting the cover back on the air box was a little tricky to get the 2 tabs at the front of the lid into the holes on the box. Took all of a couple of minutes to change out.

It is possible to do it without taking the tank off. Remove the item mounted on the clamp over the filter cover, push it one side and you should be able to ease out the filter. remove the sensor plug if necessary.

Make sure the filter cover is snug in place after re-installing the filter.

Cheers

Cat

I changed mine the first time by just loosening the tank. Shortly after that I had a fuel disconnect fail; it had cracked. I tend to think I may have stressed it when I tilted the tank forward. Since then I've always changed it by removing the tank.

So if you do tilt the tank just be careful with those disconnects.

11

Call me "LAZY".

I modified the front of the lid, file the lip down smooth, 1" - 1 1/2" back.







With this modification, it will take you no more than 10 minutes to open the lid, clean or replace your filter. "NO LEAKS OR WATER" and no more screwing around with tank etc.

11

I did it without removing the tank, although getting it back together was the hardest part.

It never occurred to me to block the center opening beforehand. Oh well, I might try that next time but probably not.

I'm going to have to try this mod. Last time I changed the filter on my '97 the tank was off and I thought I had everything back together then one day I noticed the cover had popped open. This seems strange, but it's like the box has shrunk and the cover is now too big? I actually cracked the box a bit trying to get everything closed.

I just took the tank off. I pulled the tank off four times in the first month I owned the bike. I'm pretty fast at doing it and it's really not very scary once you've done it a couple times (I did switch to the Omega QD's the first time I pulled the tank). I can probably pull the tank and replace it in less time than it takes me to dink around doing the filter another way.

Spring of '07 I had the 12k service done by my local independent BMW mechanic. They were just finishing up when I arrived to pick her up and were replacing the air filter via the "loosen and tilt" technique. This spring, thanks to a lot of information gleaned from this site, I performed the 24k service myself. With the tank off I discovered that the airbox lid was NOT properly installed. One of the tabs was not seated in its slot and was actually rather difficult to properly seat after a year of plastic distorting pressure. And with the tank off, it was much easier to clean out the dead insects, etc. I imagine the modification to the lid would make the task easier, but I'll continue to take off the tank. It's not that difficult once you've done it once or twice and it will likely need to come off for the new alternator belt anyhow.

Many thanks to all for your comments. The air filter as successfully been replace. The cover was easy to remove and the filter came out with out any issues. Used Beemeridian's duct tape tick, and ultimately I left the tank in place and utilized gaijin's "LAZY" method. Though I did fight with the cover for about 10 min before I remember the "LAZY" method. I used a drill bit to trim down the edges, and it snapped right into place. Thanks for all your help.