Review: BMC Air Filter

Finally found the time to ride to HKL and get some servicing done. This time, I needed to change the engine oil, change the air filter, and change the spark plugs. There is nothing much to talk about engine oil or spark plug changes, so I will be focusing on the air filter. Namely, a BMC air filter. Always wanted to use an aftermarket air filter, and here was my chance.

I arrived at HKL around 11am, and parked my R6 beside this gorgeous Ducati 1198S.

Waited about 30 seconds before a mechanic came to attend to me. In the meantime, I took a photo of their dyno machine. I was that FAST haha.

Told the mechanic what I wanted and he presented me with the BMC air filter for my bike. As you can see from one of the photos below, FM515/04TRACK is the part code for my 2011 R6. You can search on BMC's website for the part code for your bike.

Now, let's get to work! Or rather, the mechanic get to work while I sit down, and take photos haha. He had to strip off both my fairings to be able to access my spark plugs. Pretty labour intensive procedure which he charged SGD$25 for.

Please pardon my dirty bike. It has only been been 5 days since I last washed my bike, no thanks to the rainy weather these days.

If you look at somewhere near the centre of the photo below, you will be able to notice the 4 cables connected to the spark plugs. The photo is a little blur, that was the best focus my lousy camera could manage. Sad.

Lifted up my fuel tank to reveal the air filter housing. 17 litres worth of petrol sure looks tiny from here.

Lo and behold. This is where the BMC air filter will go into.

So, this is how the air filter looks like outside its box haha.

The BMC air filter is washable by the way. On top of that, HKL would honour the 2-year warranty as long as you have the receipt with you.

And here's my stock air filter.

Looks pretty okay minus the few small leaves that got through. But the R6 owner's manual recommends to replace the air filter, not wash it. Me, being a good owner, followed its advice haha.

With the air filter installed, it was time to install the new spark plugs. 4 DENSO Iridium spark plugs ready to be put to work on a 599cc engine.

Wrapping up with my 1 year old stock spark plugs. Do you know how to read the wear on your spark plugs? I will dedicate a post to answer that soon.

Total bill added up to SGD$329.

Breakdown:
SGD$66 for 3 bottles of engine oil.
SGD$150 for the BMC air filter.
SGD$88 for 4 spark plugs.
SGD$25 for labour.

You can be sure that I kept this receipt somewhere safe. Don't want to miss out on the 2-year warranty for the BMC air filter! I rode home and noticed a difference in the exhaust note. This is normal when you switch to an aftermarket air filter. There is a new 'hollow sounding' note coming out of my exhaust, and the sound sends a sweet tingling sensation through my body whenever I twist the throttle! Time to talk less and ride more!

Until next time. Ride safe!