air box questions

[grez]

I've started the teardown/refurbish of my recently aquired 94' speed triple and and trying to put together a list of replacement parts-this one is about the airbox.i thought i read that te filter element isnt a seperate piece from the airbox cover and that it all needs to be replaced as a complete unit ,but when i opened it up th filter panel is a seperate piece with a frame like spacer under it,the filter looks like a sort of steel mesh on the intake side and a sponge like material on the other,it has a red rubberized surround.is this a stock piece or aftermarket?the sponge seems to be deteriorated and coated in some sort of lubricant. would a K&N replacement panel like i've seen on ebay be what im after? after wrestling with the airbox/carbs to get all that stuff out i thought that some of those "pod" thingys would be nice but then did some reading here and it seems that they can make the bike a little more tempermental so i've decided to stay with the stock setup,any help would be appreciated....lots more questions to come

[Nobeard]

As long as the airbox itself is in good shape one of the k&n panels should be fine (I have one in mine) just make sure it all screws back together and seals properly. As for your carbs - as they are off you may as well take a look in the float bowls and think about replacing the screws with stainless allen head items coz the crossheads are made of cheese!

[KitNYC]

K&Ns are made of cotton and don't filter very well, until they clog up. Then they don't pass air any better than a stock filter. Some people like them, but I do not!

Triumph designed the airbox to be replaced as a unit every 24,000 miles, and you can tell from the cheap construction. I really think the air filter needs servicing more often that that, and would suggest cleaning and re-oiling with foam filter oil every 6k miles, then replacing the whole assembly on schedule. (You can't really open and close a stock airbox a whole lot more than that anyway.)

If the foam has deteriorated, it's definitely time for a new air filter.

Cheers,
-Kit