Hey All-

I recently purchased my 1994 Vulcan 750 and upon doing some maintenance on it I realized there were no air filters installed. How alarming is this and what kind of precautionary measures can I take to fix any potential damage caused?

Ill go ahead and ask my next question but I'm sure I can find it in the Verses... But I ordered direct replacement OEM filters before I did any research.. Are the K&N Filters that much better?

Thanks a lot for the support.

Jay

the filters you got are fine don't worry about it. as far as damage, that's been done... it's done. Can't do anything about that now but it's probably not that much. Throw the new foams in there and just treat it good from now on.

Jay,

OEM filters will do the job. There are a lot of opinions about the best air filters, best spark plugs, best batteries, etc. end story is that as long as they are designed for the specs of your bike, you are fine.

As for the damage, probably is not much bad that happened as a result of this. Be sure to keep up with the bike, change oil, check the splines and ride it well and it will treat you well.

Kevin

Much appreciated Gentleman-

Thanks!

Mine was the same way. Mine had the filters on there, but they were 2/3's rotted off of the housing.
I have no idea how long they had been like that, but so far I haven't seen any damage to the engine.
I'm in the process of tearing mine down, and the rear cylinder looks good.
So you most likely don't have anything to worry about.

I am 100% in favor of stock filters, or their equivalent. When you install them, soak them good in oil, and squeeze (not wring) out the excess, but leave them wet with oil. Put some grease on the back edges that seal against the back of the airboxes. A leak is pretty much the same as no filters at all, as is dry foam.

If you want to know the condition of your engine, you can do a compression check, but if it is running and starting good, I wouldn't. Since you already own the bike, if you get low readings, it will just make you feel bad, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Also, readings are just that. I have found a lot of engines that tested terribly, both compression and leakdown. I have seen engines where the valves were not sealing well because the chatter marks from a dull cutter were still on the seats. But they were running just fine.

As for it having been run without filters, it depends on how log it was run that way, and under what conditions. It has almost certainly shortened engine life to some degree, but it may be insignificant considering how long these engines last. The best thing you can do is change the oil right now, then in 500 miles, then every 1000 miles for the next 4-5 times, to help clean out any dirt that may have made it's way into the engine. When an engine ingests dirt through the intake, most of the damage is to the valves, valve seats, rings, and cylinder walls. But some dirt can make it's way past the rings when it gets mixed in with the engine oil, though by then it is usually such small particles it will do little damage. Dirt in the crankcase usually winds up either trapped in the oil filter, or embedded in the bearings.

Thanks Guys for all your feedback! I plan on changing the oil this weekend as well as the plugs and wires. When you tell me to put oil on the filters.. You mean like normal motorcycle motor oil? 20w50 or so?

I know. i know.. rookie questions.. I just dont wanna make any mistakes

Thanks

Jay

yes, that'll work

Motor oil works fine. I use 20w50 in every vehicle I have (nine total, counting cars) so I always have some around. Just soak the filters good in it, and don't squeeze out too much, just enough so they don't drip.

Great Advice! Thanks Guys.