Sometimes I think the whole micron thing is a sales gimmick. Obviously you want the filter to catch all the garbage flowing through your oil but at what point do we say enough already? The smallest of particles that float by the bearings won't hurt anything. If the particle is smaller than the bearing clearance then it will never scar the bearing. Just replace the filter when you're supposed to and you're golden!

Kris01 wrote on 12/18/16 at 20:08:03:


Not true!  If the pleats are a different size then your description would be true, IF and only If, the overlap is the same!

Assuming the same size (sq. inch-wise) if each pleat, more pleats has to yield more surface area for filtering.  Less pleats means less surface area for filtering.  It is a matter of physics.  Check it out.

piedmontbuckeye, take a sheet of paper and fold it as many times as you want. It's still the same single sheet of paper. Now leave it flat. The surface area is still the same. That's the only point I was trying to make.

Different brands/part numbers may have a smaller/larger filter area.

Kris01 wrote on 12/24/16 at 17:45:19:


That same sheet of paper folded different ways doesn't have the same "exposure" to filtering! Did you ever take a physics class?

That's the point I was trying to make!  

NAPA "Silver" "Pro-Select" and WM "SuperTech" meet warranty requirements. Anything more is overkill.

I had an early 70s Volksagen Beetle that had no oil filter, I ran that car for nearly 200,000 miles and traded it. it was running great when I let it go.

I spent years on BITOG (Bob Is The Oil Guy) looking for the perfect oil and filter....
I came to realize the perfect oil and filter was the one "on sale".
Conventional oil, cheap brand name filter and regular changes - you'll never wear it out.

Papa Bear wrote on 12/26/16 at 05:39:50:


I partially agree/disagree.  I think that oil and filter may be the most important part of maintaining anything.  However, my motorcycles have been different for me.  I want to do as best I can.  I agree, that the so-called "super filters" and some of the super-additives, are more than likely over-kill and probably throwing money down the drain.

But . .  keeping the oil clean (both changing often and using a reputable oil filter) is the best way to keep this thing running great.

I plan on keeping this bike for the rest of my life (hopefully another 10 years or so!) so I will do extra oil changes, and use the best appropriate oil and filter I can find!  Nothing is too good for my toy!  PS Please don't tell my wife I said that!!!

piedmontbuckeye wrote on 12/26/16 at 03:59:36:


Ok, this is starting to lead into an argument. I'll make one point and then I'm done with this topic.

The pleated element in the filter housing is exposed to the oil. ALL of it! The entire thing filters. Area is area no matter how many times you fold or bend the same sheet.

An oil filter, well...filters. Use a quality brand with a good reputation and be content in knowing your engine will last a long time. I'm not too concerned with the who filters the smallest microns mumbo jumbo. The garbage filters will weed themselves out of business. I stick with tried and true.