For the pre-filter curious

[Willy-T-Ribs]

Ok, I realize that this subject of adding a pre-filter has been beaten to death. So many good options have been explored and put into use based on what I've read on this forum. And the one thing most everyone can agree on is that while the Honda air filter solution does a bang up job, it 1) needs to be replaced too often and 2) is a PITA to service.

The problem I have as a new Talon owner is that I'm not too keen on cutting my machine up quite yet. Plus I do not want to throw cash at a solution without having some empirical evidence as to what my riding style needs are in the way of a pre-filter. So the hunt was on for me, the pre-filter curious, to find a solution that had minimal impact yet provided the basic capability of serving as a easy to maintain pre-filter.

So to the internet I went and after a bit of hunting, I ran across this Youtube:

What appeals to me about this solution?

1) Price. $50 is easier to swallow than $200+. Especially for a pre-filter curious test.
2) Not having to cut holes in my machine, run wiring, etc.
3) Noise. This approach utilizes the stock Honda snorkel which has specific sound deadening chambers built in.
4) Space. This approach is all under the covers. Nothing new sticking out on the machine.

Popping the 4 push rivets on the triangle vent is easy peasy. And as long as your meat hooks aren't Sasquatch-ian you can fit you hand in there to service it.

Some of the "concerns" I had going in were:

1) Getting the snorkel "hat" off of the horn.

This was a nothing burger. One side is secured with a push rivet and once it's off you simply slide the assembly in towards the trunk to take it off. No cutting required. On my shelf if I ever want to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

2) Filter connection security.

As stated, this filter being used is a perfect fit to go over this horn. It takes a little effort and being that the system sucks vs blows, it's not going anywhere.

3) Servicing.

I was stymied at first when I tried to only swap the filter skin. What I discovered was that compressing the filter and skin as a whole will allow you to use a single hand to get and remove it from the lip of the horn.

I'm guessing that after some seat time I'll be looking for a more permanent solution but until then my plan is to run this quick and dirty approach to see how effective it is in keeping the air box clean.

 

[Admin]

 

[Remington]

@Willy-T-Ribs

Talon intake pre-filter kit

This project has turned into my second most successful product design in only 1 month. It all started with the idea to design a simple to install intake tube that didn't look homemade. My first design was to use the passenger side intake grate as passage for the tube. Although this was...

hondasxs.com

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

Buy the kit posted above and be done. That pre-filter in the wheel well trick sucks at best unless you don't go offroad at all.

Buy once, cry once.

 

[Willy-T-Ribs]

I'm sure I'll get there at some point boys. Going to play with this solution until I get tired of having to futz with it. The 10-80 is most likely where I'm heading. I'm all about KISS.

Thanks for the input.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

Finding out the hard way cost you an extra $50. 🤪

 

[GovtMule]

I just did this instead.

 

[CID]

I love that 10-80 Sports came out with his kit but long after I 'needed' it. Following HondaBob's lead, I made mine, and a big part of that was that I wanted to keep the stock Honda intake chamber, whether it's for tuning or noise control, didn't matter.

Cut the hole, you'll quickly get over it.

HondaBob's snorkel idea is linked in my sig (New Talon Owners - First Things to Know and Check), including part numbers for what you'll need.

From the NTO thread -

 

[Vikes79]

As @CID said there are other options out there…you just have to look around at bit.

You can get everything you need on eBay or Amazon and make it your self for considerably less if cost is your concern.

 

[Remington]

I get tired of having to “futz” with it

DONT say that too loud! He will get butthurt and block you in a heartbeat! 😉🥳

 

[Willy-T-Ribs]

Awesome input my dudes.

@CID, your approach speaks to me. I know a lot of folks aren't real big on the ant farm, but I for one am a believer in its purpose. I guarantee that an engineer at Honda did not drop some acid, plunk down at a CAD station and pump that piece of cauliflower out. There were some serious design cycles spent developing that specific structure.

And once my Talon balls drop, I'll grab a dremel and do some cutting. Until then I'll ride this minimalist version and see how it works over time in the field.

First real test tomorrow, Chicken Creek up near Strawberry reservoir.

 

[hondabob]

That will work ok but it will need cleaning frequently due to the horrible location. The 10-80 snorkel is the way to go. I extended mine up under the center of the roof and just replace the filter every 10,000 miles. I used the foam filter for a while but now I use a $50 filter from the auto parts store, and it comes pre oiled. I'm on my 4th filter on my 2019 Talon with over 41,000 miles.

 

[highpocket74]

Thanks for all of the good support gents.

I didn't want to cut a hole in my fender either but routing the tube through the grate area proved to be a real nightmare. I only built 2 of those and culled that design as being overly complicated plus I had to design a grate replacement. Honda does not make designing parts for their machines easy! I cut the hole and it doesn't bother me now. I've got brush scratches all down the sides that look far worse.

I've told people that bringing the intake tube above the fender with no prefilter is better than leaving it under the fender. The fender is a huge dust trap.

You can run any kind of filter you want. I prefer the Desertcraft because it's dry and easily cleanable. The only downside of the DC prefilter is that because it is a more open, less restrictive, element design, some fine dust a silt will pass through. To trap that I've found that some customers are lightly spraying the DC with filter oil with great success. Other customers in dusty Arizona are simply cleaning the DC filter daily in bad dust. One of my best customers in Arizona has increased air filter change intervals from 80-100 miles to 2000-3000 miles with my kit and simply by cleaning the DC filter more often.

I rarely get crap about the cost of the kit. But did go through this last night with a potential customer. The fact is that no one has any real idea of how much these cost to make. The 3" aluminum tubes are cnc cut and bent for me in Wisconsin and are dead accurate every time. The flexible grommets are made in house with our 3d printers and will continue to be until we absolutely can't keep up. By the way, the mold cost for the grommet to made with EPDM rubber was $9800!! I can buy a lot of 3d printers for that cost. Breeze Hose clamps are US made. The DC filter and Filterwears filter cover are US made. The DC filters are the longest lead item. Powder coat is done locally.

No parts that I design are intended to compete with what can be purchased on Amazon. I can't compete with Amazon. Nearly all of my Talon parts are unique and not made by anyone else.

I did see this copycat ebay store selling intake kits for cheap with no pictures of the tube, no powder coat on the tube, no grommet to dress the fender penetration, and probably a $5 China air filter. They don't show what holds the tube in place other than the air filter setting against the fender.

Years ago, I probably would have gone cheap, but since I've been designing and building parts, I now see the difference in quality in a new light from behind the manufacturing scenes.

Honda talon X2 X4 R2 R4 Intake Pre filter Snorkel Kit | eBay

Intake pre filter / snorkel kit for 19 to current Honda Talon models. Filter kit replaces the factory intake horn and extends the fresh air intake from inside the fender to above it in order to extend the life of the main filter and allow for very easy servicing of the prefilter.

www.ebay.com

 

[Willy-T-Ribs]

Thanks for all of the good support gents.

I didn't want to cut a hole in my fender either but routing the tube through the grate area proved to be a real nightmare. I only built 2 of those and culled that design as being overly complicated plus I had to design a grate replacement. Honda does not make designing parts for their machines easy! I cut the hole and it doesn't bother me now. I've got brush scratches all down the sides that look far worse.

I've told people that bringing the intake tube above the fender with no prefilter is better than leaving it under the fender. The fender is a huge dust trap.

You can run any kind of filter you want. I prefer the Desertcraft because it's dry and easily cleanable. The only downside of the DC prefilter is that because it is a more open, less restrictive, element design, some fine dust a silt will pass through. To trap that I've found that some customers are lightly spraying the DC with filter oil with great success. Other customers in dusty Arizona are simply cleaning the DC filter daily in bad dust. One of my best customers in Arizona has increased air filter change intervals from 80-100 miles to 2000-3000 miles with my kit and simply by cleaning the DC filter more often.

I rarely get crap about the cost of the kit. But did go through this last night with a potential customer. The fact is that no one has any real idea of how much these cost to make. The 3" aluminum tubes are cnc cut and bent for me in Wisconsin and are dead accurate every time. The flexible grommets are made in house with our 3d printers and will continue to be until we absolutely can't keep up. By the way, the mold cost for the grommet to made with EPDM rubber was $9800!! I can buy a lot of 3d printers for that cost. Breeze Hose clamps are US made. The DC filter and Filterwears filter cover are US made. The DC filters are the longest lead item. Powder coat is done locally.

No parts that I design are intended to compete with what can be purchased on Amazon. I can't compete with Amazon. Nearly all of my Talon parts are unique and not made by anyone else.

I did see this copycat ebay store selling intake kits for cheap with no pictures of the tube, no powder coat on the tube, no grommet to dress the fender penetration, and probably a $5 China air filter. They don't show what holds the tube in place other than the air filter setting against the fender.

Years ago, I probably would have gone cheap, but since I've been designing and building parts, I now see the difference in quality in a new light from behind the manufacturing scenes.

Honda talon X2 X4 R2 R4 Intake Pre filter Snorkel Kit | eBay

Intake pre filter / snorkel kit for 19 to current Honda Talon models. Filter kit replaces the factory intake horn and extends the fresh air intake from inside the fender to above it in order to extend the life of the main filter and allow for very easy servicing of the prefilter.

www.ebay.com

You've definitely been on a journey.

I spent half of my 40 years working at startups in the data storage industry. I totally get the challenges of trying to breath life into a new product offering. Folks do not normally consider the NRE that goes into creating something new. The manufacturing piece is a beast of it's own.

That said, I by no means am trying to entice folks to go a different direction than the 10-80 product (or any other dust mitigation product). I think that your product is a solid value and design. What I'm putting forth is more akin to a gateway drug. My post is for the pre-filter curious (hence the tag line) for those that are still sitting on the fence when it comes to pre-filtering the Talons air source. By no means is this approach sustainable, at least from my perspective. I'm all about easy and I would rather pop off a filter sock or filter with a socket wrench than disassemble and dig my hand into the Talon's air snorkel cavity. I will add one caveat though - the stock air snorkle (aka, the ant farm). Being an ex-engineer I know the good folks at Honda did not put that into the machine as a joke. However trying to bolt something up to it is problematic vs ripping it out and designing a tube replacement. Full disclosure, I have yet to track down anything Honda discussing the merits of this creation. I can only assume at this point that it's specifically in place for sound control which BTW is still important to me.

Cake and eat it too, right?

 

[highpocket74]

If my wife will ride in the passenger seat of my Talon X2 with my intake and not complain about noise, that is a WIN!

And I was simply trying to explain my products and the process behind them. People pay for simple!

I am currently working with Desertcraft for a panel filter replacement with their superior filter media. It's a long, slow process because panel filters aren't their specialty.

 

[Willy-T-Ribs]

If my wife will ride in the passenger seat of my Talon X2 with my intake and not complain about noise, that is a WIN!

And I was simply trying to explain my products and the process behind them. People pay for simple!

I am currently working with Desertcraft for a panel filter replacement with their superior filter media. It's a long, slow process because panel filters aren't their specialty.

Happy wife, happy life - most def.

I've had an eye on you @highpocket74 from back in my forum stalking days. You are doing commendable work along the lines of Talon betterment. I know I speak for the majority of folks on the forum when I say thank you for digging in and providing those options.

 

[highpocket74]

What's funny is that in January I went to the Offroad Products Expo in Hot Springs, AR to scope out the value of attending as a vendor. There was a business there that made snorkel parts for Honda ATVs. So I asked the guy if they make anything for Talon. He said no because the market is too small.

When I went to Springfield, MO in April as a vendor to the Power Sports Expo, the Talon owners were amazed to see someone with Talon parts there. I talked to many Talon owners that weekend. Honda of the Ozarks talked to us extensively about our parts but they haven't purchased anything yet.

I picked up another Honda dealer in Idaho for the intake kits on Friday. That's only from customer word of mouth to the dealers or the dealers seeing the kits during servicing. I've not solicited any of the 3 Honda dealers now carrying and installing my intake kits.

 

[Willy-T-Ribs]

What's funny is that in January I went to the Offroad Products Expo in Hot Springs, AR to scope out the value of attending as a vendor. There was a business there that made snorkel parts for Honda ATVs. So I asked the guy if they make anything for Talon. He said no because the market is too small.

When I went to Springfield, MO in April as a vendor to the Power Sports Expo, the Talon owners were amazed to see someone with Talon parts there. I talked to many Talon owners that weekend. Honda of the Ozarks talked to us extensively about our parts but they haven't purchased anything yet.

I picked up another Honda dealer in Idaho for the intake kits on Friday. That's only from customer word of mouth to the dealers or the dealers seeing the kits during servicing. I've not solicited any of the 3 Honda dealers now carrying and installing my intake kits.

If it scratches an itch, people are going to be asking for it. It's' only a matter of time this drifts into dealerships across the nation.

This forum was a great place to have your product introduction. Everyone who has it, loves it.

 

[Jason W]

What's funny is that in January I went to the Offroad Products Expo in Hot Springs, AR to scope out the value of attending as a vendor. There was a business there that made snorkel parts for Honda ATVs. So I asked the guy if they make anything for Talon. He said no because the market is too small.

When I went to Springfield, MO in April as a vendor to the Power Sports Expo, the Talon owners were amazed to see someone with Talon parts there. I talked to many Talon owners that weekend. Honda of the Ozarks talked to us extensively about our parts but they haven't purchased anything yet.

I picked up another Honda dealer in Idaho for the intake kits on Friday. That's only from customer word of mouth to the dealers or the dealers seeing the kits during servicing. I've not solicited any of the 3 Honda dealers now carrying and installing my intake kits.

Order placed today!