Hey Jerry,
So, with the old 'football cover' the center section made direct contact with the filter...and that eliminates the problem? Would a few flat washers between the present cover and the filter give the same result...or do you need more surface area contact?
Jerry
Not sure where you would place the flat washers, there's only one bolt holding the cover on and that's not where you need the additional support. The outer edge of the filter needs to make contact with the cover all the way around, to spread the load over the largest possible surface area. I forget what the diameter of the outer end of the filter is, but I'll guess it's between 4 and 5 inches. So to do this with a washer you would need one with an outer diameter equal to the OD of the filter, that is also thick enough to be rigid, and with a small hole in the center just large enough for the center bolt. Probably not something you would find in a hardware store.
If anyone gets ambitious and would like to remove their A/C cover and take a few good photos of the interior of the cover, maybe it would make it easier for everyone to visualize what's involved. For those who have one of the SE/K&N/etc. round air filters, take the filter off the backing plate (3 screws) and then install it into the cover (off the bike) with the center bolt. Look at where the filter contacts the cover; it will be obvious where the outer end of the filter is not supporting the cover. That's what needs to be addressed. It's also a good idea to make sure there isn't a large gap between the center nut and the cover before tightening the center bolt, since that will pull and stress the plate the nut is welded to. Probably a 1/32" gap would be about right, just enough to help compress the rubber gasket on the outer end of the filter a little bit.
I'm attaching a drawing of the type of cover the filters are actually designed to fit, showing how it makes contact for a full 360° at the outer end of the filter as well as at the center bolt/nut. When you look closely at your '06 and later CUSE covers, you'll see the obvious difference in the center section and in how the filter mates up to the cover.
Jerry