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[Foot Loose]

I notice my bike came with a air filter sock.  The manual discusses using the sock when parked in rain, or could cause engine damage.  It's not clear to me if the sock needs to on when running in a rain. 

[OBB]

I always put mine on when I get caught in the rain. Just my 2 cents.

[Foot Loose]

Ok I guess the sock doesn't restrict the air flow, or have you noticed any performance change with the sock on?   I wonder if there is a better option, a high flow filter not requiring a sock every time it rains. 

[grc]

Ok I guess the sock doesn't restrict the air flow, or have you noticed any performance change with the sock on?   I wonder if there is a better option, a high flow filter not requiring a sock every time it rains. 

Some people just install the sock under the cover and leave it on all the time.  Besides helping with any water issues, it acts a bit like a prefilter to catch the big stuff and keep the real filter clean longer.  Just take it off and clean it on a regular basis.

As for a better option, something with a real cover might be an idea.  Maybe something like the air cleaners most of us used before it became cool to run around with exposed elements for instance.   

Jerry

[FLHTCUSE7]

Sock must be on while riding in rain. The MC will boug down if sock is not on.

[skratch]

depends on the rain.  i got stuck in a downpour on my bike and because the rain was coming down at a 45* angle from the right, it was bogging down my bike big time.  but after we made a turn, the rain was at a different angle and no longer hitting the air filter.  ran fine at that point.

[dlaws01]

Sock must be on while riding in rain. The MC will boug down if sock is not on.

X2, This happened to me on my springer.  My air filter is a bit more exposed to the elements though.  Like Jerry said, now I just leave mine on most of the time. 

[dahsen]

X2, This happened to me on my springer.  My air filter is a bit more exposed to the elements though.  Like Jerry said, now I just leave mine on most of the time. 

X3...  Don't think that it makes a big difference in performance, air passes freely in that net.

[mark]

Yes, bike will start to suck in water if riding in rain w/o the sock (this is based on it happening to me).  Install it under the chrome cover...your filter will stay cleaner and you won't have to stop to put it on if caught in the rain.  No performance difference in running with or without it.

[Foot Loose]

if the sock is the answer to a serious problem, wouldn't you think the filter would just be equipped?  Seems silly to have to install a sock in rain events.  I continue to think there must be another reason, like air restriction. 

[grc]

if the sock is the answer to a serious problem, wouldn't you think the filter would just be equipped?  Seems silly to have to install a sock in rain events.  I continue to think there must be another reason, like air restriction. 

I assume that if you were to take the air cleaner to a lab with a flow bench and have the maximum airflow measured with and without the rain sock installed you would get a very small difference in flow.  Unless you plan to change the throttle body, the heads, and the exhaust to eliminate all the other flow constraints, I'm willing to bet you won't feel a difference on the road.

Jerry

[Foot Loose]

I wonder if anyone did a dyno test comparison, sock off, sock on.   How can the sock restrict the water and yet get more flow per square inch?  the surface area of the air filter must be ten times the usable surface area of the sock. 

[grc]

I wonder if anyone did a dyno test comparison, sock off, sock on.   How can the sock restrict the water and yet get more flow per square inch?  the surface area of the air filter must be ten times the usable surface area of the sock. 

K&N has sold what they call the DryCharger for many years, and it's basically the same thing as a rain sock in Harley terminology.  I assume the parts are similar if not identical, and the K&N part is a thin polyester material that's treated with a water repellent chemical.  They claim it adds "very little restriction", but I've never seen them actually quantify "little".

If you plan to have your bike on a dyno in the near future why not be the guinea pig and have back to back runs made, with and without.  Like I said before, I doubt you will see a truly significant difference.  And don't forget, even without the cover the air flow changes over time as the filter becomes dirty, so you don't get maximum airflow under all conditions anyway.

Jerry

[dahsen]

At a microscopic level it probably does something, but surely not as much as the stuff a get from the filter when I rinse it !!

I know people that use it all the time (personally I don't like the look of it) by preventing the bugs, and other big particles to get stuck in the filter, my guess is that I get more restriction than they do after a couple of weeks do riding...

[hrdtail78]

I wonder if anyone did a dyno test comparison, sock off, sock on.   How can the sock restrict the water and yet get more flow per square inch?  the surface area of the air filter must be ten times the usable surface area of the sock. 

I have done back to back.  95% of the bikes out there are not going to see a difference from it install to it not being installed.  Now a sock and a fancy cover on the HD heavy breathers?  The % goes down.