THE IRON TRADER NEWS SPORTSTER UPGRADE

Performance Machine JET Air Cleaner

Everyone’s gotta breathe, right? And it doesn’t just go for riders and
wrenches, but for our engines too. So with a long list of planned
upgrades for my old Sportster towering over me, I decided to get
started with something simple and rewarding: swapping out the air
cleaner. Too easy, you say? Just easy enough, thank you. Once the
tools and parts started flying, I knew I’d have the momentum to keep
working.

There is exactly one whole huge pile of different air cleaners you can
buy for CV-carbureted Harley-Davidsons, For me, performance is tops;
if the design lacks sufficient air filter surface area and doesn’t
help incoming air make the 90 degree bend into the throat of the carb,
it’s a pass. Also, the damn thing has to look good! For better or
worse, the right hand side of a Harley tends to get a lot of viewing
(mine does, tucked against the tank in the passing lane…) so it’s
worth considering.

After browsing around, I found a balanced option from Performance
Machine. Their new JET air cleaner has a tapered cone to smooth the
transition of air from the filter medium to the carb, and is a
handsome and well-made piece that can be mounted in two different
orientations.

This flexibility gave me a bit of a dilemma. Visually, I liked
orienting the air cleaner with the taper to the rear of the bike, but
the shape interfered with my right knee thanks to my trusty mid
controls. Well, you know how we roll at ITN…I went for the pragmatic
choice!

The installation was breezy, thanks to a thorough blend of included
parts and thorough, color-printed instructions. I spin wrenches for a
living and know that time means money; while not all manuals and
instructions are perfect, any time they save you is time on the road!

The results speak for themselves, a nice hilight to the right side of
the bike. And now, I’ve got the inspiration to class up the rest of
the bike to the same high standard! Find more info at
performancemachine.com Stay tuned…