As we all know keeping the air filter on a dirt bike clean and sealed properly is critical to engine life, if dirt gets through the filter it’s never a good thing. On a four stroke sand and dirt that gets by the filter will quickly wear out your expensive valve train and cause hard starting and poor performance. On a Two stroke sand and dirt will destroy your piston, cylinder and if it gets into your crank the entire bottom end will need to be re-built. So I think we can all agree a clean air intake system is the only way to go. The new KTM’s and Husqvarna’s have one of the most innovative and easiest air filter systems in the industry today with their easy access side panel and tool-less removal they have made air filter maintenance much easier to perform. There is however one issue we have found with the air filter cage on these bikes. All current KTM and Husqvarna air filter cages have an X shaped rough top or tip at the center section that can without warning rip a hole right through your air filter. The plastic tip presses right against the center of your filter. Anyone that has installed a filter onto one of these cages can tell you it’s a tight fit and you can easily see how damage can be done to the inside of the foam filter without you even noticing. We have seen plenty of these filters become damaged by this simple plastic protrusion at the top of the cage. 2016-2021 KTM 125-450 2016-2021 Husqvarna 125-450 2016-2021 KTM 500 EXC and Husqvarna FE 501