Sprint Filter P08 F1-85 Air Filter for Racing – Kawasaki Ninja 300 (2013–2017) PM95S F1-85

The Ninja 300 left production in 2017, so every one of them now has a history, and the racing medium is the one purchase on this bike where that history should be looked up first. Eighty-five microns is a decision about what you are willing to let past, and a decision like that only means something measured against what the engine behind it still has left to lose. On a freshly assembled race motor running short oil intervals it is a defensible exchange. On a high-mileage example whose earlier owners are unknown, the PM95S F1-85 is a step in the wrong direction, however good the airflow figure looks.

Key Features

• Dry polyester in the racing specification — 85 microns, oil-free like the rest of the family
• 15,000 l/m²/sec, the highest airflow rate Sprint Filter lists for any of its media
• Retention of 95.22 per cent on 100-micron particles, measured against 93.13 per cent for the P08
• Roughly twice the working cloth of a conventional performance panel
• Fits the untouched series airbox; no cutting, no adapters, no fuelling changes
• Reusable for the life of the machine, with two years of warranty

Reading the filtration figures backwards

Both numbers Sprint Filter publishes are proportions, not gates, and both are quoted for 100-micron particles — a size neither medium struggles with. That is why the racing weave can be coarser and still show the higher of the two retention figures. What neither figure describes is the fine end, and the fine end is where a 5-micron difference in aperture actually expresses itself. So the question to answer before buying is not which number is larger. It is whether the engine is early or late in its life, and how often the oil is changed.

When the exchange is right

It is right for a Ninja 300 kept for competition: an engine with a known build, oil changed on a race schedule, the airbox opened between sessions and a rider who will do that. In that setting, three times the airflow of the standard medium is a reserve at the top of the range with a maintenance regime behind it to pay for the coarser weave. It is not right for a road bike, and it does not make one faster — no drop-in element does. For road use the P08 version of this panel is the sensible choice, and it covers the Ninja 250R and Z300 as well.

Care and cleaning

Between sessions, compressed air from the clean face is enough and is quick, which is the practical reason a dry medium suits a race weekend: there is no oiling procedure to fit into an hour that does not have one. When the panel needs more, lukewarm water and a little mild detergent will do it, followed by a rinse until the water runs clear and a full dry in moving air — never heat, never a flame. It goes back dry and bare. The Sprint Filter maintenance sheet is in the Downloads tab.

Fitment & Compatibility

Cut for the airbox of the Kawasaki Ninja 300 built from 2013 to 2017, which is the only machine listed for this racing panel. It appears in the Fitment tab.