Sprint Filter T12 Air Filter for Off-Road & Extreme – Gaokin Flame (2017–2026) CM136T12

Seven microns is not a general improvement, it is an answer to a specific question: is the air this bike breathes carrying mineral dust as a working condition rather than an occasional event? On a 500 cm³ road twin that question has an honest answer for most owners, and it is no. Where the answer is yes — dry tracks, sand, ground with nothing holding the surface down — this is the element the range ends with.

Key Features

• Dry special nonwoven filtering at 7 microns, the finest medium Sprint Filter makes
• Rated flow of 560 l/m²/sec against 5,050 for the standard weave in the same box
• Depth filtration, with the load held through the thickness of the mat
• Dry in the packet and dry after cleaning; no oil in the specification at all
• Direct fit in the unmodified Flame airbox, no adapter and no remapping
• Cleaned and reused rather than replaced; two years of warranty from purchase

The factor of nine is paid daily

Between the standard weave and this mat lies a factor of nine in rated flow, and that figure does not switch itself off on the days the dust stays home. It is paid on the commute, on the motorway and on the ride back from the dry section just as it is paid in the dust. That is what makes the choice situational rather than aspirational: the T12 earns its place on a machine that actually spends time in loaded air, and on one that does not, the standard element is the better-matched part. Neither of them adds power — in an unmodified airbox the CM136T12 leaves a standard Flame exactly as strong as it was.

Where the fine mat belongs

Dust that matters to an engine is largely invisible while it is airborne; by the time a deposit can be seen on a filter face, the fraction that does the wearing has long since been passing or being caught. Choosing at 7 microns is therefore a decision made from the specification and the route, not from a look inside the airbox. Riders who spend their dry season on gravel and unsealed roads are the intended case. For everyone else the honest recommendation on this page is the standard element, which is also the one listed for all three machines in this housing.

Care and cleaning

Compressed air from the clean side, worked outwards, is the first step for the CM136T12; a nonwoven gives its load up more slowly than a weave, so this takes patience rather than pressure. Lukewarm water and a mild detergent handle the rest, rinsed until the runoff is clear. Dry it in moving air at room temperature only — never a heat gun, a radiator or a flame, which destroy the mat invisibly. It is refitted dry, with nothing sprayed on it. Sprint Filter's maintenance sheet is in the Downloads tab.

Fitment & Compatibility

Made for the Gaokin Flame of 2017–2026 and seated in the series airbox without modification. This 7-micron code is listed for the Flame alone; the standard weave for the same housing covers three machines. Check your build year in the Fitment tab.