Sprint Filter P08 Air Filter for Road & Track – Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 (2018–2020) PM155S

A large single with a ride-by-wire throttle is a study in how much work the electronics do before your wrist reaches the engine. The Vitpilen 701 has no cable telling the butterfly what to do; there is a sensor at the bar, a map in the ECU, and a motor at the throttle body deciding how the two relate. The map was calibrated against a particular set of conditions on the intake side, and one of those conditions is how freely air arrives at the throttle. When that changes, the mapping does not change with it.

Key Features

• Dry polyester medium — never oiled, so there is nothing to wash out and nothing to re-apply
• Woven polyester threads from 22 micrometres, not pressed paper fibre
• Around twice the filtering surface of other performance air filters
• Direct replacement in the standard airbox — no modification, no remap
• Washable and reusable, designed by Sprint Filter to last the life of the motorcycle
• Two-year warranty from the date of purchase

Why a stable intake matters more with ride-by-wire

A loaded paper element does not announce itself. Restriction climbs slowly, the ECU trims fuel to match what the sensors report, and the throttle map goes on assuming the airbox it was calibrated against. What the rider notices is not a power figure but a change in manners — the first few degrees of throttle feel less immediate, the pickup from a closed throttle less crisp. On a big single, where every combustion event is felt individually, that softening is unusually easy to detect and unusually hard to name. The P08 PM155S holds its restriction between cleanings instead of drifting, which keeps the intake side of that calibration where it started.

Honest about what it does not do

It does not add power. The 692 cc single is not choked by its standard airbox, and a drop-in element that claimed otherwise would be claiming something no insert filter can deliver. What it offers is consistency: the same aperture at 20,000 km as at 2,000, restored with compressed air rather than replaced with a new part. On a motorcycle bought for how it responds rather than what it measures, that is the property worth paying for.

Care and cleaning

Blow it through from the clean side with compressed air, working outwards. For a deeper clean, wash in lukewarm water with a mild detergent, rinse until the water runs clear, and let it dry fully in air — never with heat, never with a flame. Refit it dry; there is no oiling step and never has been. The Sprint Filter maintenance sheet is in the Downloads tab.

Fitment & Compatibility

Made for the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 from 2018 to 2020. The same PM155S element covers thirteen machines across the KTM and Husqvarna range; the complete list is in the Fitment tab.