Sprint Filter P08 Air Filter for Road & Track – BMW R 1250 R (2019–2023) PM142S

A boxer twin makes its case low down. The R 1250 R is at its best pulling from three or four thousand revolutions in a gear higher than seems sensible, and that is where most of its owners spend most of their time. It is also, awkwardly for the accessory trade, the part of the rev range where an air filter matters least. The volume of air an engine draws each second rises with engine speed, and so does the resistance any filter puts in its way; at the revs this motorcycle is built around, that resistance is small. Worth knowing before buying anything for an intake, this element included.

Key Features

• One layer of woven polyester, dry from new, with nothing oiled to reach the sensors behind it
• Filtration at 80 µm with a rated 5,050 l/m²/sec — the P08 is the road and track medium
• Threads measuring from ø 22 microns across; the weave between them makes the 80 µm figure
• Something close to double the filtering surface of other performance filters, in the stock frame
• Goes straight into the standard airbox in the paper panel's place, with no remap
• Cleaned and refitted indefinitely, warranted for two years from the day it is bought

So what is it for

Not power. There is no meaningful power in this change, and a listing that suggests otherwise is describing a different product. What the PM142S offers is a service item that stops recurring, and an intake resistance that is known and repeatable instead of quietly rising. A paper panel is at its best on the morning it goes in and at its worst on the day it is thrown out, and everything in between happens without a signal. A woven element is taken out, cleaned and returned to the condition it started in, which is a much duller and much more honest proposition.

The one place the flow figure counts

Rated at 5,050 l/m²/sec, the medium has far more capacity than a road boxer will ever call on. Capacity is not consumption, and quoting a large number is not the same as using one. Where the figure does earn its keep is at the top of the range, on the occasional full-throttle pull to the limiter — and even there the honest description is that the filter has stopped being a consideration, not that it has become an advantage. The rest of the time that number is simply headroom, which is exactly what a filter's flow rating ought to be.

Care and cleaning

Cleaning is dry work. Point an air line at the clean side and blow outward through the media until it runs clear; that is the normal service from start to finish. When something greasier has collected — a wet autumn, road film, a long spell of city use — tepid water with a mild washing-up detergent lifts it, followed by rinsing until nothing more comes away. Let it dry in air alone, keeping it away from any source of heat or flame, and fit it dry. The maintenance sheet is in the Downloads tab.

Fitment & Compatibility

Made for the BMW R 1250 R of 2019 to 2023, as a direct replacement inside the standard airbox. Nine machines share this element across the 1200 and 1250 boxer families; the full list with model years is in the Fitment tab.