The facts.
DescriptionThe whole story▼
The dirtiest air a European road motorcycle meets is not in a desert. It is on a wet February morning behind a gritting lorry, and again three days later on the same road, when what was spread there has been crushed by traffic, has dried, and is lifted again by every vehicle that passes. An M 1000 XR ridden through the whole year meets that air for months at a stretch, and PM171T12 is the element in this range built for a continuous fine mineral load rather than for a fortnight in the dust.
Key Features
- Polyester special non-woven, used dry, filtering down to 7 microns
- A rated 560 l/m²/sec, the most restrictive and the finest medium in the range
- Retains through the depth of the material, so one dry layer does the work
- Unoiled when new and after every clean, nothing to travel onto the sensors
- Roughly double the filtering area of a typical performance element
- Slots into the standard airbox with nothing modified, and is washed rather than replaced
Winter is a filtration season
Road grit is crushed rock, and what survives the traffic is the small end of it: particles fine enough to stay airborne behind a moving vehicle and small enough to pass an 80 µm weave. Unlike the dust of a dry track it is not brief — it is there for the wet half of the year, on every route, and it arrives mixed with spray rather than as a clean powder. A machine kept in use through that period accumulates its intake load slowly and without interruption, which is the pattern a fine, deep medium is made for.
What the seven microns cost
Flow, and severely: a rated 560 l/m²/sec against 5,050 for the standard weave in this housing. Finer means more retained and less passed — an exchange, not a ranking, and the T12 is not a better element than the P08 but a different answer to a different question. On an engine capable of very high crankshaft speeds the exchange is felt where demand is greatest, so choose deliberately: this medium belongs on an XR used all year in bad weather, not on one kept for dry Sundays. It does not add power in either case. No element inside an unmodified airbox does.
Care and cleaning
Winter dirt arrives wet, so this element often wants water before air rather than after: hand-warm water with mild detergent worked gently through the mat, then rinsed until clear. Compressed air from the clean face outward finishes the job and is the whole of it in dry weather. Drying is by moving air alone and takes time — never a heat gun, never engine heat, never a flame, since heat ruins the material — and the element goes back dry. The maintenance sheet sits in the Downloads tab.
Fitment & Compatibility
Listed for the BMW M 1000 XR built from 2021 to 2026, in the unmodified series airbox. Two machines carry this number, the M 1000 XR and the S 1000 XR from 2020, and both are the tall, faired members of the S 1000 family. The RR and R models sharing the same housing are catalogued for the standard weave, for the 14-micron non-woven and for the racing specification, but not for this one. Both appear with their years in the Fitment tab.
DownloadsOwner's manual · brochure▼
FitmentWhich bikes this fits▼
- BMW M 1000 XR (2021–2026)
- BMW S 1000 XR (2020–2026)
Questions, one topic at a time.
Get the real shipping cost for this item to your address — the same rates as checkout.
Choose a destination and hit Estimate — we fetch the live rates for this item.
We’re based in Germany. Standard delivery goes by DHL and national postal services and takes about 2–5 days within Germany, 1–2 weeks within the EU and 2–6 weeks outside the EU. Need it sooner? Express delivery reaches most of the world within a few days — just choose it at checkout where available.
Your exact shipping cost is calculated by destination and weight and shown at checkout before you pay — no hidden fees. Express delivery is selectable at checkout where available.
Yes, we ship to over 130 countries. Prices, taxes and delivery times for your destination are calculated automatically at checkout.
Within the EU, no — our prices already include all duties and EU VAT. For deliveries outside the EU (e.g. Switzerland, the UK or the USA), your order may be subject to import duties and taxes set by your country. These are collected by the carrier when your parcel arrives, aren’t included in our prices, and are outside our control.
As soon as your parcel ships we email you a tracking link, so you can follow it all the way to your door.
On out-of-stock items you can request a delivery time or leave your email to be notified the moment it returns — just use the notification box on the product.
You have the right to cancel within 14 days of receiving your order. Register your return by email first; once it’s approved you have a further 14 days to send the goods back. Items should be unused and in their original packaging.
Register your return by email with your order number before sending anything back, and we’ll send you the return instructions. Please note: returns that aren’t registered in advance can’t be accepted.
The quickest way is to place a new order for the size you need and register a return for the original by email — just let us know it’s an exchange.
We’re sorry — that shouldn’t happen. Contact us with your order number and a photo as soon as you can, and we’ll arrange a replacement or refund right away. Faulty goods are always covered by your statutory warranty.
Refunds go back to your original payment method, usually within 3–5 working days of your return reaching our warehouse.
PayPal, all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Klarna (pay later and instalments), Apple Pay, Google Pay and more — all processed securely via PayPal and Mollie.
Yes. Choose Klarna at checkout to split your purchase into flexible monthly installments.
Your payment is taken when you place your order. If you choose Klarna, you pay later according to Klarna’s terms.
Every payment runs over an SSL-encrypted connection through certified providers. We never see or store your full card details.
If your order hasn’t shipped yet, contact us as soon as possible and we’ll do our best to change or cancel it.
No — you can check out as a guest. An account simply lets you track orders and reorder faster.
For customers in the EU, prices are shown including your country’s local VAT. For customers outside the EU, prices are shown without VAT — instead, your country’s import taxes and duties may apply on delivery (see the customs question).
Yes. Your invoice is attached to your order confirmation email and is also available in your account.
Yes. We’re an authorised dealer, so every product is 100% original and comes with the full manufacturer warranty.
Yes. Everything we sell is genuine and comes with the manufacturer’s warranty, on top of your statutory rights. Keep your invoice as proof of purchase and contact us if you ever need to make a claim — we’ll help you through it.
Our team is happy to help. Use the contact button below and we’ll personally help you choose the right gear or part.
Measure your head circumference about one centimetre above your eyebrows and compare it with the size chart on this page. Between sizes? Choose the smaller one — the padding beds in with use.
Yes — it’s tested and approved to the current ECE 22.06 standard and road-legal across the EU.
Most of our touring and sport helmets are Pinlock-ready and many include the insert. Check the ‘What’s in the box’ section on this page for this model.
Yes — the cheek pads are channelled so the arms of your glasses slide in comfortably.
Take out the washable lining and hand-wash it in lukewarm water. Clean the shell and visor with a soft cloth and water only — never solvents.
Our team will personally help you choose the right gear or part — around 24h for a reply.