The Cyclery Oil Bath Air Cleaners

Reproduction of the oil bath air filter used in the Harley-Davidson WLA and WLC models of the US and Canadian Army. Efficient cleaning of the intake air is particularly important during operations in the field, as dirt particles sucked into the engine increase wear and cause material failure. This is detrimental to combat capability. To keep the risk of failure as low as possible, all military motorcycles were equipped with oil bath air filters.

Original filters of this type clean the air sucked in by the engine by guiding the air flow over the surface of an oil sump at the bottom of the air filter bowl. In doing so, dirt particles adhere to the surface of the oil. Unlike the original oil bath air filters, which work with a wire mesh and oil, the The Cyclery air cleaner reproduction kit is supplied with a paper filter element and used without oil!

In appearance, this is the early “louvered” version of the short, round oil bath air cleaner, fitted with an open inlet slot. This version was used on 42WLA Type I-A, the first 42WLA Type I-B and 42WLC models. The later 42WLA Type I-B were already supplied with the “full-covered” version of the short, round oil bath air filter.