My valued customers,
I've been informed of an R2C Talon air filter failure from one of my customers. Their filter basically split apart at the seam where the clamping flange meets the body of the filter, allowing dirt to bypass the filter. We don't know the extent of engine damage yet. When reporting this to R2C, the customer relayed to me that R2C admitted this was the 5th such failure reported to them. Apparently the previous failures were not any of my customers because I'd not heard of this from anyone.
I had no previous knowledge of any failures until my customers reported this. I would not intentionally sell a bad product. My business, as well as other retailers, relies on vendors and manufacturers providing quality products to me. I can't perform quality control for my vendors. I purchase products in good faith that the manufacturer has checked their own products for quality.
All of my Talon filter listings have been changed to "out of stock" for now until I receive the new filters. I haven't had any of the old filters in stock since early June. R2C reacted quickly to the reported problem by redesigning the filter and improving the materials of construction and is now shipping the improved air filter.
The main intent of this blog post is to recommend that everyone at least check their filters now. Bend the flange all around the filter body and check for any cracks or splits. If you don't get that warm fuzzy feeling after inspection, then replace it with a stock filter. That's all I know what to tell everyone. I have run this filter in my Talon for well over a year and 1100 miles and after inspection I don't see any sign of a failure. If you notice a defect then let me know as my customer but I recommend you call R2C directly to report this to them.
This failure is not guaranteed to happen to every filter. As of now only 5 out of thousands sold have been reported to have failed. It's a good idea to inspect your air filter, ANY air filter, regularly for signs of degradation or damage.
Since I started this business I've been very selective on what parts I sell. My rule is that if I won't use the parts then I won't sell the parts. I continue to employ this philosophy. In over two years of being an R2C dealer I've never had one report of an air filter failure on any machine. For my experiences R2C has had excellent quality. This failure is not a common occurrence for the company.
Thank you,
-Brian
