As we all know one of the easiest and best looking upgrades to a stock Harley-Davidson is to swap out the stock air cleaner for an aftermarket unit. While just about everybody under the sun makes a replacement, as of late Roland Sands Design (RSD) seems to have some of the best looking on the market. The last time we were at RSD’s Southern California headquarters, Roland was telling us of his new Clarity Line, where each of the intakes and engine covers had see-through windowed compartments so each part can be see working in action. We thought the kid was nuts, but low and behold a few weeks later we got a box from RSD and inside it was an air cleaner with a clear faceplate. We tore it out of the box with much curiosity and studied it for a while with discerning eyes. After pulling it apart to investigate it further, we found it to be well built just like the other RSD parts we have been in contact with. The clear Lexan outer cover is permanently installed at the factory so that no worries regarding an airtight seal is achieved. The filter element is also made for RSD by K&N. We were happy about that fact due to K&N’s reputation of having great elements that last a lifetime if cared for correctly. All of the rest of the machined parts and attachment hardware were top-notch making this one of the most interesting and well-built intakes we have seen. We had the filter out of the box already. We also a nice bike with its stock breather box still on it within arms reach, so we decided to give you a window of opportunity to see this particular installation. Just so our readers could be crystal clear on how to properly install it. Source Roland Sands Design rolandsands.com 01. The RSD Clarity air cleaner came complete with all the needed hardware to install it on any Twin Cam motor.01. The RSD Clarity air cleaner came complete with all the needed hardware to install it 02. We started this swap by pulling of the OEM Harley ham can cover. 03. The attachment hardware was pulled from the outside of the air filter element.03. The attachment hardware was pulled from the outside of the air filter element. 04. From there we pulled of the stock filter element from the OEM air filter’s backing plate.04. From there we pulled of the stock filter element from the OEM air filter’s backing pl 05. We carefully removed the stock plastic backing plate and cleaned the throttle body of any oil or debris.05. We carefully removed the stock plastic backing plate and cleaned the throttle body of 06. Using the supplied RSD hollow breather bolts, we loosely attached the new billet aluminum backing plate to the engine’s heads.06. Using the supplied RSD hollow breather bolts, we loosely attached the new billet alu 07. A new RSD gasket was slid between the bike’s throttle body and the RSD billet backing plate.07. A new RSD gasket was slid between the bike’s throttle body and the RSD billet backing 08. We then installed the backing plate to the throttle body with the supplied Allen bolts torqued to 8 lb-ft. We also used thread-locking compound on all three of them.08. We then installed the backing plate to the throttle body with the supplied Allen bolt 09. The breather bolts were then torqued down to 15 lb-ft of torque. 10. Special rubber breather tubes were slid into the machined spaces in the backing plate to better direct the crankcase fumes to the intake.10. Special rubber breather tubes were slid into the machined spaces in the backing plate 11. Once installed you can see how the breather tubes would direct the fumes into the throttle body.11. Once installed you can see how the breather tubes would direct the fumes into the thr 12. The secondary plate was installed over the breather tubes. It just slides into place and cleanly covers all of the backing plate hardware.12. The secondary plate was installed over the breather tubes. It just slides into place 13. Before we installed the filter element and Clarity faceplate, we made sure to clean off any fingerprints from the inside of the Lexan window.13. Before we installed the filter element and Clarity faceplate, we made sure to clean o 14. The filter and faceplate were attached to the backing plate with five billet aluminum stand-off spacers and stainless steel Allen bolts. We used thread-locking compound on all of them before honching them down to 8 lb-ft of torque.14. The filter and faceplate were attached to the backing plate with five billet aluminu 15. After a total of 20 minutes of tech time, we trashed the ugly OEM intake and classed it up with some glassy goodness and better breathing. Now when the throttle is cracked you can see the butterfly putting on a little show inside the filter and hear cold air getting sucked into the engine.15. After a total of 20 minutes of tech time, we trashed the ugly OEM intake and classed By Jeff G. Holt Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
