Counterfeit Oil Filters

[Cormanus]

My reason for starting this thread was/is to pass on the same information I was reading, to everyone else so each could make his/her own decision as to what to buy and use, or not. The 1000RR Forum where this information was posted seems to be very similar to ours with a bunch of regular folks like us, concerned about taking care of our machines.

Can we automatically assume that because a filter was made in China it is a knock off? I dont know the answer to that one, and am making the decisions about what to use on my bike based on the same info everyone else has from this post. There is no doubt in my mind that both the D01 and D02 filters have been knocked off, just like so many other things these days. My preference is to avoid Chinese product whenever I can, and if filters for our CBs are being LEGITIMATELY outsourced to Chinese plants I would have to say I am disappointed in Hondas decision to do so. Why? Because lets face it, China GENERALLY does not have the best reputation when it comes to manufacturing quality in many but not all instances.

As a result, and because I cannot automatically assume that a Chinese filter is a knock off, I have searched for the original ( to our CBs ) D01 filters made by Roki, and assembled in the U.S.A.. I found a Honda dealer that still has them in stock, and tomorrow I will be going to buy enough of them to cover the next several years worth of oil and filter changes. If anyone else chooses to do the same, while calling around, be certain to say you do not want D02. If you don't say that, they will say they have it when they don't because of the part number being superseded.

At the very least, I think everyone will look more closely at what they are getting, and make their own choices accordingly. I am just like everyone else on this subject in that before I saw all the info in the link from the 1000RR Forum,
https://www.1000rr.net/threads/genuine-v...rs.260341/
it would not have occurred to me to look closely at a Honda marked filter either.

Emphatically not. In recent times countless manufacturers have made the decision to outsource at least some manufacture to Chinese plants for one simple reason: labour was cheap. Think Apple, Nike, Reebok, Adidas for example. If the product is made to the manufacturer's specifications the quality will be what the manufacturer will accept. Clearly that will run the gamut from awful to excellent. One would expect that, if Honda has made the decision to outsource oil filter production to China, the quality of the product will remain high.

You can safely bet a dollar or two that manufacturers are looking for places other than China that offer cheap labour so they can maintain a low cost of production while reducing any risks arising from current geopolitical tensions.