There's nothing special about the OEM filter. It's comparable to the better filters out on the market.
Oops, wrong if you're talking about construction / design.
The FJR OEM filter is fundamentally different one of a kind.
The FJR OEM filter internal cage (that supports the filter medium) is made of plastic, regular filters are metal here (including Fram, Walmart). [You can see difference and you can stick a v. small magnet inside to confirm this.]
The FJR OEM filter medium is an open cell sponge like material, that is compressed v. tightly in the small openings of the internal cage (above); I estimate that the total surface area of the filtering sponge filled openings, thru which all oil must flow, to be ~1 sq. inch.
Regular filters are made from a thick sort of filtering paper that is multiple folded (pleated) to gain surface area for the oil to flow thru; the filtering surface area is ~100 sq. inches.
The FJR OEM filter does not have a separate high pressure bypass valve, unlike regular filters.
I later confirmed this by examining a cut open specimen that a friend has (mcrider007).
But, the OEM filter is sold for the FJR, and if it's a one of a kind design then there may/must be a reason for it (mcrider007's point to me).
So I use the black SuperTech Walmart filters. Go figure.
