Direction of oil filter cup, PLATE,OIL FILTER (Ref # 13169)

I must admit I had never really noticed, as I mostly have had Gpz750’s.
I have always followed the parts fish and assembled the oil filter with the “cup” against the oil filter cover, facing up, just as in this Gpz750R1 parts fish. 



The Gpz900 -91 that I bought last winter got stolen in October, but got it back after a couple of days.
To fix the theft damages I started to look for a parts bike.I found a really sorry case that hadn’t ran in some 12-15 years, and bought it for 350 USD.
The tank was rusted through, side covers damaged (melted) by the fuel that had been seeping through the holes in the tank, but except for that pretty much complete. Except for the oil filter assembly.

When I looked at the parts fish I noted that the oil filter cup on the Gpz900 is assembled facing upside down in my world. See pic. 



The same goes for the Gpz1100 -84 



Does anybody know the reason for this?

I had always thought that it was facing upwards in order to collect sot and grime that got caught by the filter. 

Brgds Anders

I think that will always be one of the great Kawasaki mysteries.
All of my Kawasakis, save two, were supposed to have the cup on top like your 900. The other two, a 400 and a 750 twin, did not have a cup at all.

TexasKZ wrote:

I think that will always be one of the great Kawasaki mysteries.
All of my Kawasakis, save two, were supposed to have the cup on top like your 900. The other two, a 400 and a 750 twin, did not have a cup at all.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop… lol. Did you at one time find out that part is called a gate. I remember a comment the gate will contain the kaws. 

I do recall seeing the word gate used for that  part. Does not look very gate-ish to me……..

I believe that cup goes on top to reduce the concentration of hot oil from hitting the top of the filter. 

Kinda of make sense.  Keep in mind oil moves from outside the filter to inside the filter and not all of it goes through the filter.

blipco wrote:

I believe that cup goes on top to reduce the concentration of hot oil from hitting the top of the filter. 

Except on the models that have the gate under the filter.