I am given to believe that engine 'brake' is all due to internal friction unless you have a compression release. As such it should not be affected by an aircleaner substantially. Power? Yes it seems to be noticeable, seat of the pants is unreliable for measuring performance mods, but I have heard it reported that the RIII picks up three HP on the dyno just by removing the seat, which is rather restrictive. I am currently, (briefly) without filters, having removed the secondaries and left off the air box pending the arrival of a set of K&N's. The bike really 'woke up' with this mod.