What's up with the very peculiar air intake setup on the Z-Force?
There's nice tight connections and slick plumbing from the throttle body to the well mounted and well sealed air filter box, and from that box up to the intended intake screen that's located behind and between the seats, but between that intake screen and the intake plenum there is no connection at all! Not only does it draw no air through that screen, if the operator has come back from a dusty ride so that the motor has a lot of dust on it and he watches while revving the motor in neutral, it can be seen that dusty air actually comes OUT of that screen!
The intake sucks combustion air from the hot and dusty motor compartment. 

When the V shaped air intake screen between the seats is removed it can be seen that the top end of the intake tract piping that is secured to the frame by a tab and single bolt, has a flimsy looking mesh bag pulled over it that doesn't even seal all the way round via its elastic collar due to that bolt. And the upper intake pipe, flattened to fit into the narrow space and to allow a round port for air, has this hole on it's back side, not the front where it would at least face the intake screen. No connection!

With the rest of the intake system being so well engineered and well made, why would CF Moto fall down on that last connection? That thin mesh bag that's pulled over the intake orfice, hey no competent engineer would have called for such a crude measure as a part of his design. Looks like something a 12 year old would have put on his go-kart.

Why on Earth would CF Moto go to all the trouble of providing a neat looking air intake screen that's molded right into the panels on the rear of the cab and pipes from the air cleaner box up to that intake screen, and then not connect the two but rather have the hole on the back side of the plenum?

My best guess would be that someone on the plastic accessories production line read the blueprint for that connector wrong, and before anyone caught the error a thousand plenum adapters had been run off and put into stock that all had the hole on the wrong side. 
Remaking proper versions of this part would have been expensive and would have delayed production goals.

They must have pondered this dilemma in an office and some executive would have made the decision to just make the model run anyway, without the grill-plenum connector.
Objections might have been raised pointing out that this would now mean the engine would pull hot combustion air from a dirty compartment with its exposure to road dust, but he was overruled and in a gesture to compensate for the intake drawing air from a  dirtier spot than intended, the managers decided to supply an Outerwears style mesh bag overtop the intake plenum's upper end.
That mesh bag is an obvious afterthought and because of the plenum's mount bolt, doesn't even prevent dusty incoming air from bypassing it at that spot! 

All CF Moto would have needed was a flexible boot connecting the intake grills inner surface to an intake plenum that had a hole on the front side instead of the back, and they'd have an intake system that made sense. With the intake hole on the back side of that piece, this connection is pretty much impossible. (I'll bet that in a storeroom somewhere there is a big pile of these now un-useable connectors gathering dust).

I hate to think how many CF Moto top ends have been wrecked as a result of this presumed shortcut, but we can't expect them to correct it now, as that would make it obvious there was a screwup in the earlier models. Owners of older Z-Force's would be clamoring to get the improvement.
Owners who have lost a top end from abrasive matter getting through to the motor would be clamoring even louder. D'ya think? 
In not correcting this issue properly right at the start CF Moto have painted themselves into a corner where in the effort to avoid outrage by owners, they'll have to stick to their story, "Nope, there's no intake problem in the Z-Force line, never heard of it, no matter how many of you people report dirty air related problems."

Just a theory, based on what we can see.
What do you think?

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

I think you are giving CFM more credit then you should. I don't think it was ever designed any other way...it's Chinese...that means the cheapest way possible with the cheapest parts they can get away with. Maybe in one test they did do something like you suggest.. but the intake noise directly in the cab added to an already noisy-as-hell cab so they did the minimum to reduce that noise- flipped the hole away from the cab-side and stick a bag over it. But that places the intake in the worst, dirtiest and hottest area it could be so at least they stuck a prefilter over it to catch "some" of it...which most people don't even know is there or check...yeah a 12-year-old's solution I agree. And with so many running the stock air filters letting 15+ micron sized particles by all the time, hundreds of not thousands of top ends have been destroyed.

This is why we have been so focused on this subject...and why I have become such a "freak" about clean, cool air and intake location. It's easy enough to plumb out of that area and put a second filter on it and install a decent filter in the box. It should be done at the factory...and you would think it would have been long ago as they pride themselves in correcting issues straight to the production line every three months. But maybe there is something else going on here..could it be that sales of parts or new engines would be so effected by engines that actually lasted over 1000 miles? Most probably. So clearly it's up to us to safe guard ..ourselves. If you live in a wet, non-dusty area it's probably not as big an issue. But if you live where most of us do..it is...and the engine heated air will always be an issue. Don't wait people...just do it. 

I have looked into a redo of the intake and cvt much like nmk did. My only reason for not doing it yet is that I am still under warranty. Would a modification like that void  my warranty.

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

I have looked into a redo of the intake and cvt much like nmk did. My only reason for not doing it yet is that I am still under warranty. Would a modification like that void  my warranty.

It might. At least keep a good filter in the box and service it often...and use the best treatments possible.

I was just looking at this the other day and trying to figure out a solution.  I agree that it is a bulletproof intake and airbox setup.  It's simple and it works.  The design took a dump right before the finish line.  When my Z800 was new I pulled the silly little panty waste sock and took a paddle bit to the front of that intake.  Did it do anything?  Nopers.  It made me feel good that I modified something.  I want to build shroud of sorts with a foam collar that will fit snug against the V shaped grill.  Maybe ABS, Epoxy, and little filter foam.  I might even build it out of the skin of poor people.

I know nobody wants to hear this but, get rid of your windshields, back glass, doors, and foam stuffed under the dash.  It's cleaner, cooler, and has better visibility without any of that crap.  Your intake will have more than enough a clean cool air coming through the cab.  No offroad vehicle ever had a windshield before.  No reason it needs one now. Goggles.  Parker Pumper.  Just my .02 cents.

Another modification that needs to be addressed I guess ... have never looked into there to see what's up, just figured it was engineered and was Perfect ... like you guys said the throttle end and air box end work great...better have a look  apparently

I'm with ya bezerk1. I've had the same thoughts of how to make the intake actually draw from where it was obviously meant to and nowhere else. Foam seal like you suggested, or I had an idea to use a piece of truck tire inner tube cut where it's shape might complement the grill hole.
I have another notion I'm kicking around about taking a pipe straight up from the airbox and going through the cargo box front wall at a 45 or less angle and then straight up and through a filter housing can like NMK has done. Going through at a 22.5 angle might make it tighter to the front of the box and less restriction to flow.
Then getting rid of that stock air pipe might make it practical to put a 4" removeable port in that nice flat spot low behind the passenger seat and maybe reach that danged oil filler. It's worth a look.

im worried about the warranty too but i had to change that intake setup so i just did my snorkels. also the exhaust of the cvt is way too low. so that had to be changed too