Itchy, one of the previous owners of my bike decided in all their wisdom to be rid of "stupid rubber thingy". When I stripped and rebuilt the bike a couple of years ago I noticed it was missing. It took me an age to find one. Do not throw it away. It protests your air filter and channels the air properly. It also seems to have improved the performance of the bike. I don't know how much you know about bikes, but I am certain that you know less than Yamaha Motorcycle Engineers, why not trust their judgement?