Ok ok...old news I know but I just remembered. Have 06 when it was new I checked this screen as well as replaced the oil filter. After about 4-5 hours of riding there was a little RTV and some aluminum shavings on the screen....a few more shavings than I would have liked but......not one spec of metal in the oil filter anywhere..... So...if you remove the screen you have nothing to stop all that crap from circulating through your oiling system!!!!

(would be lucky to last a season without that screen!!)

so leave it...obviously it is there for a reason.

and if you cut yours off and it's still running I would go buy a new oil line in a hurry