Out with the Ohlins
 

I have an 03 EC250 with the stock Ohlins. What other forks will slide right into the stock clamps? Will any "newer" forks work (KYB, Showa, Zoks)? Im looking to upgrade/update them. I was told that those model forks were made in a limited timeframe and getting parts when needed, wont be easy in near future. I mostly ride woods, some track but at 53 now, not looking to hit triples, doubles. I'm self employed! :)

easiest is to let us know what diameter the fork clamps are. Also how much "meat" is still on the clamps themselves - i needed an additional 1mm to get the kyb's to fit on my sachs top clamp and had them machined to a larger diameter

Just my .02 but I would never give up a set of Ohlins forks!

Yes, Ohlins are a little more to deal with because, honestly, most "tuners" out there don't have much experience in working with them. Like I posted in your other thread on these forks, you must go to someone that has plenty of experience with them and knows all the tuning secrets and little idiosyncrasies of physically servicing them.

Ok, to be more helpful and answer your question. I have no clue what diameter those forks are. To reuse your existing triple clamps you will need to know the diameter of the fork tubes where they get clamped in on the upper and lower triple clamps and then you can compare them to what is available. If you can't find an exact match, and another fork isn't too much larger, and then triples have enough material, you can have them bored out to accept the fork. Take special note of the fork's "feet" when doing swaps as the axle offset from center line is important and does affect the handling of the bike. Now, if you really want to, you can swap any fork you like on the front end if you are also willing to swap the triple clamps and possibly front wheel and brake caliper. You might have to swap steering stems or play with getting the correct size bearings but it can, and has, been done. I've done this to two different bikes.

Personally, I think just getting your Ohlins dialed in would be the simpler and cheaper way to go but that's just me. Now, if you decide to still get rid of your Ohlins forks, please let me know as I might be interested in them! :D

OK. So then, when i go to get them "tuned", what exactly do i tell them to do? Do i just say i ride woods, little bit of track stuff, GNCC type of riding and they should know what to do from there? Or do i need to say i want some fresh springs and revalve and idk what else? Do i say i rode a newer Gasser with KYB's and ask how close to that can they make the Ohlins? When they are done laughing, then what do i say? lol

Now, I didnt even think about the outside diameter of the upper fork tube being different from each manufacturer, so that just because the triple clamps are on a Gasser, doesnt mean any 43, 45, 48, etc fork that was sold with that model will just slide into the triples. So that does help in either working with the Ohlins or getting an entire front end and fitting it. Sticking with the Ohlins kinda sounds easier. Now, as im typing this, i was gonna ask who can i go to and have work done on the forks and shock, and starring me in the face is LT-Racing ad.

The more info you can give a tuner the better in my experience. so ride it and list what it is currently doing, what you want it to do and when. A good tuner will want to get it to do what you want it to do. Too often i have seen people just go to a tuner and say i want it tuned for hard enduro - tuner doesn't know if you ride at billy bolt speed or billy bumbler. tunning is different for everyone.

a good start is to get them serviced and correct springs and then take it from there

I think i just need to speak to Les or someone over at LT, tell them whats going on, where and how i ride like you said, and get their opinion and advice and go from there.

This! 👆
And have a play with the clickers to see what you like. Too many people have suspension tuned and say blah blah blah is shit and does not know what he is doing but never bothers to adjust anything to suit.
A couple clicks either way makes a massive difference depending on terrain.

and the more you play with it the better at understanding what is going on. There is nothing more satisfying than arriving in the pits and adjusting the clickers because the terrain is slightly different to what you usually ride and headding out and being happy.

It can become a minefield of mindfcuks when you start thinking about what you want to do and how things work etc

That is part of the issue. I set the rear sag, set all clickers to half way, and rode, changed things, rode, changed things, rode....wrote all the settings each time i changed them and it didnt feel like anything really changed. Talked to Les today and after he asked if they have been serviced, i told him when i bought the bike this summer, i had a local dealer put new fork seals on. He said i would bet, because theyre Ohlins , that they werent done correctly and theres a huge air bubble in them. So at this point im trying to decide whether to throw a good amount of $ into the bike and get the suspension serviced and then freshen up the bike or get something newer. Which is a question i posted in the General Discusion area.