2007 Ohlins fork EC250 valving

[Leon_gasgas]

Hi!

Waiting for the Ohlins tools (fork cap and base valve...) so I took the bike to the local MX track which was frozen at 0 C. Full of small hard ruts, small bumbs, very hard medium size braking whoops, etc. Idea was to see if extra time on the forks (only 4 hrs on them before this practice) with some intensional bottoming would help them break in faster and get looser. I think it helped a lot this 1 hr + practice. They bottomed smoothly on flat landings and it felt that they were using almost full travel on the braking bumbs.

Compression was at 16 out (Ohlins manual recommends 14) and rebound at 14 (as in the manual). I hope they still get softer because in the technical woods, with heavier and harder spiked tires (for this session I put back the oem michelins. I had trelleborg winter tires which make suspension set up really hard work), it is much different. Taking it easy for the first 5-10 minutes I didn't get arm pump during the whole practice even though I was holding too tight from the bars because of the strange surface. I think the forks will be OK soon. Only for winter tires it seems that I will have to make them softer.

I will let you know how it goes!

Thank you,

Leon

[Loosenut]

The stock handlebar clamps and bolts make a useful fork cap removal tool on my '05 Ohlins forks. Just add a couple 8mm nuts. They should not be very tight.

[Leon_gasgas]

Hi!

I have more than ten hours on the bike now and I am very happy with the forks! They work great even with the heavy and hard Trelleborg.. It's amazing that with the compression clickers fully soft now it works great without being harsh. All the previous forks I had (Ohlins 46, Marzocchi magnum, Marzocchi shiver and Kayaba 48(KLX450R)) they became harsh staying low in the stroke when the clickers were all out. Not with this fork!

Hats off to Öhlins!