Help Identifying these WP forks

Marty1028
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Marty1028
Edited Date/Time 9/1/2022 6:18am
Bought this 2007 KTM 250 sxf and it has these air chambers mounted on the forks between the triple clamps. I’ve googled this to no avail and it didn’t come like this from the factory. They have no markings of any manufacturer so I’m at a loss here. Anyone know what these are and what they do?


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Langhammx 8/30/2022 2:32pm
8/30/2022 2:32pm Edited Date/Time 8/30/2022 2:36pm
I can’t think of the manufacture, but the tanks are aftermarket.

These look like yours-
https://www.ebay.com/itm/313854198339

They give the forks a subtle ride. You can google ENZO sub tanks and get the information you’re looking for. ENZO makes the same thing in carbon fiber.

Here’s a couple threads on the sub tanks-
https://www.thumpertalk.com/forums/topic/967106-sub-tanks/

https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/fork-subtanks-are-they-for-you.16217…

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MotoCosmo
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MotoCosmo 8/30/2022 2:36pm
8/30/2022 2:36pm
Air Cell... out of business now
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LungButter
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LungButter 8/30/2022 2:36pm
8/30/2022 2:36pm
Sub Tanks. You used to be a bad ass if you had those.

Sub tanks were the Cone Valves of the early to mid 00's.
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Marty1028
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Marty1028 8/30/2022 3:01pm
8/30/2022 3:01pm
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in since I’ve never messed with air forks before.
xr70
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xr70 8/30/2022 3:30pm
8/30/2022 3:30pm
Marty1028 wrote:
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in...
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in since I’ve never messed with air forks before.
Those forks are not air forks ! The sub tanks are used for plusher compression stroke on regular spring forks !
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Marty1028
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Marty1028 8/30/2022 3:36pm
8/30/2022 3:36pm
Marty1028 wrote:
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in...
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in since I’ve never messed with air forks before.
xr70 wrote:
Those forks are not air forks ! The sub tanks are used for plusher compression stroke on regular spring forks !
Really? I’ll probably take a crack at rebuilding them then!
Langhammx 8/30/2022 3:38pm
8/30/2022 3:38pm Edited Date/Time 8/30/2022 3:39pm
Marty1028 wrote:
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in...
Alright cool. I live not too far from a major KTM dealer. They’re blown and leaking oil. I think I’m just going to take them in since I’ve never messed with air forks before.
The sub tanks simply screw on where the bleeder screws go. Air cell is just a brand, there is no air involved in your fork set up.
Gravel
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Gravel 8/30/2022 5:02pm
8/30/2022 5:02pm
Lose the subtanks and reset the oil level. I had a set of similar tanks on my 2006 KTM, they allowed a slightly higher oil level to soak up chatter like a much lower level, but the problem was they let the forks dive too much under sustained weight transfer like braking and downhills.
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rjg
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rjg 8/30/2022 5:09pm
8/30/2022 5:09pm
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port.
Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to find a proper screw to block off the bleed port if you remove the subtanks
suspensionguy 8/30/2022 8:41pm
8/30/2022 8:41pm
I had that exact set up, pretty sure they are air cell, judging by the clamps, I think Enzo’s had carbon fiber one them?
Gravel
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Gravel 8/31/2022 6:27am
8/31/2022 6:27am
rjg wrote:
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port. Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to...
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port.
Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to find a proper screw to block off the bleed port if you remove the subtanks
I couldn’t tell if they’re OC or CC without seeing the caps. Hopefully you’re right, the CC forks can be really good although the OC forks can be pretty good too and are easier to maintain. I’ve still got my 06 with OC forks, it surprises me how good they are compared to my 18 with Dal Soggio inserts.
rjg
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rjg 8/31/2022 11:00am
8/31/2022 11:00am
rjg wrote:
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port. Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to...
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port.
Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to find a proper screw to block off the bleed port if you remove the subtanks
Gravel wrote:
I couldn’t tell if they’re OC or CC without seeing the caps. Hopefully you’re right, the CC forks can be really good although the OC forks...
I couldn’t tell if they’re OC or CC without seeing the caps. Hopefully you’re right, the CC forks can be really good although the OC forks can be pretty good too and are easier to maintain. I’ve still got my 06 with OC forks, it surprises me how good they are compared to my 18 with Dal Soggio inserts.
You can tell by the hex caps with the milled out slots for the CC fork cap socket. The OCs have little holes for the OC fork cap socket. CC and OC can both be made to work awesome.
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LungButter
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LungButter 8/31/2022 11:03am
8/31/2022 11:03am
suspensionguy wrote:
I had that exact set up, pretty sure they are air cell, judging by the clamps, I think Enzo’s had carbon fiber one them?
The Enzo ones I had on a Kawi had carbon fiber mounts that went around the fork leg.
Gravel
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Gravel 8/31/2022 12:20pm
8/31/2022 12:20pm
rjg wrote:
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port. Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to...
Those are WP closed chamber forks with Aircell sub tanks attached to the bleeder port.
Install the 2012 seal kit or later. You will have to find a proper screw to block off the bleed port if you remove the subtanks
Gravel wrote:
I couldn’t tell if they’re OC or CC without seeing the caps. Hopefully you’re right, the CC forks can be really good although the OC forks...
I couldn’t tell if they’re OC or CC without seeing the caps. Hopefully you’re right, the CC forks can be really good although the OC forks can be pretty good too and are easier to maintain. I’ve still got my 06 with OC forks, it surprises me how good they are compared to my 18 with Dal Soggio inserts.
rjg wrote:
You can tell by the hex caps with the milled out slots for the CC fork cap socket. The OCs have little holes for the OC...
You can tell by the hex caps with the milled out slots for the CC fork cap socket. The OCs have little holes for the OC fork cap socket. CC and OC can both be made to work awesome.
Yep, you’re right about the caps.

I never got the subtanks to work the way I wanted, they definitely can add plushness but the diving was a side effect I didn’t like.
KONG
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KONG 8/31/2022 1:53pm
8/31/2022 1:53pm
LungButter wrote:
Sub Tanks. You used to be a bad ass if you had those.

Sub tanks were the Cone Valves of the early to mid 00's.
SXS forks were the actual Cone Valves back in the day.
But you're right, sub tanks were dope!
Wink
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Marty1028
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Marty1028 8/31/2022 3:10pm
8/31/2022 3:10pm
Gravel wrote:
Lose the subtanks and reset the oil level. I had a set of similar tanks on my 2006 KTM, they allowed a slightly higher oil level...
Lose the subtanks and reset the oil level. I had a set of similar tanks on my 2006 KTM, they allowed a slightly higher oil level to soak up chatter like a much lower level, but the problem was they let the forks dive too much under sustained weight transfer like braking and downhills.
I’m thinking I want to keep them. I mainly ride off road so soaking up chatter is good. When I go to rebuild these forks all I need to do to take advantage of these Subtanks is to add extra oil to the fork? Approximately how much oil?
SeaClassExpert 8/31/2022 5:35pm
8/31/2022 5:35pm
Marty1028 wrote:
I’m thinking I want to keep them. I mainly ride off road so soaking up chatter is good. When I go to rebuild these forks all...
I’m thinking I want to keep them. I mainly ride off road so soaking up chatter is good. When I go to rebuild these forks all I need to do to take advantage of these Subtanks is to add extra oil to the fork? Approximately how much oil?
KTMTalk advised 100-110 when I looked; post is from 07 though lol

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Gravel
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Gravel 8/31/2022 9:18pm
8/31/2022 9:18pm
Gravel wrote:
Lose the subtanks and reset the oil level. I had a set of similar tanks on my 2006 KTM, they allowed a slightly higher oil level...
Lose the subtanks and reset the oil level. I had a set of similar tanks on my 2006 KTM, they allowed a slightly higher oil level to soak up chatter like a much lower level, but the problem was they let the forks dive too much under sustained weight transfer like braking and downhills.
Marty1028 wrote:
I’m thinking I want to keep them. I mainly ride off road so soaking up chatter is good. When I go to rebuild these forks all...
I’m thinking I want to keep them. I mainly ride off road so soaking up chatter is good. When I go to rebuild these forks all I need to do to take advantage of these Subtanks is to add extra oil to the fork? Approximately how much oil?
I think sea class is about right. I think I was running between 100-120mm but I’ve lost my notes from 06-08 when I was working with the tanks, I remember them as great for a lot of conditions, the dive was a deal breaker for me though. To be fair, the ability to be plush for chop and still hold up in desert whoops was really cool.
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BikePilot
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BikePilot 9/1/2022 5:04am
9/1/2022 5:04am
Subtanks were meant to give you more room to change air volume. Same idea as raising or lowering the oil level. Since they increase air volume it's like lowering oil level and all else equal makes the forks softer.
Gravel
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Gravel 9/1/2022 6:18am
9/1/2022 6:18am
BikePilot wrote:
Subtanks were meant to give you more room to change air volume. Same idea as raising or lowering the oil level. Since they increase air volume...
Subtanks were meant to give you more room to change air volume. Same idea as raising or lowering the oil level. Since they increase air volume it's like lowering oil level and all else equal makes the forks softer.
Yes, and with the airflow adjustment available they allow easy adjustment for conditions. Some had adjustment for compression stroke only with full flow on the rebound stroke, some adjusted both directions. Full flow rebound with adjustable compression control was mostly thought of as the best setup. They work well at adding versatility. But the trade off is that under sustained loads the forks ride low. Also it’s another adjustment that can be used to make things better, or worse if you choose wrong. That’s what ultimately led me to pull them off, I’m a suspension simpleton and got annoyed with trying to get the combo working in all conditions.

Good luck with your forks, the CC WPs are really good hardware! Design is functionally the same as Dal Soggio inserts but it’s OEM so finding parts and people to work them is easy.

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