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Has anyone had an issue with the preload adjuster knob working so hard that it just spins, that is, it strips like a 12 point socket rounding over a worn nut. this has worked hard since I bought the bike new in 2005. Should I repair it or change to an aftermarket shock? we ride 2 up often.

If you are riding 2 up, an after market shock will do wonders.

Simple to replace if you can get hold of another plastic cap, or simply remove the cap and carry a 14mm (IIRC) spanner everywhere with you.

If you remove that plastic knob you can squirt some canned grease down through the two small holes in the metal plate under it, then tighten and loosen the adusting screw to work it in. Using the small red straw that fits into the can's nozzle makes this easy and should prevent your tire from getting greased

It will turn a lot easier!

Also helps to take the load off the suspension when making adjustments, particularly when screwing it down. It turns quite freely when the bike is on the centrestand and the back-end is off the deck. Or just get someone to 'lift' the weight a little.

I like the idea of lubricating the turn mechanism though. Might try that on my GSA, not that it is particularly stiff. Easy enough to fix the problem with a new remote adjuster if it becomes necessary. Any good suspension shop should have one.

thanks for the info, I'm going to get some light white grease today. when I took the cap off and the washer fell into my hand along with a single small ball bearing. what is that for ?

How about fitting one of these? :
http://www.wunderlich-sportouring.com/W ... er-8200031

That small ball bearing fits into a hole on the backside of the adjuster (facing the tire toward the top of the adjuster). With a small spring under it, it is the detent for the knob (click, click). The small spring is probably now under your bike since it shoots out of that hole (towards the tire) when the knob is removed. It's a tad smaller than the springs you find in retractable pens. A magnet might come in handy to find it. Good luck!

Thanks all, the little spring did what tiny springs do, jumped far away, so no more "click,click" but the pre load adjuster seems to work much better. It saved me from spending big bucks on an Ohlins. I'm sure it would be nice but HOW NICE ? This weekend is time for fork seals, air filter and check the valves. It's raining hard now so there's no lost ride op.
cheers and keep the shiny side up.

jimbolla, I see you only have 7 posts so far and are planning more wrenching on your Boxer soon. Much help is available here, with all of what you have planned been done before here. Even if you are a really good mechanic, there is hidden info to be learned so you don't stumble onto a costly mistake, like adjusting the blue painted screws on the TB's. Please do us all a favor and fill out your profile (in "User Control Panel") with "general" info like your town/city/state and model/year/mileage of your bike.

I too dealt with the spring & ball in the adjuster knob. My ball was missing because it could not stay in the hole, that was dog-eared from infrequent, high friction readjustments. To replace the dysfunctional missing ball I made a very short 2mm long hardened steel rod from an alignment pin out of a recovered, discarded/damaged hard disk drive. With a little grease and a rounded/polished wear surface it worked perfect. The whole assembly can be taken apart for cleaning/lubing (on centerstand) and adding additional preload oil (with instructions already posted here on our site) so the full working range of adjustment is renewed.