Earles shock absorbers

[BSA Bob]

I've recently seen remarks in an English magazine & on the American vintage BMW site about Earles type shock absorbers working loose internally. Some seemed to think this was fairly common. It made me check mine & I can't loosen them at all. Is there any opinion on how often they should be checked? 

[BSA Bob]

[CowBoy]

If the parts are old, the dampers are usually very difficult to remove from the lower steamer leg.
No verification required.
If these parts have been recently replaced, there is definitely a tendency for them to become loose.
Rarely in singles, sometimes in boxers and quite often in sidecar machines. Mainly with Koni dampers.
Most of the time it only affects the front struts. Experienced mechanics secure this with a drop of Locktite.

[Kees]

From reading those English forums and facebook groups I understand that the problem is mostly at the top, not the bottom. Hard to diagnose when this problem starts, without dismanteling.

[cwf]

Mine came loose, at the front, on a 50/2 which had stood for years after 25,000 miles. The first I knew was a rattling and then I saw the front damper was not straight. I screwed it up as best I could and drove 50 miles home.

The top cover had to be pushed down to get a spanner on the flat machined on the piston rod, while the top mount was tightened.

A month later it happened again. This time it was the bottom mount.

I suppose you could take the shocks off and see if they were loose but I don't think it's that common and I'm sure you'll hear the rattling before anything falls off.

Charlie.