Trying to adjust the shock but don't know which way to turn to lessen the preload. When I installed it I had it set all the way because I'm a big guy, but this shock seems way stiffer then the old one I took off. Want to go down to maybe setting #5. Right now I can turn it both direction about a quarter inch as the road grime has made things tough to move.

if I am looking at the back of the bike, do I turn the adjuster CW or CCW do lessen the preload?

 

Well, I finally got it positioned correctly on the stand and in the sun today and got lucky enough to see what it was set at. Thought it was at 7, but it was only on #3. Still too stiff and I go 270# CCW goes up and CW goes down. Moved it to #2 and it seems a lot better on the street.