Berlin, CT
For those that missed it, Steve himself asked on FB for this to be posted in this very thread, so owners who don’t read this thread often, would have another chance to see his suggestions and fixes for some common issues.
From the king himself:
“I'm posting fixes for problems with Black Knight Sword of Rage once again for those that missed the posts:
1) If the ball is flying off the right wire ramp near the lower right flipper on the Pro, here's what you need to do: Run the ball up and down gently on the lower section of the wire ramp. You might feel the ball hitting a screw end. Gently lift the wire ramp with your hand from underneath (it's flexible) until the ball flows down the wire ramp smoothly. If it doesn't fix the problem, lift a bit higher and harder. Once set, the wire ramp will stay put, and the ball won't touch the screw any longer.
2) If the ball gets stuck behind the Shield, or if the one way gate traps the ball under it, do this: With the game turned off, lift the shield with one hand and find the gate wire with the fingers of your other hand. Flex the wire gate all the way up a few times. This gate is a spring gate, with a piece of spring steel forcing the gate to close after the ball passes through to the up kicker. Flex it, and the sticking problems will go away. If not, locate the little strip of spring steel mounted on the gate and give it an upward bend and test it until the gate opens easily and the ball ends up in the VUK.
3) Black Knight Sword of Rage was designed to play at 6.5 to 7 degrees. While I realize game owners can do as they wish with their games, this game plays fast at 6.5-7 degrees. Making it steeper is absolutely cheating, because it removes the side-to-side action that makes the game interesting. I hate a floaty game as much as you guys do, you think? 
It is fun to learn to react with the right nudges and flipper skills to keep the ball in play, and is part of the Black Knight's challenge. It will help improve your game play skills. Side-to-side ball action when mastered also affords some really cool ways of knocking down the drops, scoring the Ball Saver in the left drain and setting up for nice feeds to the flippers. BKSOR has made me a better player, but I am no champion. With the Premium and LE, a steeper slope is not a good idea. Besides cheating, fewer shots will make it to the upper playfield through the Flail Lane.
All NIB pins need some small adjustments to get them to play near perfectly. If you ask any experienced owners, they will tell you the same thing. While we at Stern strive to make sure your games work well, sometimes things are missed or change in transit and handling. If you aren't a klutz and have some mechanical sensibilities, don't be afraid to make adjustments when something isn't working quite right. If mechanics aren't your thing, there are plenty of people on Pinside that can help you get it right. I'm thinking Lloyd, Levi, and if you ask me for help, I will do what I can. Just write here on my Facebook page. I don't know all games, but I know mine pretty well.
4) If the ball in play gets stuck endlessly behind the rotating Flail (not the Shield), you need to check the optical switches at the mid-Flail Lane: There are 2 sets of optos in the Flail Lane, one at the entrance, and one set about halfway up the Flail lane. Look for 1/4" holes in both left and right Flail Lane ball guides. Lift the playfield and follow the opto wires coming out of the holes in the playfield to connectors, and see that the connections are good. Next, go into switch test in the diagnostics, and break the opto beam with your fingers. If the opto set is working, you will hear a beep and see the switch closing in a graphic LCD display. Most of the time, the problem is caused by bad or intermittent wire connections at the connectors.
5) If a ball is stuck behind the upper right flipper on the white plastic “ironing board” shaped plastic, you are missing the metal washer in the “flipper stack” consisting of a 2” long clear small diameter spacer, a fat white nylon spacer, a metal washer between the fat spacer and the ironing board from bottom to top. Some games got out without the metal washer. Use a metal washer (with a ¼” inner diameter, and just about any outer diameter under ¾”) and insert into the stack on the flipper shaft between the fat nylon spacer and the ironing board. Here’s how to do it:
* You do not have to remove the plastic upper playfield.*
Remove all 6 balls from the lower trough. Carefully lift the playfield and stand it up against the backbox making sure that it is stable, (check the manual) then loosen the upper right flipper shaft clamping block (on the bottom of the wood playfield) with a 5/32” hex (Allen) wrench allowing a bit of rotational and up and down movement of the flipper shaft. Use your manual to locate assemblies if you don’t know the names of the parts I’m mentioning.
Lay the playfield back down on the playfield support brackets. Pull the playfield toward the front of the game until the round rubber feet on the playfield support brackets are securely in the hand protector trough. Carefully prop up the rear of the playfield with an 18” long piece of 2X4 or other prop using the cabinet floor and a blank spot on the bottom of the playfield so that the entire flipper stack is visible and within your reach from the right side of the game.
Slowly pull the loosened flipper shaft upward, freeing up the different parts of the flipper stack, and removing them carefully. Remove the flipper shaft pulling upward. When you have the flipper removed from the game, slide the ironing board on the shaft, then slide the new metal washer up the shaft under the ironing board, then the fat white nylon bushing, then the clear plastic bushing onto the shaft, and feed the lower tip of the flipper shaft through the plastic upper playfield and back into the flipper bushing on and through the lower wood playfield. Guide the ironing board into the flipper-shaped hole in the plastic upper playfield. Remove the playfield prop and lower the rear of the playfield onto the playfield cabinet rails. Carefully lift the playfield and stand it up against the backbox while holding the upper right flipper in place. Feed the flipper shaft through the flipper clamp block and tighten just enough so that you can still rotate and move the flipper up and down in the clamp block.
Next, the goal is to have zero up and down play in the upper right flipper assembly. Locate the plastic flipper body over the ironing board and aligned the flipper with it on all sides. Push down on the flipper and up on the clamping block until there is zero up and down movement of the flipper. Tighten the hex screw with the 5/32” Allen wrench lower the playfield back into the company and check for flipper alignment and up and down end play. The ball will no longer stay stuck behind the upper right flipper. There will still be enough up and down play due to the flexiblity and softness of the plastic parts in the stack.
When a game is new, the ball can fly all over the playfield. I don't design this into the game, but it happens with fast loops and rebounds off of closer shots. My games utilize stronger flipper power, and when they are new, they can be overwhelming, especially with good players. I ship them that way, so that later in the games' life, with parts wear & heat accounted for, the power to flip or kick the ball game remains fully playable for a longer time.
We have included flipper power adjustments in the diagnostics. The flipper power can be dialed up or down. Most games settle into a sweet spot after break in. Use the adjustments if you must, but some of the excitement and adrenaline in BKSOR will be lost.
Good Luck and Have Fun!
Steve Ritchie ”
