Got the wheel tire and fender off, brake calipers tied up out of way...working on draining fork oil now. What is the easiest way to remove the fork covers (top and bottom)? I removed pinch bolts from neck, and removed the 2 bolts on the bridge that seem to secure the bottom fork covers.

Do I need to loosen the fork nut? I am not tearing down the forks, just drained, flushed, and refilling with fresh oil.
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I assume they are similar to the forks on the Roadstar. You can't drain them thoroughly. The bottom bolt is likely just to keep the internal mechanism in. It is not a drain plug. You have to remove the forks from both trees to remove the tins and dump the fluid out the top, then flush with ATF. No other way to do it properly.

Mind you have a drain bolt which I removed and I washed them out flush them thoroughly I'm just trying to figure out how to get the kids off the easiest way without taking apart more than I have to

Lugnut, If it is like a road* you take off top tree that your handlebar risers bolt to. To do this you will need to remove the large nut on top of the stem and loosen the pinch bolts at the side, two on each side. The top covers should pull off then. Three bolts hold lower covers to bottom clamp. To remove the lower covers you will need to loosen lower pinch bolts and slip the fork tubes out of the clamp, covers will not slip over lower fork legs. If you pull the tubes out of the lower clamp before loosening the pinch bolts you can get a measurement of how much tube is above the lower clamp as they will need to be there when reinstalling. Good luck on your project. Ride on, Mike.

Thabks....u was looking at it and see that I do have to take top triple tree off and yank covers up....gonna leave them off for looks.

Lug Nut wrote:
Mind you have a drain bolt which I removed and I washed them out flush them thoroughly I'm just trying to figure out how to get the kids off the easiest way without taking apart more than I have to

I seriously doubt that is a drain plug. You will get some fluid out, but you are gonna leave a lot of gunk inside if you don't remove the tubes and dump them upside down. That is a bolt that merely holds the plungers inside in place. When you try to put the bolts back in you run the risk of the plungers spinning. You have to keep them from spinning with a stick.

Thanks mrjeff....in used that article to do mine.

Shores.....it is actually a drain plug. I got nearly 18 0z out of each fork. The RSTC is a little different than the roadies. We have a Schrader valve at the top of the nut over the forks to add air. Remove the Schrader valve, remove the bottom bolt in the fork tubes and the old oil comes pouring out. I also used my air compressor to get the remnants out. Then flushed with 32 oz of marvel mystery oil in each fork leg and letting drain overnight. No particles in old oil just nasty looking dark oil from forks. I also worked the forks up and down a lot to get the old oil out. Got new oil waiting....had to order new copper crush washers....none available ANYWHERE in town that would fit right. 18 year old fork oil is nasty stuff...definitely needed changed. Using Lucas full synthetic 10w fork oil (18 oz each fork).

Lug Nut wrote:
Thanks mrjeff....in used that article to do mine.

Shores.....it is actually a drain plug. I got nearly 18 0z out of each fork. The RSTC is a little different than the roadies. We have a Schrader valve at the top of the nut over the forks to add air. Remove the Schrader valve, remove the bottom bolt in the fork tubes and the old oil comes pouring out. I also used my air compressor to get the remnants out. Then flushed with 32 oz of marvel mystery oil in each fork leg and letting drain overnight. No particles in old oil just nasty looking dark oil from forks. I also worked the forks up and down a lot to get the old oil out. Got new oil waiting....had to order new copper crush washers....none available ANYWHERE in town that would fit right. 18 year old fork oil is nasty stuff...definitely needed changed. Using Lucas full synthetic 10w fork oil (18 oz each fork).

Without a fairing or windshield, yours should be easy to get new oil back in.

There were 2 hidden 10mm bolts underneath the top of the triple tree...got everything off...flushed and pumped shocks a bunch more.....clean and clear now (used MMO again and it came out nice and red not dirty, supposed to be good for the seals as well). Letting them drip dry for a few days while I'm waiting on damn crush washers. Couldn't reuse the old ones...they were crushed real good (definitely did their job). Got fork tins off, the tubes are nice and shiny. Looking now for some fork tube dust covers like Warden had on his red chopper (not gaiters but the small hard rubber covers that cover the top seal of the bottom fork). Hard to find these in 43 mm I.D.

The look should be a little more vintage i hope.