How do you remove head cap on GS650L front fork?

[sacruickshank]

As the title says, some of the GS 550/650 models have forks caps that are held in place by some form of clip rather than a threaded bolt. The 650 service manual only shows threaded caps and the 550 service manual just says "remove the clip" and the note underneath is illegible in my digital copy. How do you remove the clip? I can't see any circlip holes like those found in brake master cyls. and I don't want to pry the plate off and damage anything.

I searched the forum, but there were tons of hits for "remove GS650 fork cap". I want to change the oil and add some pre-load spacers making reliance on air pressure less important.

Pic for reference.
PXL_20220121_121705220.jpg

[Rich82GS750TZ]

When you search for anything on the forum, the only way to get useful results is you use Advanced, change the search criteria to Search Titles Only, enter the key words remove GS650 fork cap . Click the Search Now button. Doing that, I found this thread linked below near the top of the list. Try it yourself, you'll see more threads dealing with this.

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?217679-GS650GL-Recessed-Fork-Caps-How-to-Remove&highlight=remove+GS650+fork+cap

[sacruickshank]

When you search for anything on the forum, the only way to get useful results is you use Advanced, change the search criteria to Search Titles Only, enter the key words remove GS650 fork cap . Click the Search Now button. Doing that, I found this thread linked below near the top of the list. Try it yourself, you'll see more threads dealing with this.

https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...GS650+fork+cap

Thanks, I'll give the technique a try and only use Advanced search from now on.

[Burque73]

Thanks, I'll give the technique a try and only use Advanced search from now on.

Using google to search the forum works too. Just type in gsresources/650 fork cap. Or / seat lock or whatever you're looking for.

[sacruickshank]

BTW, here's a pic of a conceptual method to compress the fork enough to get the clip out without needing a second person. The idea is to place the fork & socket under the lift, then use the weight of the bike and lift to slowly compress the fork with socket in place. Then I can remove the clip and slowly release the pressure by raising the lift.

First I need to find the right combination of lift height, fork compression, and socket length & diameter.

It's either an elegant solution or falls into the "What could possibly go wrong?" category. In either case, I probably shouldn't do it with the new car or expensive bikes nearby in case something goes flying. We'll see.

PXL_20220121_145518625.jpg

[Burque73]

Good luck!

Necessity is the mother of invention.