1100 fork help needed

[schinae]

Im changing the seals on my 82 1100 forks. I have undone all the pinch bolts, fender is off, wheel, calipers, etc. I took out BOTH air screws from the front of the fork assembly, but for some reason the air assembly seems to be preventing the forks from sliding out the bottom of the clamps. I really dont want to just go smacking them with a mallet.

The manual says they may "be firmly in place" and to use the axle to pull them out from the bottom, but that didnt do anything for me. Anyone who can offer some advice, I would be grateful, I really want to finish this up ASAP so I can enjoy the bike before I leave town Thursday.

[renobruce]

They can be stuck in there pretty good. Try twisting on the upper fork. I had to "unscrew" them off, twisting back and forth. Once you get them off and back on, it can be a biatch to get that screw hole lined up. I used a small awl once I got it close to line up the holes. Be careful not to scratch the tubes.

[schinae]

Any reason not to spray pb blaster or the like into the clamps on the tripple to help loosen everything up? I wiggled them back and forth like crazy and still got no up/down movement...

This is by far the most stubborn set of forks I have EVER R/R'ed.

[renobruce]

Hell yeah, squirt some PB on it.

[bonanzadave]

They can be stuck in there pretty good. Try twisting on the upper fork. I had to "unscrew" them off, twisting back and forth. Once you get them off and back on, it can be a biatch to get that screw hole lined up. I used a small awl once I got it close to line up the holes. Be careful not to scratch the tubes.

So does the hole need to be lined up with the screw ? Im not using air so maybe its not a big deal. I used a little marvel oil on the orings and they slid right off.