\\\---79 GS850 fork removal ---///

[Grafilthy]

Got the urge to change out front fork oil on 79 GS850 . According to service manual its a simple matter of loosening upper and lower pinch bolts and "twisting" fork down and out..
My issue is with the twisting down and out. The headlight brackets are tight {for lack of a better word} around the inner fork tube . So when I twist the fork the headlight bracket moves with and is holding up the fork from sliding down and out.
If anyone has run into this or can spot something maybe I missed , or have overlooked I would like to know. Im at the point of getting the sawzall out .I just got new chrome headlight brackets , cafe look. So releasing a little aggression on these ugly stubborn stock brackets is starting to appeal to me. Seriously tho Would be nice if I could remove them without hacking em up .

Graf.

[7981GS]

Have you thought about using a lubricant such as dish soap or penetrating oil?

Daniel

[JEEPRUSTY]

Tighten the pinch bolts and gently try to move the ear inward and outward
They should move. It the are truly stuck can you drive the stanchion downward using a suitable drift.

Something made of wood. Drift wood hahhaha oh my.

Are the pinch bolts all sufficienyly loose?
Is there any chance that downward force has drawn a portion of the headlight ear tubes into the lower holes in the triple clamp. Sort of like a jam caused by a bit of shim material.

[cowboyup3371]

Agree with Jeeprusty, ensure all pinch bolts are loose and just twist and pull down. It took a bit to get mine out but not that hard.

[chuck hahn]

you can take a flat tip and put it in the slot where the bolts go thru and pry the slot apart a bit to loosen the pinch effect even a little more. I agree with the others in that they should just slide down pretty effortlessly.

[Grafilthy]

The Person I got the bike from has bent both headlight ears so they would be wide enough to accept a square headlight housing . . All my pinch bolts are removed , have pryed at upper and lower mounts to widen , Im getting the sawzall out with a nice new shiny blade.

[chuck hahn]

If you have everything removed, then take a very small flat tip and get it into the space between the stantion and the rubber grommets and throw a few drops of penetrating oil in there...work the screwdriver around in a few places to get the oil to leak in. Then twist the uppers and they will come loose. The problem as i can decipher ism that the rubber grommets have sealed themselves aginst the stantions. work them loose with screwdriver and oil...

[7981GS]

Have you thought about using a lubricant such as dish soap or penetrating oil?

Daniel

Did everyone miss this?
I can imagine that the OP must have by now.

Daniel