The caps on top that you see are just covers, not the actual fork caps. Once you remove them you'll see they're not accessible and the forks need to be lowered.

I didn't take them completely out of the trees, just lowered between the upper and lower tree.

 

Caps @ #45 & 46 (#1 on the exploded view) are what need to be removed to get to the spring. They don't sit above or even flush with the top tree (#29) but under it. It doesn't show on the diagram, but the caps you see on top of your forks the way the bike sits now are just caps that screw down into the top tree. I didn't know this until I took it apart, which is what added to the time.

 

Good scoop, thanks much

S/F
Freefall

 

Well, that's for the Heritage, Fatboy, and Deluxe. Not sure how the others come apart, but looking at the diagrams they look pretty similar as to how the tubes sit in the trees.