Removal of chrome covers on front shock lowers
 

My son and I are getting front shock lowers ready to paint with some epoxy 2 part paint that matches his tank on his 06 XL883C Custom. Sanding down, polishing compond, etc. etc. Anyway, we want to remove the chrome cap that covers the top of the lower part of the front shocks and slide them up so they don't get paint on them. Yes I know we still have to tape up the rest but want chrome clear away from that area. Looked at the manual on dis-assembly of tubes and all it says is "remove covers (11)", with 11 being the item number, in the diagram, for the chrome covers. No where in the manual does it say HOW to remove them. We noticed a small gap, in the back inside area like a slot for a screwdriver, between the aluminum lowers and the covers so we tried prying them apart but they did not budge and we don't want to damage them. Is there a special way or method of removing/separating them from the aluminum lower part? Any help would be appreciated.

Take a look at what this guy did & see if that helps.
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/s....php?p=3788243

That's exactly what the "gap" is there for. Instead of prying, angle your (small) screwdriver in the slot so it's pointed towards the cap and then tap on the butt of the screwdriver with a mallet, driving the cap upwards.

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Thanks both of you, we will try it this Thur./Fri. when son comes over!

I find I need to work my way around the cap to get it off. Once they're started with a screw driver, try something that's hard plastic to tap on the cap. I haven't got a pair off with a screwdriver that I didn't ding. Small dings, but annoying. I usually just buy new caps, but then you'd need to take the legs out of the triple clamps. You may consider new fork seals, too, if you go that far.
A fork seal driver is very useful for setting the new seals as well as installing the top dust cover on the lower legs. Jim's makes an adaptor you use in conjuction with the seal driver to set the dust caps. To use the plastic adaptor, you'll need to take the legs off because the adaptor is a one piece affair. Like this (cheapest price not researched):
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/produc...d=&_loopback=1
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/produc...fCatId=&mmyId=
I've also used various sizes of PVC or any other correctly sized tubing laying around the shop to set the seals. The ones you buy allow you to perform the seal swap while the tubes remain in the triple clamps because the driver splits in two.
You might find this thread helpful:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sport...l#post10119970
Enjoy the quality time with the boy.

Thank you all for your assistance. He and I don't want to pull the forks and don't want to damage the chrome covers so he has decided to just tape them up really well.