KZ 750 Spectre Fork Tube Plug Installation

So I decide its time to change the fork oil in my 1982 KZ750 Spectre. The plug in the top of the fork tube has to be pushed down and a wire clip has to be removed. It is not threaded like every other fork tube.

Once the plug is out the spring and spacer can be removed. Has anyone been able to get the plugs back in? Is there some tool or secret that will make this job easier. I tried, but can't seem to push down on the plug and then get the wire clip in place before the cap and spacer flies across the garage.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would use the triple clamp to hold the tube, but only tighten the lower clamp.
Then find a socket, maybe a deep socket, that fits inside the fork tube leaving room to slide the wire clip down the socket. If you can use a T-handle on the socket it will give you more leverage to push down. Press as hard as you can on the socket and use something to poke the wire into the groove. You might need a helper.

Thank you for your suggestions, I will give them a try. If I cannot compress the spring with hand pressure,I have a small arbor press that I may be able to use to compress the spring while I insert the plug. The base of the press has a hole in it that I can insert the fork tube into. I need to fashion a clamp so I can hold the fork tube. The press should provide more than enough leverage to compress the spring.

Do you have the front end of the bike off the ground?

I have to use a friends help to compress real stiff springs. Roy

Do you have the front end of the bike off the ground?

Yes..the bike is supported on the center stand and there is also a jack under the engine. I usually work alone so unless I can con my wife into helping me I will have to come up with a way of doing it myself.

I have not tried this but I was thinking...(dangerous) Do you have a ratchet strap?

Put a socket on top of the cap with the clip around it.

Put a ratchet strap on the top of the socket and wrap it around the bottom triple clamp, then crank it down. Hopefully the strap compresses the spring and holds it so you can poke the clip into the groove.

I thought about a ratchet strap OR a pipe clamp. You can get pony clamps that work with a piece of black pipe. Put one end under the bottom of the triple clamp and the other on the top of the socket and then tighten it down. I don't know what Mr. Showa was thinking when he designed these fork tubes.

I wanted to give an update. The bike has been on the back burner since I have been busy working. Today I reassembled the fork tubes. I used a small arbor press to compress the top cap. To hold the fork tube in the press, I used a ground clamp that fits a 1.25" pipe. Home depot sells them in the electrical department for about $6. Wrapped the fork tube with tape to protect it and attached the ground clamp. Installed the oil, spring..etc, put the whole assembly under the arbor press and compressed the cap. The arbor press has a hole in the base, under the ram, that I put the fork leg into. The ground clamp keeps the fork tube extended so you can put pressure on it. Used a scribe to work the retaining clip into place, released pressure on the cap and done. Forks are back together, took about 10 minutes per fork leg.
This was a rather painless way to reassemble the forks, it will make future fork oil replacement a breeze.