Question about removing steering head

I'm stripping my 85 XJ700 down to the frame so I can paint the frame. I have everything done but the front assembly (forks, wheel, etc.)

What I want to know is how to remove the front end from the frame without completely disassembling it.

 

Take out the large bolt in the center of the upper triple clamp.
Loosen the three smaller bolts around the triple clamp.
Pull off the upper triple clamp.
There are two spanner nuts locked on the steering spindle.
Use a punch and hammer to loosen the top one.
Remove both nuts.
There is a cover then the upper bearing.
If you have original ball bearings try to remove them now so you dont lose them.
There are balls in the bottom bearing too.
The whole fork assembly will slide out the bottom.

Oh never mind I see you have the 700 I believe they came with tapered roller bearings.

 

If you look at the shop manual it probably has you remove the front wheel, then the forks etc.

In many cases though you can remove the triple tree, the forks and the wheel as a single assembly, without pulling the instruments and all that fun stuff. You'll have to look things over to know exactly needs to be disconnected, but the speedo cable and the brake calipers are for sure. Depending on how the headlight mounts you'll probably need to detach from the bottom of the triple tree.

Start by removing the fuel tank, disconnecting the speedo, detaching the brake calipers and anything that holds the brake lines to the fork/tree assembly. Disconnect anything that ties the forks/tree to the frame or handlebars.

Next remove the center bolt that holds the top of the tree down on the stem. Then release the 3 bolts that clamp the top of the tree to the steering stem and the two forks. Now you can lift the handlebars, the top of the tree, the instruments etc. off. The cables will all still be attached - move the handlebars rearward and tie off to the center rail of the frame (make sure not to turn the master cylinder upside down.

At this point you can probably fish the brake lines and calipers out and tie them off somewhere too.

Now, when you loosen the nut that retains the bearings the front wheel will move forward a bit and the steering stem will cock. If you have ball bearings this will likely spill them. To prevent this raise the motorcycle just enough to unload the front suspension.

 

How about painting around all that? Turn the steering hard over, pull the wires and cables away, lay down a couple layers, let dry.

I painted my frame "chameleon" color shift, it mostly looks black, then goes to green, then purple when the light hits it.