Cant remove forks from Raleigh Savanna mountain bike

[motorlessbike]

Not sure why that piece circle in red can't be uniformly cylindrical- it's a very inconvenient shape and it won't slide down like 99% of modern bikes. I don't know if it's supposed to separate somehow from the actual forks- could someone please give me some ideas- I just want the frame of the bike so want to remove the forks and everything else but this is holding me up.

[slowster]

There is a grey plastic cap in the top of the stem. Go and prise that out with a screwdriver or similar. Beneath the cap is an allen bolt. Undo the allen bolt to release the expansion nut that is at the bottom of the stem and which is what is holding the stem in place inside the steerer tube. Once the expansion nut is loose (if the allen bolt just rises up instead, you might need to give it a light tap with a hammer to knock the expansion nut out from the base of the stem), you should be able to turn the stem and lift it out (unless it has seized), although you may need to re-attach the handlebars to have something to grip on and provide leverage.

Once the stem is out, you can undo the locknut and main nut of the headset to allow the fork to drop out. If the balls in the headset are loose, they will fall out, so do it slowly/be prepared to catch them.

[motorlessbike]

On my second picture can you draw an arrow showing exactly where this grey plastic cap will be- I've already undone all the allen bolts there are to undo. And the only things I can see are the two large nuts (arrowed) which I've unthreaded to make the whole thing loose from the head tube...

[slowster]

It's in the top of the stem. You have a threaded steerer and a quill stem. See this article which shows the type of stem you have with an expansion nut or wedge shaped nut at the base of the stem:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_w.html#wedgebolt

[tatanab]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aXu2J3m5ws

[motorlessbike]

I got really super impatient and grinded the thing off at the stem. It was driving me mad why the things seemed like one but after watching this video... hindsight is a wonderful thing. the bottom of the stem must be seized into the bit where there are threads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GRbdnTRH-4

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Ha Ha....................

Been working on one this eve

Cracked it several times with a big bit of wood and have given up till tomorrow.

IIRC I had one to dismantle some time back...................and I think that it was seized and I scrapped the frame......
It was a cheap skip
bike for the parts and frame was no good for me, got plenty of them.
More stupid than The all steel ahead stem which rusts the steerer tube