so i still havent gotten the right answer, i know all bikes are different.
on the 954, will taking the center bolt out of the triple let the upper triple slide up and the clips slide off (considering they are loose?)
or do the tubes need to be dropped from the bottom to get the clipons off?
thanks

 

Yep, spin the big nut and pop off the top triple tree plate; don't touch thelowerTTbolts.

 

You can take the front brakes off, remove the front wheel, looses the top and lower fork pinch bolts and then slide the fork tubes down to remove the clip ons. This is only if you have a front stand that raises the bike up using a pin that fits under the triple tree.

 

+1,the steering stem has a lock-nut,just below the upper clamp,i would rec lifting
the front of the bike(by the steering head)-just to be safe-unload the weight of the bike
on the forks-the manual states you can remove the upper clamp w/out lifting the bike

 

well. since the bike is up on lift with no wheels would it be easier to drop the forks then?

 

personally,i would remove the upper clamp and remove the clip-ons from the top

 

Take them rom the top....... Why ***** with the brakes and forks; that turns a 5 minute job into a couple of hours, not to mention bleeding the brakes blows.