Something hasent been assembled correctly by the sounds of it. Gnasher may have some input, but you should NOT have had to modify or create a work around to reassemble the forks. Did you follow the manual? - https://www.manualslib.com/manual/659471...a-Fz1.html
The way I put forks tops back on when the spring pre-load makes it hard, is to place a bit of cardboard/carpet under the bottom of the fork to protect the end and then use my body weight to push down with one hand then and then with the other hand make a wide arc (1/2 of a single turn) on the spanner to get the thread started.
The way I put forks tops back on when the spring pre-load makes it hard, is to place a bit of cardboard/carpet under the bottom of the fork to protect the end and then use my body weight to push down with one hand then and then with the other hand make a wide arc (1/2 of a single turn) on the spanner to get the thread started.