I did it! They finally came free guys. Thanks to all the awesome tips from you gurus I was able to use the turnbuckle to press open one side, and very gently using a flat head screwdriver against the gasket I was able to VERY GENTLY pry open along the edges until it was all lifted. To be honest it took VERY little pressure and came apart pretty easily with that method. I was afraid to try it at first but after hearing that others had done the same I dove in and made quick work of removing the upper case. Here's the pictures of what I've been waiting to see for weeks now.
One side
Other side
I think this is the gear 5twins mentioned would be lying in their all loose leaf since I pulled the starter shaft before splitting the cases. If this isn't that gear, please let me know cause I have no idea why it would be sitting like this
Top view
This is for my own memory lol. Sharpie died so I needed a way to remember where this strange gear came from hence the colored string. I'll use this pic as a reference in case I forget what this piece was
Close up of the gear it if helps anyone identify it's purpose
Another shot from up top
Somewhere along this process, I've actually learned some valuable lessons and changed my poor maintenance habits. I decided that having achieved what I consider a huge victory in splitting the first set of cases in my history as a "home mechanic" I would pause to allow the gurus to recommend the next action before diving into and disassembling everything lol.
I've picked up all of these pieces (crankshaft and both transmission sets) out of the engine case, all can be freed easily so no issues there. They also turn freely when interlocked which is good. Outside of that though, I'm not certain exactly what comes next in this process.
Taking another look at this pic though, if you look at the crankshaft you'll see that at 12 o clock is that rod pin that people often weld in place. Mine is fairly flush w/ the crank, as I believe it's supposed to be. But maybe I should take the crank to my local shop to have it inspected? To do that, I'll need a chain splitter though, as I realize now that you can't just lift it out. If anyone has a link to a good quality splitter, I'm in the market haha.
Excited to hear about the next step and get moving on it. Thanks guys.
Edit: After fussing (and cussing) with my road star's carb last night in an effort to get to the float drain bolt on the back of it, I decided that I don't want that headache with this bobber project. Planning to run one of the joe wiseguy 2-into-1 intakes which exposes the full carb out the side of the bike. The more I work on these carburetor bikes the more I long for a setup that allows me to reach what I need to reach without having to take half the damn bike apart. Wanted to confirm that this is the proper VM36 I'll need for that setup. There was some debate in the threads I found about roundslide vs regular and I don't want any issues. Thanks! (PS: I know I'll need new jets and yes I've read the TC thread, no need to link it to me lol)
http://www.oemcycle.com/Item/product/900195260