1984 hd xl61 1000cc stuck in gear, the primary cover won’t come off. help?

It’s a 1984 harley sportster, the last year they made a cast iron engine, not an evolution engine. All of the bolts are out, the peg and shifter are off, the drain plug is out, the clutch cable is loose, the clutch adjustment cover is off, but the da** cover won’t come off. it’s loose, I can get a screw driver under it but it’s hung up somewhere. anyone?
yes, the title says ’85, butit was assembled in late ’84 and is a xl61 cast iron engine… not an 883, not a 1200, the battery is off, and I’ve had the cover off before to change a clutch cable… and the release ramp.
Though I don’t have a doctorate in harley repair, I’ve riden since I was 13, am 53, repaired bikes at the skidoo husky shop in boulder, worked in a machine shop. and am the original owner of this motorcycle
and bought the factory service manual when I bought the bike in march 1985

First off….1985 was the last year for the Ironhead Sportster, not 84.

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE DOING ANYTHING…..never open a primary without disconnectng the battery….you can loose fingers if the primary spins over and catches your hands in the chain!!!!!!

To remove the cover, you will have to loosen the Prmary Chain Adjuster, loosen the Clutch Cable, run the cable all the way in, giving max freeplay, and then remove the Clutch Adjuster Locknut and Stud Assembly. Once all that is removed, partially remove the cover, reach up inside from the bottom, lifting up the Primary Chain off of the adjuster, and finish removing the cover.

If you don’t know how to do this SIMPLE job, you don’t need to be working on it….let a PRO do it!!!

I say this time after time after time and can’t stress enough….YOU NEED TO BUY A FACTORY….FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL!!!!!……….stay away from Clymer and Haynes, they are CRAP, they leave out ALOT of CRITICAL info that only the FACTORY HD Manual includes. If Clymer and Haynes were any good, HD would use their books, instead of printing their own.

HARLEY IRONHEAD SPORTSTER CLUTCH CABLE BY EVEL CYCLES PTY LTD AUSTRALIA HARLEY PARTS