How to adjust front forks on 02 midnight star

It it's a Venture, there's a knob on the left side, in front of the fork pivot, turn clockwise to lower the beam, counterclockwise to raise it.

If it's just a Royal Star, the adjustments may be made through holes on both sides, cut low in the headlight rim.

Handlebars can be adjusted up and down, but I know of no way to adjust bars forward and back. I would check the levelness of the forks just to make sure that the motorcycle has not been in a front end collision.

make sure linkage is adjusted correctly. dry lube the levers moving part

Check the battery connections and make sure the battery is charged up. Sounds like it went dead on you

Height is not adjustable on those. Your only option would to replace the springs in the forks with a higher rate spring, and get better valving to slow down the jounce of the bike.

There are no preload, compression or rebound adjustments on either end of a 1996 Royal Star. The front fork characteristics can be changed by internal modifications to the front fork piston and a change in fork oil weight (stock is 5W), lengthening the spacers immediately beneath the cap bolt, or addition of progressive springs. The rear shock absorber assembly is a unit with no serviceable parts, no modifications are practical. The only aftermarket suspension parts I've found for the 1996-1998 Royal Stars are kits offered by Hyperpro (ECM), they list kits for the front forks SP-YA13-SSA05 and the rear SP-YA13-SSB05; however, since the rear kit is purported to fit all years from 1996 to the present, and the rear suspension was redesigned for the 2002 model year, I suspect that you may find that the rear kit doesn't work at all.

remove front wheel
undo allen screw or bolt securing headstem to fork
remove headstem and handlebars
undo lock nut & ring retaining bearings, at top of fork tube, do not lose bearings which may be loose.
withdraw fork from fork tube, do not lose upper bearing race
remove lower bearing from old fork
install lower bearing on new fork (I prefer replacing bearings)
remove brake caliper from old fork install on new fork
insert fork in fork tube
install upper bearing (I prefer replacing bearings)
install retaining ring and lock nut on fork tube, adust untill there is no wobble, but free movement, too tight the bearings will collapse too loose the rider will fall off
tighten lock nut
install headstem
tighten headstem allen key - bolt
install front wheel