How the %&$# do I get the rear fender/undertail back in?

So I decided to jump down the rabbit hole tonight and install a Daugherty 929 shock myself, with no assistance, by far the biggest piece of work I've ever done on my bike. After a couple of hours of finagling, messing with the stock shock, mounts, and swingarm, and a LOT of swearing, I gave up, pulled the undertray containing the battery and ignition box, and had the shock swapped in a matter of minutes.

The undertray will. not. go. back. in. As far as I can tell, I have all the pieces of the wiring harness routed the way they're supposed to be, and the fuse boxes are in the right position to link up with the battery box, but no matter how hard I try, the undertray gets stuck about two inches aft of where it should be. Does anyone have any useful tips for getting it all buttoned up right?

(I apologize for the rambling tone, spending the last six hours in the shed fighting with my bike has scrambled my brains)

 

I asked the same question years ago and got no replies. It will go back in if you hold out your tongue just right and yell the magic words, get the feck back in there you SOB.

As I recall, years of therapy are swirling down the tube as I do this, the battery box was the real bugger. It basically comes down to forcing it in and hoping it doesn't break. It's pretty tough and mine was ok after the ordeal. I do remember swearing that I will never remove this again!

I really saw no magic trick that would make this thing slide in. Good luck.

My doctor's name is...PM

 

Maybe sleeping on it had an effect, it went in without too much effort when I tried again this morning. Of course, I broke the little plasticjoint on what I think is the fuel overflow tube, so I REALLY have no idea how I'm going to get the broken part out of the bottom tube, but at least I can ride my bike again.

 

could always undo the 4 bolts holding the subframe on. fit the tray then bolt it up again.

 

Which way did you fit the shock, with the reservoir facing front or aft ? any issues with that ?

 

I have the reservoir facing forwards, as I'd read about interference issues between the reservoir and battery box with it mounted towards the back. It kind of annoys me that I'll have to take off the right exhaust shield to adjust the compression damping, but given how well Jamie set up the shock, I don't expect to be fiddling with it much.

One thing I did notice that seems a little odd: looking from the back with the wheel off, the shock looks like it's angled just slightly to the right of vertical. Is that an inherent quality that I just never noticed with the stock shock, or something I need to be worried about?