When I tried to take the left rear shock off the top bolt would not push back because the muffler was in the way. I could not move the muffler because after I losened all the brackets and took off the retaining ring that holds the left and right muffler togather I could not get the two halves to come apart. Are there any tricks to getting the two halves apart?

My next question is why would they attach the shock bolt in such a way that you have to remove the rack, rear plastic, rear storage compartment and the muffler in order to remove the upper shock bolt.