Problem refitting petrol tank 955i 2001

I removed the petrol tank on my 955i 2001 model and despite spending several hours I can't get it to sit in the position so as I can refit the front fixing bolt. The tank appears to need to go backwards about another 10mm to get the front fixing bolt and it's hole correctly aligned. I have tried adjusting the position of the fuel lines but I can't work out what is preventing the tank from moving backwards sufficiently to enable refitting correctly. It seems that the rear of the tank is hitting the frame so it can't move anymore backwards.

Is there a special technique involved to enable the correct refitting?

 

Screwball. the tank was perfectly positioned and fastened when I removed it, so it must in theory go back that way! I just can't seem to work out what is preventing it from going back. All I did was to remove the air filter and replace it!

 

I hadn't realized the tank was made of plastic. I have found out from another site that this is a known issue:


Problem refitting fuel tank after air filter change - Sprint ST - Touring Range Forums - Messageboard - Triumph Torque


My tank didn't have much fuel in it, so what I intend to do is to fill the tank up to near fuel and see if the weight of the fuel pulls the tank into a different shape thereby enabling me to get the front fixing bolt correctly aligned.

Worth a go methinks!