A few weeks ago, I was moving the tail plastics out of the way so I could reach the tank bolts. I heard a "snap", and suddenly the side plastic was much more loose :x . The plastic broke/shattered at the back end, where the long side plastic side piece screws onto the small center plastic tail piece. The side piece has a flat extrusion about 1cm square which supports the fastening screw; that's the part which broke.
It's possible that the cool temperatures in the garage (20F) were partially to blame. Also, I am not able to find all the plastic bits which are missing. It's possible that the spot cracked and some bits broke off while riding, during this winter, but that I didn't notice until now. In any case, it was fine in the fall, so I'm wondering if cold temperatures contributed.
Luckily, the broken part is not visible. I have a temporary fix holding the side piece to the tail piece, and will try to do something more permanent with fiberglass later.
The moral of the story is to undo those two screws holding the side fairings to the tail piece, before you try to remove the tank bolts. It will give them more wiggle room with less bending.
I haven't had the center piece screwed in since the second time I dropped it, 16,500 miles later I am thinking about gluing all three back together.