Honda Reflex body repair

[Oldnewb]

Hey guys, I'm brand new to scoots. I've been reading the Scoot Dawg forums for a couple of months and after a LOT of looking I just bought a 2003 Honda Reflex 250 a few days ago. Last night I plowed into the back of my sweet little wife's car while "parking" in the garage.
I wanna fix it myself. I'm a retired carpenter and pretty handy. The damage is to the primary member that wraps the front of the scooter below the windshield and around the lights. I've removed all connections in the panel itself, but the panel isn't ready to move. Do I need to remove the member that carries the windshield first?
I believe I'll be able to handle the repair process OK, but I don't want to brutalize my new scoot any more while I disassemble it. Got a service manual CD en route.
Any disassemble advise would be very much appreciated. Thanks Dave