Can't help on the shocks, but I can relate the racer
Vance Breese's comments about the swingarm pivot bolt. When I complained about the absurd procedure in the service manual-- using a Chatillion scale to get 6 pounds of drag, Vance said the proper procedure was to find the longest cheater bar in the garage and tighten the big nut as tight as you possibly can. When I said "But that will
brinell the outer races!" Vance looked at me and said "And your point is?"
So OK, he was being a wise guy. But his attitude was to keep the swingarm really tight and just slap new bearings in periodically. I like it a little looser, I gave up on the Chatillion scale method and just move the swingarm with one hand while I tighten with the other. I use the shortest socket driver in the toolbox and choke up on it to boot. You get a sense of what is "too tight" after a while.
Vance also explained why some guys never get off the throttle in curves. It keeps the swingarm in compression, with the chain pulling on the right side, so when you do let off the brake and hit the throttle, the swingarm does not flex as it goes from resting tension to acceleration compression. Point is, that having that whole rear end snug makes for a better handing bike. Its an analog world, how snug is up to you.
While we are back there, I note that I had a chain adjuster break under acceleration, and that let the axle pull forward and that put so much slop in the chain it broke, taking a chunk of the case and the sprocket cover with it. Now I tend to really snug up the rear axle, although I wonder if it would have helped.