For once, a short-ish post and a few quick questions... I was looking at the shock linkages on my bike at the weekend and giving them a little bit of a cleanup ready for when I decide to take the plunge and change the rear shock.

I notice that the rear link arm was very, very close on one side to touching the triangular link, and significantly further away on the other. Is there usually a bit of play in this area to allow for some flex in the chassis, or has something like a bearing or bush decided to give up the ghost?

When I get the bolts out, is removing them likely to damage the dust seals, and/or should I replace them anyway?

Bearing in mind this lot are on 116000kms, are the bearings likely to have put any wear on the bushes/collars that the bolts pass through?