Alright I give. When you start talking about hippopotomuses I get all confused. I was thinking regardless of all that geometry stuff, the shock can only transmit as much force as the damper assembly will allow. Seems like even if you apply a million pounds to the axle at the rate of 1 inch per second for 3 seconds - if the shim stack and oil in the shock only resists with a force of 25 pounds at that rate then that's all that will be transmitted to the frame - 25lbs - no matter what the angle of the shock. But maybe I'm wrong. It sure has happened before!!!

Actually I think this started as a discussion about what was causing premature failure of the shocks so who cares about force transmitted, right? The horizontal and vertical loads you mention - no matter what they are - apply only to the pins attaching the shock to the frame and axle housing. The shock rotates around a pin at either end and thus will only be subject to axial loads. This is a good thing because the shock isn't designed to be subject to side loads. If the bushings are seizing on the pins for some reason then that would subject the shock to side loads and may cause premature wear of the rod/seal. While unlikely, I guess it could happen. Might be something to check out though!

Are the shocks all leaking or are they just going soft on you without losing fluid? Are the rods being scored?

Oddly enough, just yesterday I saw a shock that had been subjected to a side load. My suspension guy invited me over to his place at the lake to do some jet-skiing and he showed me a shock off a KTM. It was a White Power PDS shock - a linkless type - so it has to be laid way over to get the needed 12 inches of travel. The rod was snapped clean in two. It didn't have anything to do with the angle of the shock though. The bike had been crashed at the last hare scramble and it went down on a pointy rock, with the shock taking the brunt of the hit. It was working fine right up to that time. All laid over... Just like on millions of other motorcycles... and ATVs.... and off-road racing trucks, buggies and rails... Formula 1 cars... IMSA GT cars... and even on my trusty old 1982 GMC 3/4 ton truck with over 300,000 miles on it. Hmm... Must be SOME advantage to angled shocks...

Calculate on THAT a while!