I try to keep both wheels on the ground ;)
I've known other people a lot faster than me (that ain't hard) who have had the longer pullrods & had no problems (due to talking to some of them, I went for the KDX). When my husband rides my bike, he generally puts the stock pullrods back in (if he's going to be using it for a full day, if it's just a test to see how the bike is after some mod, then it'll be set up for me).
I haven't heard of anyone breaking the pullrods, but that's not to say no one has. I've had my bike about 1-1/2 years, so probably about 15 months with the longer dogbones in it. Stock is 112.5mm
Definitely don't go any thinner than the stock though, and don't use sheet metal.
To me whacking means hitting, so I was trying to envision as to how they would hit the bike. ;) Ah, the English language, so easy to misunderstand lol
Michelle