Roammingcyclic,
The only legally binding (as in do it or go to jail) is Section 1 Operating Limits and Maintenance Manual Chapter 4 retirement times. The rest are recommendations, believe it or not. That being said, if you decide to follow other paths than recommended ones, you are individually responsible for the outcome.
Regarding setting up autorotation rpm, if you are at higher gross weight, there is no need to pull back the levers, just observe a clean needle split. The gear is a contributor (extra drag makes the descent different) so follow the directions.