i remember bell 206 factory training that it had a landing gear limitation, but not in the as 350.
i also can't recall anybody complaining about overcoming the forces flying heavy loaded without hydraulics - cause if you are doing 80 knots (Vne sling) at 2,800 kg and you loose the hyd pump, it would not be allowed by the flight manual. but maybe it might be a problem when doing 130 kts...?
the CG calculations: with full fuel, 400 kg in the rear seats and 200 kg in the front, the CG came to 3.23 m and an MTOW of 2,600 kg. the forward CG limit however (for 2,250) is 3.21, but when i extended an imaginary line backwards for 2,600 kg MTOW, it would have an imaginary limit of 3.26 (exceeded). but, then again, this line is imaginary so it might not prove anything. reducing the front seats by 40 kg and it is within the limit (2,540 kg TOW). i don't think the cg is the issue.
i know this is over-kill (probably boring some of you), but nobody has ever been able to give me a straight answer.