Carbon fibre on pipe is to protect it from falls. Later on, if the bike does sell it would have better value if its pretty then mangled.
If I moved the kicker one cc it sits on and not in the crease dinging the expansion chamber/pipe. See pic below. These are the only two position offered on this bike. The later one is how I got.
For the shifter, as mentionned it was a quick put on to see what it would look like. I will definitely be putting in a better position when final assembly. Did that mistake when I got my first used GG. Coming off enduro I was like man can't shift this, haha. Then had the duuuh, now I understand after it broke! Only takes me once!