Do you have the "Show Unread Posts Since Last Visit" link at the top of the page? That's question #1. If not, let me know, I couldn't find a place to turn that on or off in the admin controls. But that's a very important feature.
There used to be a "Recent Posts" thing on the main site home page, but that was an add-on to the main program, and with various upgrades, that became incompatible. The main site (not the forum or gallery) is going through another (major) upgrade and that might come back.
I guess question #2 is how important a "Recent Posts" feature is on the main site home page? The web analytics show that 3/4 of the site folks start at the forum and leave from the forum. (That's the way I visit a dual-sport motorcycle site, many times a day).
No pain. Feedback like this is necessary to tweak the site to make it as good as it can be.
Bob the Web Elf