spacer plate vs short rod crank?

[xTHUNDERCATx]

Eventually im going to set up a 310 cylinder i have laying around so i figured  id get the opinions on whether it is better to run a spacer plate or a short rod crank.
Spacer plates means another gasket and potential for leaking
My thinking on the short rod is its going to have a more severe rod angle which could increase wear either on the piston or rod itself.
So is my thought on the short rod wrong or maybe the angle is minimal so it wouldn't likely be the cause of anything or is it better to run a spacer plate?

[rsss396]

With a stock stroke, short rod and a 72mm piston the wear is not really all that bad from our experience.
But we did learn that you should start with a new rod in the motor or it could break. Not a pretty site after a rod breaks and windows the cases. Even uglier when you then rebuild starting with brand new cases from honda along with a new hotrod crank that decides to shed its tins at 9000+ rpms and again destroy both case halves, all in a 12 month period ouch!

[Jerry Hall]

Something to think about.  Why did Honda run the same length rod (short rod) from about 1980 to past 2000 in all of the CR 250s.  Honda gave us a good foundation to work with the 1985 and 1986 ATC & TRX engines if we wanted to make big power.  ATC and TRX owners did not like the frequent piston change schedules of the CR 250 style connecting rod.  In 1987 Honda gave the TRX owners what they wanted.  A longer rod and a full skirted piston to increase piston life.  

The full skirted piston hurt the intake flow but Honda made the new cylinders produce a little more power to offset the small step backward they took on the intake flow.  Engine builders quickly replaced the 1987 TRX full-skirted piston with the 1985 ATC 250R CR style piston when they wanted to make serious power.

[udontknowme]

i think mx bikes are just a bunch of compromises from the front tire to the back, with nothing in between being perfect in design. when you lengthen the rod the cylinder has to go up, making the engine taller . ya you can change the wristpin height to compensate for the longer rod but you can only change the pin location so far. not to mention when the pin hieght changes so do alot of other things in the engine. im pretty sure a short engine, low in the chassis is gonna handle better than a tall engine. the 125mm rod was probly the best compromise of keeping the engine short but still working decent in the overall engine package.  cr500 rod could easily be put on a 250 crank and i would like the see the results of that engine. not just slap a spacer under the jug but also a well thought out pipe and porting. maybe it would be a failure but still i would like to see what happens