Cannondaleriders

I guess I don't understand .I was under the impression that a stroker crank would require a spacer plate under the motor.Where would you put 1 on the Cannondale motor?

No plate required . There are several ways to compensate for the longer distance the piston travels. One is to make the rod shorter in which the piston should be checked to make sure the skirts dont make contact with the weights. Another is to make the piston itself shorter above the wrist pin by shaving material off the top so it doesnt smack the head.

Does shaving the top of the piston make it less reliable?

so im guessing with the Falicon crank, the rod is shorter?

Yes, shorter rod.

This allows for a bolt-in solution, no mods required.

Well shaving material off the top may weaken the piston and short rods definitly put more load on the skirts . I dont recall any one having problems yet with either setup.

Something else to consider, shorting the rod, will lower torque.

When shaving the piston you also have to remove material for the valve clearance in the piston top. If not your gonna get valves contacting the piston which everyone knows leads to failure.

Never heard that before, I always heard longer stroke = more torque.

The longer stroke will increase torque because the longer throw increases leverage. Rod length should have no effect on power output.