Jomamma-

I wouldn't bend the stock gear. Once you bend it, it will weaken bend twice as easy when you land and eventually break.

I stopped by the LHS and picked up the Carl Goldberg Glass Filled Reinforced gear that are black and came with the wheel axels. I just took off my old gear and used it as a template to drill the mounting holes and put the gear back on. The wheel pants were somewhat of a chore to put back on, but they are on. We'll see how long they stay on once I get it in the air.

Here are some pics of the new gear. It gave me at least 1.5" more clearance to swing that 12.25" prop.