I considered several options, none of which I really like:

• Put the bed on longer screws and springs.  This can lead to more wobble.

• Build some crazy bed holder with a cut out for the motor.  Too much work, and possible strength issues.

• Mount the additional Z rods in the front of my printer, and turn it 90 degrees to make the current right side (idler) carriage the new front.  This puts the X end stop in the way of the view but is otherwise a decent idea.

• Flip the Y carriages upside down.  I can move the Y rods to below the X rods to make this work, its fairly easy on open beam.  This is my current plan, but it makes the X motor cable routing somewhat awkward.

I have seen a couple other carriage designs like this one from makerbot (http://i.imgur.com/Zjwjlwd.jpg) that move the X motor to a different orientation so its not hanging down.  Unfortunately, this will require a new E carriage as well.  Also, I have not found an .stl file of that carriage. 

I'm trying to avoid designing custom carriages from scratch because I don't have the time (or really the skill) to do this.  Any other suggestions?  Thanks.