[jhautz]

Cutting the ESC leads isnt a problem, but you shouldnt cut the motor leads. On most motors the leads are made up of the winding wires extended out the back of the motor for you to solder to. The winding wires are coated with a special insulator that is very difficult to strip. If you trim the motor leads and run into the insulated section of the wire you will not get a connector or anything else to adhere to the wires. Many people have ruined motors by trimming the leads and running into this problem.

It really depends on the motor as to how much of the lead is stripped of the insulator, but I would not even mess with it. Just rime the esc wires. You can always replace the esc wires with longer ones again if you ever want to.