The inverted units of today are nice eye candy,
True! And they usually have more adjustabilty than the B12's forks since most candidates consider for a swap are from a GSXR. They'd certainly qualify as a nice upgrade. There's no reason they'd be on the "must have" list just because you put clip-ons on the bike though.
I don't have much experience riding bikes with inverted forks. From people that I know that have both types of bikes(inverted and non-inverted), they say that there is a big difference in handling. Also with the new SV1000's, they increased the fork size to 46 mm(non-inverted).
For the average street rider, a properly set up conventional fork will work just as well as an inverted unit on the street. It is on the racetrack that all of these high tech features make a difference.
My TL1000S handled better than the B12, but it was a 425lb 55inch wheelbase sportbike with premium rubber. Regardless of fork design, it would have handled better than the B12 due to its design. Most inverted fork bikes today are full sport bikes with race design/suspension, therefore thay are going to handle better than a conventional fork bike as these bikes are not designed as full sport bikes.
Is putting an inverted front unit on a B12 going to make it handle better? I really don't think so. Fork springs and brace will make a 43mm conventional fork handle well enough for the street. If it really makes that much difference, you probably should be on a racetrack.
Ride On, Ed.
2005 GSF1200SZ
1983 GS750ED