The debate will rage on. You really have to decide how long you are planning on keeping the bike. If you can't justify the money for the SE upgrade, then the gear drive upgrade is hard to swallow too. For the $150 or so to replace the tensioners ever 30k miles or so you can get almost 90K miles worth of riding.
having said all that, i chose to install the SE upgrade in lieu of gear drive. Bought the kit from LakeShore HD, got it for a good price, and i know i won't have to worry about being on the road and having a catastrophic failure with my tensioner shoes.
Much like anything when it comes to these machines, opinions vary, ultimately it will be your decision. For every person you come across that loves what they did there will be someone else that swears its the worst thing to do.