I'll chime in here a quick bit before I head to work...

I've lowered lots of bikes- sport, dirt, sm, the whole lot.

For your application (street only), I'm of the opinion that it's WAY more important for you to be able to feel comfortable riding around than to worry about max possible corning ability in a track/race setting.

It IS possible to make the front end behave as stock after lowering. Or to make it act 'faster' or 'slower and heavier' after lowering- or any time. Making yours turn a little quicker is as simple as raising the fork tubes a little more and tuning to how you like it.

If it's a street bike and you're worried about dropping it the whole time, you'll never be comfortable riding- and hence not want to ride. That's silly. If all it takes is lowering it a little to make you comfortable, do it. We do it all the time at the shop. I typically lower my dirt bikes by about an inch- with no ill effects- and I only drop it less.

Remember, just because something is currently popular doesn't mean it's the only answer.