I never noticed a big heat issue on my '08 either, although in all fairness living in Wisconsin I think I have ridden in near 100 degree weather all of 5 days in the last three years. The previous owner also had installed the engine heat blockers so I'm sure that helps too.
I think the redesign was as much to modernize the look of the C14s as it was to specifically address the heat. I'm sure they were thinking "hey, while we are redesigning the fairings anyways, lets address the heat issue we've had complaints about" not the other way around.
I can't comment on the linked breaks, although ABS would be nice. I'm really hoping in the near future we'll see another redesign with abs, traction control, cruise control, and maybe even an audio system all standard to help it compete with the new ST offerings from BMW, Triumph, etc, but now we are getting off topic...