I agree with the other posts: Brushless systems are the wave of the future. We just happen to be here during its transitional period from brushed motors. 10-15 yrs from now we will all look back and say "Trinity and reedy used to make those antique motors in my box."
But for now I'm planning to hold off till I see what the racing version novak is planning to put out soon will do. It also helps if local racers by these systems, and right now I havent seen a single system. I'm not worried about sanctioning bodies excepting these, its the local tracks that will except them first (most tracks with 4 or more people make a class) the sanctioning bodies will follow soon after that, but not without a fight from brushed manufactures, you can count on that!
My main concern is what will happen to newbies getting into the hobby. What will happen with all these RTR's with 19T brushed systems? And the initial cost of the BL system, It will need to come down alot to keep the hobby attractive to someone just starting out. I know most of us can justify a high end speedo with a hand wound mod costing almost as much as a BL, but try to explain it to a 12yr old with a paper route, I just hope Novak and others are not trying to set the price bar too high.
As far as getting a lathe, I'd still say pick one up. I'm sure stock motors will be around for a few more years atleast, with mods being on more equal terms with the BL systems, they should last a bit longer than stockers.