I also have the SE version and love it. The only thing that drives me crazy is how freaking long the arms are!!
I can see the issue with the sleeves. I plan on wearing it on the MC so the length doesn't bother me. With the gussets zipped it doesn't feel long.
Yea I understand the reasoning for why they did it. I took the jacket to a high end alteration shop and she said no way they could shorten the arms, so I ended up doing the same as you and zipping up the gussets to tighten around my wrists.