In reality the only advantage to AC is that the engine has to be running for anything to operate. Thus if your AC lights are always switched on, they only light up when the engine is running. I wouldn't say AC is more efficient on a motorcycle, but it sure is for long distance transmission of electrical grid power. The ability to be easily transformed up or down solves problems due to distance.
The only reason for DC is battery charging (or for something that won't work on AC). The downside is running the battery down from excess load or a device that stays powered on.
I suppose it's possible that maxing out the AC could reduce the stator voltage on the white wire and then battery charging would suffer. The real benefit of the old sytem with a separate winding powering the CDI, is that you can always kickstart the engine.
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2011 EC250E
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