Many people have been confused by the two terms, "generator" and "alternator". The names have historical significance. That is, the generator as a battery replenishing instrument appeared first, and eventually due to its several perceived weaknesses was replaced by the alternator. A battery can be recharged only with direct current (DC) so the generator outputted DC. And it did so directly. The alternator on the other hand was so-named because it outputted AC (alternating current) before converting it to DC. Despite the specifics the labels have unfortunately been interchanged without any concern for the differences in the two units, and has been for more than a hundred years. To make things worse yet, terms such as "magneto", "dynamo", "ACG" and others have muddied the waters further. There are even more complexities to this issue, but the important thing is this: whether called generator or alternator, a vintage Honda's charging system, if you leave out the difference in magnet types, is the same. A generator is an alternator and an alternator is a generator.