Been a little bit, but I started the thread, so I think it's a little hard to be accused of thread jacking.
Not going to wade back in to the technological arguments which I think were really quite well laid out above. However, I will say this, that if you happen to be in Canada, and aren't lucky enough to find one used, or off a scrapped ATV, etc... there is something to be said for the cost advantage of the older style (Ninja 500 as mentioned above) style of reg/rec.
While it was suggested that the SH775's are reasonably inexpensive via Ebay, and that is reasonably true, I just figured I would throw out that since Ebay has switched to the 'mandatory' international postage and customs payment system, rather than letting your make a deal with the seller and take your chance on cheap shipping, buying across the border is not such a deal any longer.
It was going to end up being something in the neighbourhood of $80 CAD for a used 775, where the older units seem to be available for ~$15-20 locally (SH530). Not necassarily a deal breaker in any case, but then you might want to figure in the 10USD +shipping for the Triumph harness, or the DIY materials, etc...
Not saying this should dissuade anyone from ponying up for the 775, just figured in the interest filling in some details on the current price difference, I'd mention it. I think without real world, controlled testing it would be pretty hard to prove that shunt reg/rec is going to destoy your shiny new stator considering how well the OE units have been doing (including mine) for years. Equally, you may decide it's worth the extra spend to add some insurance against damaging said new stator. At the moment, it is something like $100 for a new high output 3-phase stator from my parts dealer.
This will be a problem for next year for me anyway. Bike rides well enough for the rest of our season, and I doubt I will have time to install new lighting this year anyway. So, I'll have all winter to try and score a deal. Winner will probably be what I can get cheaply and locally, or at least on the Canadian side anyway.