Motorcycle Repair: oil on stator side 96 vlx 600 honda shadow m/c, crank case, honda shadow

Question
my son recently fried his  stator due to jump starting from a running car along w/rec/regulate. when we replaced it we had oil on that side but I didnt see any reason for it since all there is on that side is the stator and the starter gear drive at the top. why is it there and does this represent an issue w/ a o ring failure ?cover has a lg. plug in the center and small one farther down by the stand I believe , whats it for ? I dont understand why the cover has a gasket if there is not supposed to be oil there for some reason, what do you think about it? thanx very much for your service !! much appreciated !

Answer
Well, my experience is limited to 1985 and older bikes so I'm going to take a guess here.  All of the Hondas I've worked on have wet alternators, meaning the alternators are oil cooled.  As the alternator is running it gets hot and needs to be cooled. If there's supposed to be oil under that cover and it will drain back into the crank case so you should see a hole near the bottom.  If there's no hole, it could be a dry cover and the gasket is just there to keep rain water from getting in. If it's a dry cover then you've got a seal problem somewhere.  Sorry, I couldn't be more specific.

Good luck