Motorcycle Repair: Oil on Stator, honda cd175, mineral spirits

Question
Chris:

I have a Honda CD175. It quit charging the battery. I checked everything before I took off the side cover. All the resistances read right.
So I pulled the cover off and the Stator and Rotor were covered in oil.
Looking through my manual I don't see a seal that would do that. At the bottom of the case under the rotor looks like a passage into the tranmission. I poured some mineral spirits into where the oil goes and it poured out of the passage. My Question is...Is there suppose to be oil going in and getting on the Rotor and Stator? What could it be & is it something I'll have to pull the motor to fix.

Thanks,
Jay  

Answer
Hi Jay.
 The first thing that you have to look at is the hole itself.  If it is uniform and round/oval, like it was man made, then it belongs there; otherwise, if it is jagged and looks like someone bashed in a piece to make a hole, then it doesn't belong and there is a problem.  Use your head.  Engines function in sound simple and logical ways.  each piece and component has a purpose.  Approach each problem like that and it will make fixing the bike that much easier.

As far as the oil being in there, if the hole belongs then the components should be in the oil.  To verify this, refer to your repair manual and it will have an exploded view of the area in question and that should show you if the book doesn't outright say what belongs and what doesn't.

Good luck.
FALCON