Oil in alternator cover -fact or fiction?

[flyingace]

I've heard that the rotor/stator on GSes are supposed to run in an oil bath. Now, I recently opened the alternator cover, and not even an ounce of oil ran out. Not enough to do much good I reckon.

My questions are:
1. Is this oil bath thing really true?
2. Where is this oil supposed to come from since there's no filler cap?
3. Could a lack of oil cause my stator to quit? (Which it did).

[dpep]

Is there oil in the sight glass?

[Billy Ricks]

I've heard that the rotor/stator on GSes are supposed to run in an oil bath. Now, I recently opened the alternator cover, and not even an ounce of oil ran out. Not enough to do much good I reckon.

My questions are:
1. Is this oil bath thing really true?
2. Where is this oil supposed to come from since there's no filler cap?
3. Could a lack of oil cause my stator to quit? (Which it did).

Some oil does get into the stator cover area. It's most likely there just to lube the starter gears. If you had your bike on its centerstand it probably drained back into the sump.

[West]

The stator runs 'wet', not 'submerged'. If it failed, it was not because of too much, or too little, oil.

[flyingace]

Thanks for replies. That's what I needed to know.