Are you prepared with a new gasket for the cover too, Carl? Make sure the bike is resting on the kickstand (leaning away from you) when you pull the cover. That way you'll lose only drops of oil, if anything. Other than that it's an easy task to get at the stator. While there might as well check the pickup coil gap... it should be set to .8mm. Also, do a visual inspection of the existing stator. You should see one or more burnt coils if it is faulty and therefore shorting out.
Swapping out the stator is a relatively easy thing to do. I know I felt intimidated at the task when I did mine, but looking back I had nothing to worry about.
