Don't cut it off unless your installing a aftermarket case saver or guard. Its a disaster waiting to happen if you have nothing there. Loss clothes, shoe laces, buckles will be sucked in there so fast you will not know what happened till its to late.
If you want to make it easier to change front sprocket without removing the stator cover buy the aluminum stator cover off 79 bronco as it has a sprocket cover that you can remove easy without removed the stator cover. I brought one and love it even when I haven't installed it yet.