Soliciting oil leak help

I thought this leak was from the head gasket. Now that the motor's on my bench, I'm not sure. Is it a good idea to change the base gasket after loosening the head on a Honda 100, anyway?

The head is clearly weeping at the rear. The front seems dry. The upper channel between the cylinder and cam chain is dry, but the bottom channel is wet.

Rear views:





Front views:

People remove the heads all the time without touching the base gasket. If the cylinder lifts when removing the head, then perhaps, but 99% of people wouldn't bother.

That being said if you're comfortable with a ring compressor etc. and do it all the time, pull the cylinders, have a look. Fresh rings and a hone never hurt anyone along with fresh gaskets.

Thanks, Tim. If, like you say, replacing the base gasket isn't mandatory, my laziness will probably win over my curiosity this time. The motor came out easily enough, so if I have to do a repeat it won't be the end of the world.