bone-head confessions

[Curtis Ling]

In my first ever attempt to change the oil and filter on any motorcycle, I managed to break off the head of one of the nuts securing the oil filter cover while tightening it. ("Tighten it until you hear something crack, then back off half a turn.") After recovering somewhat from the psychological pain and abject humiliation, I decided to leave my KLR empty of oil and consult this group for advice (thereby making my humiliation public). I have the following questions: 1) How realistic and easy would it be to extract the broken nut myself? If so, how should I best proceed with this? (Suspend your disbelief and ignore my pathetic moto-mechanics track record for the moment.) 2) If not, is it safe to fill my KLR with oil and ride it with only one oil filter cover-securing nut to my dealer (less than 15 miles away) to get this mess sorted out? I'm still feeling pain right now so please be gentle with me. -Curtis