Pat-
Let me add some enlightenment.
I ran over a strap of metal with a bolt in the middle. I was on a freshly repaved blacktop highway at 1030 at night, going 50-55mph. I never saw it, the dirty metal blended in with the color of the pavement.
The front tire kicked it up, and the bolt lanced my oil filter. Instantly, the engine was laying down a strip of hot motor oil in front of my rear tire. This is
not a good feeling. I was able to get the bike safely off the road and into the parking lot of a Honda car dealer...without losing control. I ended up dumping 2 quarts of oil, but the oil light never came on. Of course, I had changed the oil only 20 miles earlier.
I had to call for help, to get me back home so that I could grab a spare filter off of the shelf, and more oil. I replaced the filter in the parking lot, added more oil, and drove it back home very carefully.
I ended up with a bike that had its underside completely coated in oil. The rear tire and rim were drenched. The bike had oil spray (mist) all over the back end, even on the trunk lid. I had to take off many of the body panels, and clean the oil off behind them.
Later, I also discovered that my coolant overflow was also cracked from the strap. This whole incident cost me a trip to the Honda Homecoming... as well as scaring the crap out of me that night.
But I thought that these things never happen to me. Only happens to the other guy. Do I have a Tulsa belly pan on it now? You bet I do.