Trying to change the oil on two bikes at once, I forgot to put the filter in the gs: ("out of sequence reassembly") . . . what an idiot.  The good news, very little oil, maybe only a half cup or so, comes out when you take off the oil filter cover.  

This all seems kind of obvious as I write it, but in the heat of the moment I was picturing all or most of the new oil draining out.  All's well that end's well.

Glad it worked out for ya. Good info to know.