J-Snap:

This is obviously too late for you......but for everyone else looking at this thread.....the oil drain plug is not supposed to be tight - it is supposed to be "snug".  The torque value is 8 - 13 foot/lbs....which is absolutely low for a bolt that size.  The goal is to keep oil from coming out and the bolt only need to be snug.....one hand and a little tug once the bolt seats....not both hands and a foot wedged against the frame for leverage tight!

There are companies that make oil drain valves.  I am not sure we have room to install one on the Savage......the lever might not allow clearance to screw it into place:

http://www.qwikvalve.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search-...

I have this one on my compact tractor, as it allows me to put a hose on the end and drain the oil into a container......so I can drain the oil without having to remove the mid mount mower.  J-Snap might be able to JB Weld one of these in place.

http://www.nospillsystems.com/

After seeing the pic,, WD is correct.. Theres no way Id try JB weld on that.. I had no idea what you were looking at.. I was expecting about a 1/4" crack heading out from the edge of the drain hole.. UHHH, NO,, Im curious as to what kind of effort went into doing that,,How hard were you cranking on the bolt that came out so easily before the oil dripped out? Surely the effort to remove the plug was nothing like the effort required to screw it in,,

WWWOOOWWWW .... a very expensive lesson dude.

Sorry man.

Oldfeller,

I've re-read your instructions (which you keep kindly editing—thank you for that) and they now make more sense to me. The first or second edit that I read it wasn't exactly clear to me what you were saying. It sounded to me like you were suggesting to fill the crack and the hole for some reason. This is precisely why I asked for confirmation of what I was reading.

I am not planning on doing the work on my own. I am fully aware that I'm in way over my head, but thank you for emphasizing that fact. I fully intend to use every resource around me.

However, it's important for me to fully understand the process and the plan. I need to know what the wise members of this forum are saying inside-out and backwards. I want to know as much as possible about the problem and how to fix it because the people around me are knowledgable about machining and repairs in general, but they have little knowledge about this bike in particular and YOU are not going to be here to tell my father in law or my friend in the machine shop not to do something if it's incorrect or could do more damage.

Once again, thank you for your help thus far. It's been absolutely invaluable to me.

Justin, yeah I'll certainly be giving the "little voice" a megaphone with this experience.

I only met the machinist this summer, but he's the nicest darn guy. He's coming over thursday to take a look at it. My father in law is a 'retired' mechanic of 45+ years. His idea of retirement is working in a field full of ancient tractors that he restores to running condition so the owner can sell them to developing countries. The man refuses to stop. Between the two of them I think I'm in pretty good hands. But like I say, they're not experienced with the LS650 itself. The combined knowledge of this forum is something I'm relying on as well.

I'll keep updating and asking questions as this situation unfolds. You guys are the best. This thread alone has convinced me to set aside a donation from my next paycheque.