Just bought a low mile XJ550 first time tinker and clean up.

So when you disconnected it at the motor there was a small bit of cable sticking out, spinning?

New cable time.

Be sure to lube the new cable. For this cable, because it gets quite hot, I use motor oil.

And you don't need to search all that hard. A lot of this stuff (most of it actually) is in "FAQ Suggestions."

 

Re: Just bought a low mile XJ550 first time tinker and clean



Here is the broken cable. Should I leave the cable on the bike while I drive it for the next week or so?

 

I would, so oil doesn't go all over.

However, it came apart wrong. There is a threaded sleeve that should be sticking out of the housing there, the cable ferrule collar screws onto it. I'll bet it's still in the end of the cable. Look in my tach drive oil seal article: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=19538.html it's part #5 in the diagram, and it's supposed to stay behind when you unscrew the cable.

Remove it from the cable, and screw it firmly into the housing (not too firmly, you don't want to crack the housing.) Then reattach the cable to the stub.

 

Holy crap your tires looooooook terrible! If you haven't been searching yet I would recommend the Bridgestone BT-45 Battleaxes

 

He's tire shopping, or he'd better be. Pretty sure I tore him up about the tires already, if not I'm slipping.

Bridgestone BT45 Battlax, Avon AM26 RoadRiders and Dunlop D404s are/were my recommendations, because they don't have a continuous center groove to grab at rain grooves.

 

Thanks for the info!

(I had a follow up question but found the answer so I'm editing this.)