Was cleaning around my engine when I noticed this brass plug looking thing at the top/front of the engine, and it only stood out because it seems modified. What is it for?



And on a side note . . . . in case you needed a definition of 'chicken strips':



It's gotten much worse since then and is now showing cord 40% of the way around the tire, but no worries. . . . new Bridgestone BT45 comes in tomorrow 

The tach cable fitting has been capped off with that brass plug.
Cool.
Buddha.

Why would someone do this? And my tach works just fine, where is it pulling from if that is where it is supposed to go?

You have an electronic tach. The cap is over the hole for the mechanical tach cable drive. Something got swapped (motor, tach, ?). The new bikes use electronic (don't know from what year) the old ones use mechanical. If, say the gauge cluster got bent/crushed and was replaced with a newer one (with or without documenting that the mileage on the bike might have been getting changed/lowered thereby, depending on honesty of seller) you'd have this situation. You'd also get it from swapping an old-style motor into a new-style frame with a good cluster.

Alright that makes sense. The bike was wrecked and the guages and bars had to be replaced. I know it isn't the motor because the numbers match. And yeah, its about 10k behind as far as the mileage on the new tach.

I think the brass "plug" is either a turbo encabulator or maybe a thronomister. Don't touch it, it may implode.