Shifter Linkage broke

Hi All,

I was riding home at night on the highway and I noticed my shifter wasn't changing gears, it felt disconnected. I manage to get home safely stuck in 5th gear the whole ride home off the highway(probably because it was 4am and no one was around, never had to completely stop).

When I got home somehow I checked and it looks like the shifter linkage broke off.

Wondering what caused it to break off, is this a common thing to happen, or anyway I could have prevented it?

How would I know if it was a simple linkage broken off problem vs anything more serious? Let me know.

edit:
i looked online and it seems probably just broke based on age or usage. Just bough the bike recently and guessing all parts were just oem that was due for a change.

Right now it appears that just the linkage fell off during riding, anyway to check or test if the shaft broke off too?

It will help if you clarify the word "broke".

Did the clamp bolt that secures the knuckle to the shift shaft come off and let the knuckle slide off the end of the splines? (simple, someone forgot to tighten the clamp bolt)
Did the linkage rod between the shift lever and the knuckle break in two?
Did the locknuts on the linkage rod come loose and let the linkage rod unscrew?
Did the center bolt which is the pivot for the shift lever come undone or break?

I think just the linkage fell off.


edit:
after taking a closer look in the day, looks like it just got unscrewed. the bike doe have vibration and probably or mostly slowly unscrewed until it fell off. This is my guess now after looking at it now during the day.

Yep, that's what happened. Use blue loctite when you install the new rod.

When was the last time you washed your bike?