Something Old is Something New

Between 1985 and 1996 BMW produced 18,485 K75 motorcycles. My bike is a 1987 model; it’s 20 years old this year. Getting original accessories for such a bike is not an easy task. The tank bag on my bike is showing its age. The hooks that connect the base to the bike are down to few threads of elastic and the main compartment zipper comes undone more than it zips. I’ve had it in my mind that I’d try to get the bag fixed, as it fits my bike perfectly.

This past Sunday, Mother’s Day, my ex-husband stops by to drop off our daughter, he has a grocery bag in his hand. “A friend of mine gave me this, she wondered if you could use it” he says handing me the bundle. Puzzled, I look inside the grocery bag and find a tank bag, not any tank bag and genuine BMW K75/ K100 tank bag. I pull it out and examine it. Judging from the color scheme, it appears to be an older model of my bag, but it looks brand new. I unzip the main compartment and pull out the expansion section, which is as red as the day it was shipped, a red that has never seen the sun. The elastics on the attachment hooks are tight yet pliable.

It seems that for some time now my daughter and her father have been frequenting a restaurant near his home; they’ve made friends with a particular waitress. Recently Lisa has been telling this waitress about her upcoming trip and she inquired about my bike. “Oh, I have a K75 too” revealed the waitress “I don’t use it any more; it’s been out of service for several years”. A few weeks later, she presents the tank bag to Lisa and says maybe your mom can use it for the trip. Lisa doesn’t want to be impolite and say that I already have one, so she thanks her and brings it home. Without knowing the issues I have with mine, my daughter, the waitress (and ex-husband) presented me with a Mother’s Day gift of great value. I’m going to write her a thank you note, she may not appreciate just how valuable a good tank bag is on a long trip. It was generous of her to donate it to us!