The /5 and the dragonfly...

Planning the stuff I want to do on my BMW has made me recall the process of building the /5 which I traveled so far on. Fond memories

When I found that bike it had been sitting next to two equally neglected Hondas, a Yamaha, and a bike I couldn't identify, It had lived for several years in a basement of the home of a not very mechanically inclined bike rider in Quincy. Seems that if the bike he was riding broke or stopped runing, he would simply replace it rather than fix it, so after a while his basement filled with machines in need of repair. It got to the point that his wife wanted them gone, so he was selling them all off. I was looking for a winter project and found the 1972 /5 in his pile of cast-off bikes. It went home with me and the rest of those bikes may still be there as they were then for all I know..

With some help loading the bike into my 1972 ElCamino, I transported the dirty, sad looking /5 to the house by the beach, moved it into the living room next to the pool table and there it was transformed over a winter. Once started, some people wondered if the project would ever be done. All the painted parts were removed, cleaned and re-painted. A new fairing was added, and the electrical system was rewired. New Lester wheels and new tires were added. The tired engine was cleaned up and was gone through. A new ignition system was installed with a second spark plug installed in each cylinder. An oil temperature gage was installed with a new oil sump pan to increase the capacity of the engine oil, front forks were rebuilt and stiffer springs added to improve the suspension. Rear shocks and springs replaced. Almost every bolt and nut was replaced with aircraft grade fasteners. Some parts which were originally plastic were replaced with new items machined from aluminum. By late spring it was ready to go..

I think the /5 and I got along well.. In the time I owned it, I took care of it and it treated me well.. never failed me, and was a joy to ride..

I had forgotten (almost) that one night after its rebuild and the first long shake-down ride, an artist friend who used to come to the house to play pool, and who knew the story of the bike, and who had watched the build over some months, painted a small blue tailed dragonfly on the BMW's rear fender. The dragonfly story which follows was told to me that night. (I also hung a small silver bell from the bike frame, but that is another story for another time). It was small dragonfly and not very easy to see, but it was very nicely done. People would sometimes spot it and ask why it was there. I usually just told them that I liked dragon flies, and let it go at that.. almost never told them the story I will relate here now..

The dragon flies life cycle is symbolic for transformation (like that bikes rebirth) and its being okay with it.

Here is the story:

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, far away from the sun, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap.

As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying. So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended. But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

I hope those sad bikes left behind in that basement in Quincy eventually were repaired and found new life..

While the same story really doesn't apply to the RT, I just may incorporate a small blue tailed dragonfly into the paint of this bike too... just for good luck.