Tribute to my Tiger Motorcycle

What can I possibly say about a bike that has carried me through so much? I look back fondly at all the time we spent together. I remember the gleam off the red and black coloring that attracted me to it the first time I saw it. I was in the market for a new bike but really didn't need one. As soon as I saw the Honda Tiger, I knew that is the one I wanted. I remember many a day driving back and forth to work, to the gym and cruising around town. I remember riding it to the beach and back right after I had my wisdom teeth removed. And then of course there was the epic trip up to Banda Aceh. We went 2,200 miles together across broken roads and bad gas. It didn't even have a flat tire or engine problems the whole way. I drove it right to the edge of Indonesia to Kilometer Nol (Mile Zero). I've driven it back and forth from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh a couple of times now and it always drives with hardly a complaint.

I haven't always treated it the best either. I laid it down once while riding in Bandung and broke the foot petal off and snapped the gas tank loose. I missed a corner in the middle of Sumatra and bent up the front end. I ran into a girl on a moped up near Banda Aceh and broke the foot peg off again (apparently it was just glued on from the first time.) I've ridden through some very acidic mud and dropped it while stuck in rivers and quagemires. I always cleaned it up though. Kept the engine tuned up with fresh oil in it and always used the best gas I could find. Whenever anything broke, I replaced it.

I sold it to a good friend of mine who hopefully will take good care of it. Why did I sell it? I'm moving up to Banda Aceh and will no longer need a bike. I'm sad to see it go but I know it is in good hands.



BTW, I'm moving up to Banda Aceh tomorrow afternoon.