Tony the Tiger: Geoff’s cunning plan to rescue a sad and lonely motorcycle

24 February 2023 , 10:15

820     0

Freezy Rider - Geoff and Tony the Tiger at Hurricane Ridge, Washington State

In a back yard in Alaska sits a sad and lonely motorcycle called Tony the Tiger.

He hasn’t been started for three years, needs some serious TLC, and if bikes have feelings, which I’m sure they do, must be wondering what he’s done to deserve this after he had such an exciting start in life.

But hopefully he won’t be sad and lonely for much longer.

Mile Zero - Geoff and Tony the Tiger at the start of the Pan-American Highway in Quellon, Chile

You see, Tony is the Triumph Tiger 955i I rode the 16,500 miles of the Pan-American Highway from Chile to Alaska in 2006 for the book The Road to Gobblers Knob, which you can still find on Amazon and is most folks’ favourite of my several bike adventure books.

Epic - Geoff's 16,500-mile Chile-to-Alaska route

He was christened Tony by Clifford Paterson, the former TT racer who was my companion on that trip and named his Aprilia Pegaso 650 April using the same logic.

Complete all-rounder: Kawasaki Versys 650 reviewed

As for Tony, he was on loan to me from Triumph, and the deal was that at the end of the trip, I’d leave him with The Motorcycle Shop, their dealer in Anchorage, Alaska, and they’d sell him on to recoup some of the cost.

Tears - Geoff saying a sad farewell to Tony the Tiger in Anchorage in 2006

As you can imagine, I was almost in tears when I walked away from that bike after all we’d been through.

Unpacking the bikes at Valparaiso docks in Chile, feeling like boys on Christmas morning.

Go – Clifford and Geoff with the Quellon townsfolk at Mile Zero

Leaving Quellón, the start of the Pan-American Highway, with everyone in town there to wave us goodbye.

The long days through the Atacama Desert with the warning light on and the bike regularly refusing to start, like in baking heat at the Chile-Peru border. The problem eventually turned out to be fuel contaminated by diesel.

Geoff and Tiger after the crash in Colombia

Crashing in Colombia and sitting bleeding beside a wrecked Tony, sick at heart and sure the trip was over. And then the moment Diego the mechanic in Cali started the engine again, and we knew we could go on.

Texas - where everything's big, including the cacti

The nightmare at the Mexican border, when Clifford didn’t have the right documents to get through. The glorious feeling of riding away from that, and the even more glorious feeling of crossing the border into the States.

Browse more than 19,000 new and used bikes for sale at Autotrader.co.uk/bikes

The moose that leaped out of the trees in British Columbia and missed me by an inch, then the bitter cold in the Yukon, and finally reaching the end of what had been the longest and most difficult journey of my life.

Tough - The Dalton Highway, Alaska, on the final stretch to Gobblers Knob

I had often wondered what became of Tony the Tiger in the years since then, until finally I stopped wondering and got in touch with The Motorcycle Shop to ask.

Seventies style: Ducati Scrambler 1100 Tribute Pro review

The shop’s Andrew McConnell put me in touch with JD Williamson, who’d bought Tony and loved the bike, but had another bike, hadn’t ridden the Tiger for a few years and said he’d be happy to sell it to me for not very much, partly because it needed a new piston ring, and partly because he loved the idea of me having it again.

Fave - Geoff's best-selling book on the epic ride is a hit with readers

By another happy coincidence, another biking buddy, Peter Murtagh from Dublin, is on his way from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska on a GS as I write, and expects to be there in August before riding across the States. You can see his blog at https://tip2top.ie/.

So my plan is to fly from Dublin to Vancouver to Anchorage in August with Air Canada, pick up the bike, meet up with Peter, ride the 2,200 miles to Vancouver and ship the bike home from there.

Respect – Bikers like John Bennett who've been to Gobblers Knob send Geoff proof – usually holding his book on the trip

What an emotional moment it would be to see Tony the Tiger again and press the Go button. Fingers crossed it happens, and if it does, you’ll read about it here.

Until then, hang in there, Tony. Help is on the way!

Geoff Hill