Was rummaging about on Google and came across this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pschube/with/5397495108/ These are from a chap called Phil Schubert who did the CSR on what looks like 175 Ag Bikes (no expert though...someone correct me as required) in 1974....some nice haircuts on display too. I couldn't find anything about this trip posted here (or anywhere else for that matter) so throwing it up to see if anyone else knows anything about it. About half way down the page is a bunch of photos about his trip. Each photo if you click on it has a short description. Looks like they filmed it too (one of the photos has a guy riding pillion holding a Super 8).
Interesting to see Rankins trolley then and now! Reading the comments there seams to be a DVD of the trip?
One of the notes states that it was filmed on 16mm and has been digitised there are more shots and commentary here http://www.fluidr.com/photos/pschube/sets/72157625803329787
That is excellent! Ag bikes for sure, single seat, bark busters and headlight rack. Can't see in the pictures but they'd have dual side stands as well I'd reckon.
i like this bit The aircraft being low on fuel we did not waste time identifying the riders, but prepared to make the drop at the location of the last fire being lit. I was about to push the fuel out the door when I recognised it was just a lone and naked aboriginal, not the bikes or riders at all. He was the last remaining nomadic aboriginal in Australia. I often wonder what he thought as we lined the aircraft up for the drop and flew over him at about 20 feet. The motorbikes on the expedition relied entirely on fuel dropped in 1 litter oil cans wrapped in foam from the aircraft.
This thread here has a post in 2007 from one of the guys on the trip.. username:"Go-N-Grey" from WA. http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Topic/46098/Canning_fuel_dump.aspx might one way of tracking them down...
Awesome...that was me trying to off load some extra fuel from the fuel dump....Some guy called John Rideout bought & collected it . We didn't need it as the gearbox gave up before then. Funnily enough the wheel bearings died in Johns car and he headed for the west coast...the fuel musta been a bad oman <:)
There are some great photographs taken on their 1974 journey. Really capturing the adventuring spirit of those guys.
Hi Guys, I was part of that expedition. Took us nearly 3 weeks, lots of dramas, helicopter rescues of lost mining crews, floods etc it all happened. The bikes all went perfectly. The only problem we had was tyres. We should have stayed with the standard fit. We had 8 Yamaha 125cc AT1's in 1970 on our station. With a bigger barrel they became 175, and after a visit by the Yamaha engineers, they developed the AG175's following our extensive use of the 125's on the stations. It certainly was a historic and ground breaking trip, as the CSR now pretty much a Sunday Ride! I have been out to Well 33 a couple of times since, and have driven some sections of the CSR around that area. Much of the navigation on the trip was by map and compass in many cases no real defined tack. We were able to locate every well as prior to our trip as helicopter from a mining company had located them previously and we had the Lat Long which we marked on the aerial charts, and then flew over the riders in the direction of the wells. The trip was sponsored by the WA Yamaha dealership Ken George, and we did lots of adds and promotions including an exhibit of one of the bikes used at the Perth Royal Show. I am currently helping out Colin (one of the riders) in Kununurra ATM. He owns Bungle Bungle Expeditions. Have seen a few groups of riders come through the Gibb River Road, wow cant get over the gear that they get rigged up in now. By comparison we just about did the CSR in shorts and thongs! I don't have the digitised version of the 16mm footage ATM although I did take almost all the aerial sequences. When I get back to Perth will get a copy and paste it on Youtube. Any question guys just post here as I have joined the forum Cheers Phil
you are lucky SideTrack is off rallying you should get Yammy to sponsor a 40 year revival on AG175's of course Welcome to the mad house
Fantastic, just goes to show that you dont need to have an overloaded, 2 litre truck of a bike to do some great trips.