Old photos and memories

Need help finding information or parts for that old machine in your shed? Someone in here will know!

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David Lahey
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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby David Lahey » Fri Jan 08, 2021 10:22 pm

Looks like the Index page and any new postings will now have the Topic name "Old photos and memories". I tried changing the headers for each post but only managed to change the first one and thought I'd better stop there before I lost the lot :shock:


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JC1
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Re: South East Qld trials 1974-77

Postby JC1 » Sat Jan 09, 2021 10:59 am

David Lahey wrote:
David Lahey wrote:
Rod wrote:I remember watching a very fast World Class pommie at Tivoli around the same time that Rahier was here, it was Neil Hudson on a Maico. Is this maybe who you were thinking of David, I know the years cloud the memory, they certainly have with mine.

Definitely a :Bultaco: and not Neil Hudson. Someone older than him. I'll go and find that bloke's name.

It hasn't come to me yet. Reckon John Cuff will remember. It was a 125 Bultaco and it was absolutely singing. I'd never seen a Bultaco 125 go like it before or since. Beat the top Aussie riders on their RM125s.
Gaston put on a pretty good show at the EKKA speedway the night before too (on an MX bike)


It's Vic Allen 8)


Yes David, it was Vic Allen. He actually beat Rahier while he was out here which surprised Rahier who commented that he doesn't go that fast in the GPs in Europe (where they rode different categories). The 125 was running on alcohol and tuned by Bert Flood of course. As was the 250. The 125 Mk8 engine was later put in a streamliner by Flood and claimed some Oz land speed records on a country road near Malcolm Fraser's property. Apparently Fraser had some hand in getting permission. (Fraser used a Mk5 Matador that he'd bought from Flood, on his farm)

I only saw Allen on the 250 (at Tivoli). Mostly standard (compared with Rahier's works Suz) with laid down gas Girling shocks and extended swingarm (as they had been using all year on Gary Flood's bike), and Marzocchi front forks. Flood's bike had Maico forks . Allen said decades later in an interview in a UK mag that the fastest 250 he ever road was that one tuned by Bert Flood. It was an absolute jet. Faster than the factory and UK bikes. (He was a factory rider)

I never saw any MX rider before or since, including big-bores, who exploded out of corners like Gary flood did on that 250, but his corner speed wasn't very quick. Flood himself was faster on it that on his 360. He was said to have blown all the big-bores off the track at Wallen on his 250 when Mr MX had a round in Vic. He was also said to have had a point to prove that day!

If I recall correctly he blitzed the field at Echo Valley that day (or was it the '74 event?). That was one event I really wanted to attend but was at Uni in Rockhampton. #2 is Gary Flood on the Bul. #5 is Trevor Flood on a 360 Mikkola Husky. #10 is Gary Adams (Vic) on a Bul. #44 is Don Newell. #45 is Mike Landman (Vic) on a Yam. #40 may be Steve Crammer (also Vic). When asked recently to name his favourite track back in the day without hesitation Flood said Echo Valley. (I now live 3minutes drive from there)

I did see Gary Flood race at Bundaberg on a very fast but technical track in late 74 with Englishman Malcolm Dearn on a MAG Husky with a prototype Factory 360 engine. All the Qld A-graders were there including Greg Hansford on a YZ250A. He was very quick on the dirt too. Flood had both his 250 & 360 Pursangs but chose to ride his 250. He blitzed the field there too for most of the day, Dearn included.


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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby eagle » Sat Jan 09, 2021 1:36 pm

Think Rahier came out here in about 75-76, i saw him race & Wallan in Vic, he won every race even when he raced against Jack Pengally & his big Maico,Jjack got the holeshot & was pulling away from just about everybody on the first lap. He then stalled it in a rut & got passed by about 3 riders 1 being Rahier .
I remember seeing Hudson ride & Wonthaggi the year after he won the 250 MX Championship in 1981, he was a fair bit faster than the locals & took different lines than them. I remember everybody said your going through all the really rough stuff not trying to miss it. His answer was, the quickest line from a to b is a straight line, i definitely worked for him !



David Lahey
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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby David Lahey » Sat Jan 09, 2021 2:09 pm

eagle wrote:Think Rahier came out here in about 75-76, i saw him race & Wallan in Vic, he won every race even when he raced against Jack Pengally & his big Maico,Jjack got the holeshot & was pulling away from just about everybody on the first lap. He then stalled it in a rut & got passed by about 3 riders 1 being Rahier .
I remember seeing Hudson ride & Wonthaggi the year after he won the 250 MX Championship in 1981, he was a fair bit faster than the locals & took different lines than them. I remember everybody said your going through all the really rough stuff not trying to miss it. His answer was, the quickest line from a to b is a straight line, i definitely worked for him !

I'm sure when I post up the Gaston Rahier @ Tivoli photos you will be able to work out what year it was


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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby David Lahey » Sat Jan 09, 2021 4:32 pm

There's a story to explain something about this one.
It was in the early 1980s and person in the photo and I were planning to ride a Pony Express as a team, sharing his PE175C. It hadn't been ridden for a few years, so we set aside an evening to do some race prep on it.
The PE had been run on castor oil premix so we thought a de-coke of the engine and exhaust would be a good idea.
When I arrived at his place after work, my riding buddy was nowhere to be seen, but I found a sticky note on the house door that said "Don't worry David, I've gone down to the ambulance station and should be back soon".
Well that got me perplexed.
After a while my riding buddy arrived and it was fairly obvious why he had been to the ambulance because there was wound dressing on his eyebrow (see photo), with some stitches underneath. So of course I wanted to know how he did it but he wouldn't tell me, he had to SHOW me.
So we get down to the workshop and he goes up to the bike, which was on a raised platform with the cylinder head off but still the cylinder still in place. He tells me that when he hurt himself, he had been moving the piston up and down using the kickstart. Not only did he tell me what he had done, but as he was telling me, he moved the kickstart with his hand just like he had done before and the kickstart slipped out of his hand and returned suddenly to the top, exactly the same as what had happened before when he was alone, and tip of the kickstart lever again hit him on the eyebrow, in the exact same place again #-o .
At least there was a little bit of padding there to cushion the blow this time 8)
As you can also see from the photo we did have some fun in the workshop that night
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Rod
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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby Rod » Sat Jan 09, 2021 4:52 pm

I recognise that bloke, George's workshop is as messy looking even these days, I don't know where he finds the space to punch out the amazing work that he does.



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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby JC1 » Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:01 pm

David Lahey wrote:
eagle wrote:Think Rahier came out here in about 75-76, i saw him race & Wallan in Vic, he won every race even when he raced against Jack Pengally & his big Maico,Jjack got the holeshot & was pulling away from just about everybody on the first lap. He then stalled it in a rut & got passed by about 3 riders 1 being Rahier .
I remember seeing Hudson ride & Wonthaggi the year after he won the 250 MX Championship in 1981, he was a fair bit faster than the locals & took different lines than them. I remember everybody said your going through all the really rough stuff not trying to miss it. His answer was, the quickest line from a to b is a straight line, i definitely worked for him !

I'm sure when I post up the Gaston Rahier @ Tivoli photos you will be able to work out what year it was


If I recall correctly Rahier came out here twice.


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Re: South East Qld trials 1974-77

Postby Rod » Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:05 pm

David Lahey wrote:These photos are a bit of an unknown to me but I don't think it was at same trial as the previous photo of the Rod Tunkl/Mark Stephens wet rock, even though these negatives were in the same packet, because I can see Mark Stephens and his sister spectating, wearing joggers just above the white tape in the photo with the RL250 solo rider looking a bit out of shape.
The sidecar RL250 rider makes the name Dennis Johnson spring to mind but I may be wrong there.
Seeing the TY175JC rider doesn't ring any bells with me.
Not many helmets to be seen but there is the TY175JC so its probably 1976.

David, your first two pics are that same property I'm sure as the wet rock section, Qld Titles '75 or '76. This first picture of me on the rock face is the same section as your mate, just photo taken from different location.

1975 or 1976 Qld Titles.jpg
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1975 or 1976 Qld Titles (2).jpg
1975 or 1976 Qld Titles (2).jpg (3.43 MiB) Viewed 6736 times

1975 or 1976 Qld Titles (3).jpg
1975 or 1976 Qld Titles (3).jpg (3.57 MiB) Viewed 6736 times



David Lahey
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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby David Lahey » Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:45 pm

Rod that even looks like my mate's sister Lizzie in your photo, standing in the same spot. Amazing!


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David Lahey
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Re: Old photos and memories

Postby David Lahey » Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:47 pm

JC1 wrote:
David Lahey wrote:
eagle wrote:Think Rahier came out here in about 75-76, i saw him race & Wallan in Vic, he won every race even when he raced against Jack Pengally & his big Maico,Jjack got the holeshot & was pulling away from just about everybody on the first lap. He then stalled it in a rut & got passed by about 3 riders 1 being Rahier .
I remember seeing Hudson ride & Wonthaggi the year after he won the 250 MX Championship in 1981, he was a fair bit faster than the locals & took different lines than them. I remember everybody said your going through all the really rough stuff not trying to miss it. His answer was, the quickest line from a to b is a straight line, i definitely worked for him !

I'm sure when I post up the Gaston Rahier @ Tivoli photos you will be able to work out what year it was


If I recall correctly Rahier came out here twice.

John what I meant is it will be obvious in the photos, that I am yet to post up, which Rahier visit my photos are from


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