GULLIBLE'S TRAVELS -
AROUND THE WORLD IN 953 DAYS
Yamaha DT1 Adventure Motorcycle
In 1968 i was working as a forest technician in New York State and got a hankering to go to New Zealand. Somehow wangled a job at the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua in 1969. Once there bought an ex-traffic police Triumph "Saint", police version of the TR6 650cc Trophy. Inspired by articles in motorcycle magazines about people traveling the "overland route" between Asia and Europe I decided to pursue that with Kerry, a NZ friend. The journey begins!
(Note: during the trip i lost a couple rolls of film and over the last 50 years have lost slides. So this is glommed together with slides and photos that have survived and a few borrowed from internet.) Will concentrate on the motorbike trip so New Zealand & Australia will have to be another blog.
First stop, New Zealand, May 1969
"Single men's camp", Rotorua
Going thru Invercargill i decided to see if i could find Burt Munro who was famous for taking his much modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle to Bonneville salt flats. In 1966, he set a 1000cc class record of 168.66 mph (2 way average) with
his engine at 905cc. His unofficial top speed was 212 mph (341.181
km/h), his qualifying speed was 172 mph (270.807, km/h). This was the focus of the movie The Worlds Fastest Indian where Burt was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. I had trouble finding his "house" and when i asked someone where it was he replied "Oh Burt, he lives in that shed over there." Not knowing if a famous guy like him would talk with someone just knocking on his door, i took a chance and knocked on the door of the shed. He was happy to see me, invited me in for a cup of tea and we chatted for quite a while. In the shed was his motorcycles, tools, racks of old motorcycle parts and a bed. Here are photos of Burt, the Indian and his 350 Vellocette with neighbor kids that is took that day.
Then off to Australia in May 1970 to make money for motorcycle trip from Singapore to the Netherlands. I hitch hiked from Brisbane to Perth and found work there in the outback on oil and mineral exploration crews. Kerry worked in a salt works. Working in the bush with no place to spend money was a good way to save.
First job on seismic survey crew looking for oil in the Great Sandy Desert. Second job working for consulting geologist company looking for nickel east of Perth and iron sand off the west coast near Onslow.
Indonesia
We flew from Darwin to East Timor, now Timor-Leste, on eastern end of Indonesian archipelago. At the time it was a Portuguese territory. We had booked passage on kind of a hippie cruise ship, but something went wrong with the deal, stranding a bunch of travelers in Timor. The outfit that had arranged the boat fortunately arranged passage on plane, boat, bus, train thru Indonesia to Singapore.
The Bike!
In 1968, Yamaha introduced a machine that would change the motorcycle world forever, the DT-1. It was an inexpensive, reliable 250cc two-stroke dirt bike that was street-legal. While that might not sound earth-shaking today, such a machine didn’t really exist before the DT. The British scramblers and desert sleds were large, heavy bikes, while the purpose-built dirt bikes from companies like Penton, Montesa, and Greeves were spendy, quirky, and rarely street-legal. What motorcycles to get for the trip was the subject of a lot of discussion. In the age before cell phones and email this was done via snail mail. Two guys we met in Perth who had made the trip recommended the Yamaha DT1. One of them had ridden a 125CC. So we arranged to buy two 1971 Yamaha DT1 250cc motorcycles in Singapore. The DT1 is not considered a touring motorcycle but it was a great machine for this trip. Cheap, reliable, light weight, decent gas mileage. Not designed for touring and carrying a lot of baggage but it worked out well all the same. The only place it was not an appropriate machine was on the German Autobahn. 25,000 miles of relatively trouble free travel says it all!
1971 Version of what is now called an "Adventure Motorcycle".
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| Yamaha DT1 route map, Singapore to Holland 1971 |
(note: Vietnam "travels" on map courtesy of US Army 1967 - that's another story...)
Motorcycle dealership in Singapore. They treated us so well! They had the panniers built specially for us. We had a great time in Singapore, shopping for cameras and gear and enjoying the wonderful food. Cameras of choice were Olympus "half-frame" 35mm. Half frame meant we could take 72 photos on a 36 photo roll of film, plus they were smaller than standard 35mm cameras.
Kerry's bike loaded up and ready to go.
Since gas tanks were small we had fuel containers built and mounted on the front forks. Didn't affect handling of bikes but was hard on front tires. Never needed them - there's gas everywhere of course. A dumb idea generated from too much time and beer consumption in the Australian bush fantasizing about the trip. The Yamaha ran on whatever was put in the tank, even the supposedly 75 octane stuff in Afghanistan.
Didn't have a funnel so used any available leaf
Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country. Knowing little about a country's religion and traditions can get one into trouble!
Drying coconut
East Coast Malaysia. We were told not to go up the east coast due to bandits. "Bandits!" we said and of course went that route. Fortunately, in retrospect, we didn't run into any.
Went off the main roads to visit an Orang Asli village, the indigenous peoples of the Malay Peninsula. Very few dirt roads encountered in whole trip.
River crossings were always fun and often an adventure.
We started camping out beside the road - until someone suggested that wasn't a good idea because of snakes and other critters.....
Thai road sign. The road map was in Thai script so we had to "match squiggles" to find our way. No GPS back then. Where we entered Thailand there was just a railroad bridge with some narrow planks over the ties for people to walk on. We had to walk the bikes across. No photo's of that as taking photo's at border crossings could have gotten us into trouble. Though on the Thai side they didn't get a lot of foreigners crossing that bridge so we had to search out someone to stamp our passports
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Buddha statue covered in gold leaf, south Thailand - a predominately Muslim area... We had no idea about the politics and religious tensions in the area. Being naïve is the best way to travel......
Camping at Thai Army checkpoint. Checkpoints and police stations were good safe places to camp.
Southern Thailand
House construction
Logging with elephants
Elephant Garage
We visited a friend of mine who was in the Peace Corps near Bangkok. His place was accessible only by water. So we rode the bikes onto the local water taxi.
Temple on the river
Straightening panniers after a minor fall. Took a real tumble in Turkey but just got bruised.
Great food everywhere
An abandoned temple complex
A nurse working in Baptist Mission Hospital in Mae Sariang near Burma border took me on a tour of a Karen village. There was a Baptist Mission Hospital and a hostel for school kids run by a Presbyterian Minister there, of all places....
Karen are an ethnic group in northern Thailand
To market
Burma then, Myanmar now. We couldn't travel into Burma but went over halfway across the bridge at Chaing Rae - so we got a foot into Burma!
2 DT1, an RT1 (360cc) & BMW , Kerry on bike, Ian standing,
Unidentified couple with BMW who we met along the road somewhere in Thailand. We didn't run into a lot of westerners traveling by motorcycle back then.
Ian had worked at the salt works with Kerry, and started traveling a couple weeks after us. We ran into him in northern Thailand and traveled together back down to Malaysia.
Spending night at Wat (temple) in Trang, Thailand. The monks were happy to see us and put us up for the night. Temples were good places to stay and it seemed that travelers were always welcome.
In the morning the monks went into the community where they were given food.
Back into Malaysia to catch ship to India from Penang.
Loading bike onto steamship Rajula from Penang to Madras (now Chennai) India. Kerry & Ian decided to go to Africa so I traveled from here on alone (if you can be alone in India......!)
A lot of Tamil Indians live in Malaysia and travel back and forth to India by ship.
INDIA, NEPAL
India & Nepal
Arrived in Madras (now Chennai) India on Easter Sunday 1971 and spent 3 months there and in Nepal.
MADRAS then, now CHENNAI from the ship.
LOTS OF PEOPLE!
STREET MUSICIANS & DANCER
Ellora and Ajunta Buddhist temple complex.
Everything just carved into the rock. Amazing place.
AND THIS IS HOW THEY WERE CARVED!
Also there are beautiful frescoes on the walls still in fine shape.
One day i came upon a lot of people congregating around this lake. I had no idea what was going on when suddenly this guy who must have been local official waved a cloth and, with a roar, all the people jumped into the lake with nets and baskets for a fishing frenzy! A festival of the fishes!
TRAFFIC
Shared the road with lots of different forms of transport..
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GUESS WHO HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY! This was the main highway from Delhi east. It seemed the gates shut on schedule but there could be a long hot wait for the train....... |
Wooden wheel factory
Rest stop. Any tree will do!
A foreigner on a motorcycle is always an attraction to the kids wherever i stopped. Here i was walking up a hill to look at an old fort and this was my entourage.
Welding shop making repairs. The bike frame wasn't designed to carry loads but held up well, mostly.
Making pots by side of the road where the clay was.
Former Maharajah's residence
Temple, south India
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| Yamaha lines up with others to pay homage at roadside Hindu temple |
Handy Tube repair. DT1 had NO flat tires
Which way to Delhi? No gps back then, just paper maps in Hindi.
After visiting the Taj Mahal and Delhi i headed east. Spent a couple days in the fascinating city of Benares.
Entering Nepal - Where are the mountains? The southern part of Nepal is plains and jungle. I was expecting mountains.
Mountains behind the clouds?
On the road to Kathmandu
Had a great time hanging out in Kathmandu! Here's some street scenes
Swayambhu Temple
It's called the Monkey Temple for good reason. A lot hang out there. One grabbed a piece of banana bread out of my hand, between my hand and my mouth. Aggressive buggers!
Nepal trek
Trek route. Met up with 7 Brits traveling in a Land Rover in various places and became friends. They had organized a trek and i tagged along.
5 of the crazy Brits who traveled from England to Nepal and back crammed in one landrover, and one crazy Yank, and our trek cook.
The porters. A great group!
Supper on the trail
Village scenes
Hydro powered grain mill
Washing up
Englishman and Nepali with their umbrellas
Prayer wall and mani stones eliciting safe passage from the gods.
Rhody's!
And a jack-in-the-pulpit!
Farmland in Nepal
High country shepherds and guests
The clouds parted and mountain views at last!
Left Nepal and back into India. Pretty much retraced route east back to Delhi, with stop in Bodh Gaya, then north into the foothills of the Himalaya. This was my favorite part of India, especially Dharamsala, the Kulu Valley and traveling over the Rohtang Pass (13,058 ft) to Keylong. Wanted to continue north to Leh over Bara- Lacha pass 16,040' but couldn't get permit to go further due to politics and proximity to China. Now you can rent a bike in Manali and travel to Leh. (Note: Lost rolls of film for this area so got the next 8 images from the internet)
Kulu Valley
Manali
Manali
Manali - Leh highway
Great ride from Manali to Keylong. Road over the Rohtang pass was mostly gravel at the time - lots of twists and turns! Nowadays there's a huge amount of tourist traffic but not much in 1971. Check out 2017 youtube videos of Rohtang Pass. Thanks to MSK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqmxf2Ud0V4
Keylong - one fellow said i was the first motorcycle to Keylong - which i doubt but it makes a good story....
Climbed up to this Shashur Gompa (tibetan monastery) and hung out for a while with 2 British Buddhist nuns who were studying there. Met with the Lama in charge but not sure what he made of me. Just another hippie traveler. The monsoon season was approaching and rains were starting so I headed west through Amritsar, stopping at the Sikh Golden Temple, and into Pakistan.
PAKISTAN & AFGHANISTAN
Went through West Pakistan (now Pakistan) in a few days. It rained most of the time as i tried to stay ahead of the monsoons. It was a thrill to ride through the fabled Kyber Pass. Photo's taken in Pakistan got lost in the mail. I enjoyed Afghanistan, spending several days in Kabul, then traveling north through the Hindu Kush mountains to Mazar-i-Sharif and the Soviet Union border. Now it's Uzbekistan..
Afghanistan
In 1971 Afghanistan was stable politically, still had a King, and a great place to travel.
Definitely a problematic place for americans to travel in now....
Afghanistan is arid mountains and lush river plains.
In the Kabul market there was Ron & Helen, 2 Aussies that i ran into in Timor, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Afghanistan, and stayed with them in England. This was the case with several people who i met multiple times in different places who became instant friends
Heading north out of Kabul into the Hindu Kush
Heading into the mountains
While i was in Turkey one of the Apollo moon missions was in progress. The full moon was visible during the day. I would stop and get out my radio when the Voice of America was broadcasting the astronauts talking from the moon. At one stop there were a bunch of Turkish women working in an adjacent field. As i sat under a tree they all came over and gathered around, making remarks about this creature and his motorcycle and having a laugh. Using hand gestures i tried to explain that the voices they were hearing on the radio were coming from the moon. So they probably said either "Yeah, we know, we've seen it in the news", or there is now a legend in that area about the crazy hippy on a motorbike who said there were people on the moon and we could hear their voices on the radio!
Cappadocia - These formations of volcanic rock are soft enough to tunnel into. After the excavated area is exposed to air it hardens. People have been digging in and creating living spaces in these for centuries. 
Dunlop Trials Universal Tire after 25,000 miles.
Salang Tunnel in the Hindu Kush mountains between Kabul and Mazar i Sherif, 1.6 miles long at 11,200' elevation. Bike had no trouble with the high elevations. This fellow appeared out of nowhere as i was stopped at tunnel entrance.
Somewhere in the Hindu Kush the valiant DT1 poses for a photo.
A village north of the mountains
Nomadic folks tents
Following are street scenes in northern Afghanistan
Mosque
The road from Kabaul to Herat.
It was hot, like riding into a blast furnace, but it wasn't safe to travel at night.
Dust storm coming!
IRAN
Iran was a prosperous and friendly place in 1971.
TURKEY
I diverted from the regular "overland route" taken by most western travelers, and dipped down by Lake Van into southern Turkey. Naïve as i was about Turkey i didn't realize i was traveling through Kurdistan, or what should be Kurdistan..... You don't learn a lot when you don't speak the language. Oh to have had a smart phone with translation apps!
Storks delivering a baby?
Making ice cream
Somewhere in Kurdistan
Winnowing grain
Stopping at one village i was shown old Roman wine making vats dug into the rock. I spent the night in a nearby village where the locals tried to teach me to play dominoes. The next day i "helped" them till a field.
GREECE, YUGOSLAVIA, ITALY, AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS
After 7 months in Asia prices in Europe were a shock. And it was "western" civilization and not as interesting as Asia. I was getting low on cash so couldn't afford film, and was kind of burned out on traveling at that point and taking photo's.. Yugoslavia was the only "iron curtain" country i could travel in as all the others were off limits to Americans. Yugoslavia only gave a 3 day transit visa. In Yugoslavia i didn't realize that i was actually traveling through what are now Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia.
When i entered Italy from Yugoslavia Nixon had just taken the US dollar off the "gold standard" so the Italian banks wouldn't change travelers checks! So i was essentially pennyless and just camped out in a gravel pit, going to the bank each day until they finally figured out that they could cash travelers checks again..... Traveling in Europe without much money meant i had to scrimp to get to Holland where i had friends and hoped to find some work. Spent time in Holland picking apples to make some money and living on a farm. Sold the Yamaha to get enough money to travel to Great Britain and then catch a cheap flight home. Got back to my mom's house with $35.00.
In Holland
The places we've been!
Went through two front tires, probably due to the gas tanks on the forks.
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| Yamaha DT1 In Austria |
Al 2015 with '73 Yamaha DT3. Always wanted another
'71 DT1 but couldn't pass up this one. Just like old times!
(Same jacket, different hair!)
Post Script
What happened to the DT1?
Low on funds and unable to afford to take the bike to England i sold it in Holland to a fellow biker i met in Austria, Jan Koopman. He and his brother Hans rebuilt it and it became Hans bike. He had great fun riding it in the woods of Holland. He sold it to get a road bike and it's fate after that is unknown. I had lost track of them after leaving Holland but several years ago Hans tracked me down via the internet. He had become a motorbike racer and motorcycle journalist. He had recently written an article about my trip on the Yamaha and his ownership of that wonderful bike for the Dutch motorcycle magazine Het MotorRijwiel
Hans on the rebuilt DT1
Here's an Article i wrote for Adventure Motorcycle Magazine - January/February 2013 Issue 72. (1973 was typo in magazine). Describes traveling back in the dark ages before GPS, digital camera's, credit cards, internet, etc.
http://adventuremotorcycle.com/rides/rides-moto-adventuring-1973-style-new
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!
