Two motorcyclists stranded in the Simpson Desert are expected to be flown to Birdsville in far south-west Queensland later this morning. Their bikes had mechanical trouble around 440 kilometres south-east of Alice Springs. The two men were travelling with four other riders. One needed help to make it to Alice Springs, while it is believed the other three are riding to the Northern Territory town. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating the rescue and spokeswoman Joe Meehan says the two stranded men are believed to be in good health. “We don’t believe they have any medical issues, but they have insufficient fuel to make it in either direction and they are very short on food and water,” he said. “We are treating it as a distress situation and they do need our assistance.”