Vietnam biking adventure
Discussion
bongtom said:
Great trip!
The reason the bike it a complete piece of crap is because it is not a Honda but a Viet copy, made from KDK (Knock down kits) from China. Same as the "Honda" Win, which are either a Sufat (Pretty good) or Chinese junk.
They have all been beaten within an inch of their lives!
I think it is genuine honda tbh as it has a lot of honda marked pieces including the engine cases, plus it has a keihin carb. I think its main issue is just a total lack of any maintenance throughout its life 😂The reason the bike it a complete piece of crap is because it is not a Honda but a Viet copy, made from KDK (Knock down kits) from China. Same as the "Honda" Win, which are either a Sufat (Pretty good) or Chinese junk.
They have all been beaten within an inch of their lives!
CAPP0 said:
A trip like this is absolutely on my bucket list. Very envious indeed. I need to work out how to make it happen.
Me and my wife did this a few years ago.Started in Hanoi.
Rode out to Cat Ba (Ha Long Bay) by taking the ferry from Hai Phong.
Stayed there a few days.
Same ferry back
Then all the way South to Saigon, over the following month, Hue, Hai Van, etc,
Fantastic.
Do it again in a heartbeat.
We rented out 110cc Honda Waves
£30 each for the month.
Petrol was generally a top up each day, costing about £1.00 to £2.00 each bike.
At Saigon, we took our 2 bikes to Ga Saigon train station.
Took them to freight, and they crated them up and sent them back to Hanoi for us.
Cost about £23 each.
Few days later we arrived Hanoi, after staying and playing in Saigon for a few days.
Love to do it again.
R1.
.
.
Edited by Register1 on Tuesday 12th December 18:01
because South East AsiaAceOfHearts said:
supercommuter said:
What are you budgeting for the trip? Can't believe how cheap it has been so far!
Do you need insurance over there to ride?
How long are you doing this for?
I do have travel insurance which covers bike riding but only from a health perspective. Basically its illegal over here for a foreigner to ride a bike but so many people do it the police turn a blind eye if tou slip them a few quid (so i have heard!) Do you need insurance over there to ride?
How long are you doing this for?
I have yet to be pulled over but i expect it to happen once or twice.
I have a 3 month visa for Vietnam but i have rented my house out for a year contract, so after Vietnam I will be travelling a while longer but not sure where yet.
supercommuter said:
Feel free to ignore this, but Is your house rental giving you some money over the top of mortgage or did you save up loads for a years travelling? We are doing it in 2020
After April (new tax year) i will be getting about £150 monthly top up from the house rent, but i basically left my last job with some share money which im using to fund the trip80Km of tough roads yesterday. Total now 512km.
From my hotel a group of us took the bikes to a local waterfall, got lost, and ended up doing some seriously rough green laning with our poor little scooters. Great fun!
On the way back we decided to explore a bit again and ended up down some more dirt roads in the dark, which is where i found my headlights totally inadequate, so maybe something else for the list although i dont plan riding at night again.
Tomorrow i am back at Ho Chi Minh for a couple of days before moving on to Mekong Delta.
From my hotel a group of us took the bikes to a local waterfall, got lost, and ended up doing some seriously rough green laning with our poor little scooters. Great fun!
On the way back we decided to explore a bit again and ended up down some more dirt roads in the dark, which is where i found my headlights totally inadequate, so maybe something else for the list although i dont plan riding at night again.
Tomorrow i am back at Ho Chi Minh for a couple of days before moving on to Mekong Delta.
Edited by AceOfHearts on Thursday 14th December 07:04
Edited by AceOfHearts on Thursday 14th December 07:05
torqueofthedevil said:
I go in a couple of weeks, I’ve found that if you read the small print, holiday insurance basically covers nothing, certainly not riding a motorbike. Any info on insurers that do would be most appreciated!
Thanks
There are companies that will cover you if you have a licence to cover that bike, wear a helmet and you are not drunk. Nomads for one, or at least they did when I had insurance out there.Thanks
Before i write this I’m not looking to come across as a prophet of doom. Merely just pointing out the facts.
To ride a scooter / motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese license. Of course the vast majority of people will not get one ( legitimately or not ). The chances of the police getting upset if you don’t have one when stopped for a normal traffic offence is nil. They will not care. But again for insurance to work for you over here you would need a Vietnamese licence as you are not complying with the local laws.
Also be very aware of being involved in any altercation with Vietnamese. You are immediately in the wrong as a you are the foreigner ( no different to most countries in this region ) . Also if you cause injury or even worse to a local you are in serious trouble. And the best way to get into this trouble is drink driving.
I know of one lad who had a local crash into him whilst he ( the expat ) was drunk. No licence , no insurance , bike not registered in his name and he was deemed to be in the wrong lane when accident occurred. The Local lad died. Expat was given 25 years in prison. You get water and rice as daily meal. Additional food has to be paid for. One 30 minute visit every 6 months.
The last I heard his father had paid off the family to the tune of at least $50,000 just to get some sort of a pardon and get him out of prison. But he would not get his passport back pending further trial. Not sure how it ended up.
Again folks not trying to spoil anyone’s fun at all. But I know how easy it is with the lax traffic laws over here to sometimes just have a beer or two and then hit the road. But it can be a very expensive ride.
To ride a scooter / motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese license. Of course the vast majority of people will not get one ( legitimately or not ). The chances of the police getting upset if you don’t have one when stopped for a normal traffic offence is nil. They will not care. But again for insurance to work for you over here you would need a Vietnamese licence as you are not complying with the local laws.
Also be very aware of being involved in any altercation with Vietnamese. You are immediately in the wrong as a you are the foreigner ( no different to most countries in this region ) . Also if you cause injury or even worse to a local you are in serious trouble. And the best way to get into this trouble is drink driving.
I know of one lad who had a local crash into him whilst he ( the expat ) was drunk. No licence , no insurance , bike not registered in his name and he was deemed to be in the wrong lane when accident occurred. The Local lad died. Expat was given 25 years in prison. You get water and rice as daily meal. Additional food has to be paid for. One 30 minute visit every 6 months.
The last I heard his father had paid off the family to the tune of at least $50,000 just to get some sort of a pardon and get him out of prison. But he would not get his passport back pending further trial. Not sure how it ended up.
Again folks not trying to spoil anyone’s fun at all. But I know how easy it is with the lax traffic laws over here to sometimes just have a beer or two and then hit the road. But it can be a very expensive ride.
Se7enheaven said:
Before i write this I’m not looking to come across as a prophet of doom. Merely just pointing out the facts.
To ride a scooter / motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese license. Of course the vast majority of people will not get one ( legitimately or not ). The chances of the police getting upset if you don’t have one when stopped for a normal traffic offence is nil. They will not care. But again for insurance to work for you over here you would need a Vietnamese licence as you are not complying with the local laws.
So as I remember for the Top Gear three they actually went and did Vietnamese Licenses for their bikes? Does this mean they legitimately rode in Vietnam or was the license stuff just a stunt?To ride a scooter / motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese license. Of course the vast majority of people will not get one ( legitimately or not ). The chances of the police getting upset if you don’t have one when stopped for a normal traffic offence is nil. They will not care. But again for insurance to work for you over here you would need a Vietnamese licence as you are not complying with the local laws.
At least I don't have this local license rubbish to worry about in Thailand - UK License works fine, it also got me out of a helmet offence about 2.5 years ago - the cops didn't know how to process the ticket with a non thai license in the rural north so let me go
In the touristy areas particularly in the South you wear a helmet because the local police have helmet enforcement/license carrying enforcement days and know most non thai won't have either- this is the deal in Phuket. No License 500 baht fine, No helmet another 500 Baht fine (those were 2011 vintage prices when I was living there for a few months).Edited by sjtscott on Thursday 14th December 16:59
sjtscott said:
Se7enheaven said:
Before i write this I’m not looking to come across as a prophet of doom. Merely just pointing out the facts.
To ride a scooter / motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese license. Of course the vast majority of people will not get one ( legitimately or not ). The chances of the police getting upset if you don’t have one when stopped for a normal traffic offence is nil. They will not care. But again for insurance to work for you over here you would need a Vietnamese licence as you are not complying with the local laws.
So as I remember for the Top Gear three they actually went and did Vietnamese Licenses for their bikes? Does this mean they legitimately rode in Vietnam or was the license stuff just a stunt?To ride a scooter / motorbike in Vietnam you need a Vietnamese license. Of course the vast majority of people will not get one ( legitimately or not ). The chances of the police getting upset if you don’t have one when stopped for a normal traffic offence is nil. They will not care. But again for insurance to work for you over here you would need a Vietnamese licence as you are not complying with the local laws.
At least I don't have this local license rubbish to worry about in Thailand - UK License works fine, it also got me out of a helmet offence about 2.5 years ago - the cops didn't know how to process the ticket with a non thai license in the rural north so let me go
In the touristy areas particularly in the South you wear a helmet because the local police have helmet enforcement/license carrying enforcement days and know most non thai won't have either- this is the deal in Phuket. No License 500 baht fine, No helmet another 500 Baht fine (those were 2011 vintage prices when I was living there for a few months).Edited by sjtscott on Thursday 14th December 16:59
Strictly speaking no licence is needed for any motorcycle under 125cc (I kid you not) but in reality that only applies to locals.
To be honest if you have never ridden a scooter then I'd advise against riding in Cambodia. It is much more unruly than Thailand and Vietnam and there are no road rules - wrong side of the road, ok. No lights, ok. No licence, ok. Drunk, ok. Underage, ok. Speeding, ok. Cows on the road, ok. Kids on the road, ok.
Drive with your lights on in the day (Restricted to VIP only), NOT OK!
Super video by the by.
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