Vietnam biking adventure
Discussion
So at the moment i am in Saigon, and to give a brief sum up of my situation so far:
-I quit my job
-Rented out my house
-Got a 3 month tourist visa
-Arrived in Saigon on Tuesday 5th December.
Plan is to buy a bike (already sorted
) and tour the country for a couple of months and end up in Hanoi.
Bike in question is a Honda Wave 110cc. I paid over the odds at 6,000,000 dong (just under £200) but it was the best i could find and i have been looking for a couple of days. Main thing was it had the proper honda engine and mikuni carb still (most have been swapped for chinese copies) and it drives relatively straight. That being said all is not perfect . . .
-I quit my job
-Rented out my house
-Got a 3 month tourist visa
-Arrived in Saigon on Tuesday 5th December.
Plan is to buy a bike (already sorted
) and tour the country for a couple of months and end up in Hanoi.Bike in question is a Honda Wave 110cc. I paid over the odds at 6,000,000 dong (just under £200) but it was the best i could find and i have been looking for a couple of days. Main thing was it had the proper honda engine and mikuni carb still (most have been swapped for chinese copies) and it drives relatively straight. That being said all is not perfect . . .
So today is the first day i have been able to give it a proper look over. List of jobs so far is as follows:
-Broken tail light lens
-Floppy tail light unit
-Tail / brake light dont work
-Throttle cable is very loose
-Needs an oil change and chain adjustment
-Front disk is amazingly knackered
Here it is outside the shop i bought it from yesterday
Lovely pink anodised brake lever
First thing today then is get the lights working. I got a tip off about a hardware market a 5 minute ride away which blew me away. Anything engineering related was for sale; nuts, bolts, tools, springs, plcs, timers, relays, pumps, valves you name it!
New tail bulb bought for 10000 dong (30p), penny washers 2000 dong (6p), superglue 15000 dong (50p)
I cracked on outside the market
I also found a large chunk of bone under the seat!
The tail light lugs were broken so the penny washers were used to take up the gap
Before:
One side done to show what i did
Front disk may be put off due to expense, it works but is badly warped. This takes me up to now anyways and im just going to find somewhere to service it. Hopefully i will keep this well up to date depending on time and internet connection
-Broken tail light lens
-Floppy tail light unit
-Tail / brake light dont work
-Throttle cable is very loose
-Needs an oil change and chain adjustment
-Front disk is amazingly knackered
Here it is outside the shop i bought it from yesterday
Lovely pink anodised brake lever
First thing today then is get the lights working. I got a tip off about a hardware market a 5 minute ride away which blew me away. Anything engineering related was for sale; nuts, bolts, tools, springs, plcs, timers, relays, pumps, valves you name it!
New tail bulb bought for 10000 dong (30p), penny washers 2000 dong (6p), superglue 15000 dong (50p)
I cracked on outside the market
I also found a large chunk of bone under the seat!
The tail light lugs were broken so the penny washers were used to take up the gap
Before:
One side done to show what i did
Front disk may be put off due to expense, it works but is badly warped. This takes me up to now anyways and im just going to find somewhere to service it. Hopefully i will keep this well up to date depending on time and internet connection
Thanks guys, i will try not to post up too many food pictures
Yesterday was my first real day on the road. Saigon to Mui Ne, I got a bit lost leaving the city so ended up doing 252km which took 7 hours!
It was an eventful trip to say the least and utterly draining. The roads were not great but got a bit nicer towards the coast. I ran out of petrol once (gauge on the bike doesnt work) and the front tyre split open and needed replacing.
To fill the tank cost me 50,000dong (£1.60) and the replacement tyre was 200,000 (£6.50) including fitting and tensioning the chain.
I also managed to lose my phone out of the holder at 35mph but surprisingly it survived and the tempered glass screen protector took the brunt of the damage.
I finally arrived just after dark. Woke up this morning to an ok view out my hotel room window . . .
Yesterday was my first real day on the road. Saigon to Mui Ne, I got a bit lost leaving the city so ended up doing 252km which took 7 hours!
It was an eventful trip to say the least and utterly draining. The roads were not great but got a bit nicer towards the coast. I ran out of petrol once (gauge on the bike doesnt work) and the front tyre split open and needed replacing.
To fill the tank cost me 50,000dong (£1.60) and the replacement tyre was 200,000 (£6.50) including fitting and tensioning the chain.
I also managed to lose my phone out of the holder at 35mph but surprisingly it survived and the tempered glass screen protector took the brunt of the damage.
I finally arrived just after dark. Woke up this morning to an ok view out my hotel room window . . .
Edited by AceOfHearts on Sunday 10th December 07:33
Thanks for all the great comments guys and I will be sure to look up the recommendations.
I have avoided the police at Mui Ne so far. Apparently the main check point is on the coast road north to the sand dunes which I am avoiding. I have heard horror stories of people handing over 3,000,000 to them!
I have one more night chilling at the hotel here and then im moving on to Cat Tien national park tomorrow for a couple of days to break up the Journey back to HCMC.
I should be going back through Cat Tien in a few weeks though on my way North (probably just in the new year) so let me know if you are around Steve Bass
I have some mods to do to the bike later so expect another update
I have avoided the police at Mui Ne so far. Apparently the main check point is on the coast road north to the sand dunes which I am avoiding. I have heard horror stories of people handing over 3,000,000 to them!
I have one more night chilling at the hotel here and then im moving on to Cat Tien national park tomorrow for a couple of days to break up the Journey back to HCMC.
I should be going back through Cat Tien in a few weeks though on my way North (probably just in the new year) so let me know if you are around Steve Bass
I have some mods to do to the bike later so expect another update
Edited by AceOfHearts on Monday 11th December 05:27
So today i have been tinkering with the electrics in preparation for my 200km journey tomorrow. This included fitting a USB phone charger which i brought over from England with me.
I removed the battery cover to find this:
Lots of dodgy wiring and wrapped up in strange yellow plastic
I looked at what i could and cleaned up the connections i could get to easily, including the battery terminals. I gave them a good scrape back with the screwdriver and used a little engine oil from the dipstick to hopefully keep them from rusting again. Same with the starter relay connections.
After that i wrapped the wiring and starter relay in a plastic bag to hopefully keep it away from the worst of the weather, and fitted my little charger unit. As the bike has no accessible handlebars i had to mount it to the front rack.
The front disc is so bad its laughable. Gutted i didnt spot in the shop but live and learn. I really think its not a good idea to leave it for the duration of the trip as its basically unusable, so i will be hunting around for a mechanic in the next few days that can get a replacement disc for not silly money
I removed the battery cover to find this:
Lots of dodgy wiring and wrapped up in strange yellow plastic
I looked at what i could and cleaned up the connections i could get to easily, including the battery terminals. I gave them a good scrape back with the screwdriver and used a little engine oil from the dipstick to hopefully keep them from rusting again. Same with the starter relay connections.
After that i wrapped the wiring and starter relay in a plastic bag to hopefully keep it away from the worst of the weather, and fitted my little charger unit. As the bike has no accessible handlebars i had to mount it to the front rack.
The front disc is so bad its laughable. Gutted i didnt spot in the shop but live and learn. I really think its not a good idea to leave it for the duration of the trip as its basically unusable, so i will be hunting around for a mechanic in the next few days that can get a replacement disc for not silly money
Edited by AceOfHearts on Monday 11th December 09:47
So today i did 180km to Cat Tien national park which was a much better ride than the last one. Total distance so far is 432km.
I had been asking about the front brake in a few smaller garages but nobody could get the parts or were interested in doing it. I did try to explain to one guy who misunderstood me and pulled the front wheel off to replace the bearings Good thing the wheel was pulled off again though as the speedo drive washer was massively bent and chewing itself up in the housing. Must have been something the tyre guy did.
Anyways it all got cleaned up, speedo drive straightened and new wheel bearings for good measure. 100,000 dong (£3)
I carried on the ride and happened to stumble upon a Honda main dealer! Asked in there and he pointed me to a small garage just around the corner. I was in luck!
Explained the issue and one of the guys scooted off to find parts whilst the other started stripping the bike. He wasnt happy with the caliper so pulled it apart, cleaned up the pistons, new seals and rubbers fitted. The new discs and pads turned up, were fitted and now its working great, albeit i think it could do with a more thorough bleeding. Best of all it was all genuine honda parts used and the mechanic doing the work really knew his stuff. 45 minutes later i paid the 300,000 (£10) and was on my way!
Cant tell easily from the pics but the old disc was amazingly thin in the centre and badly warped. Anyways im here for a few days to explore the jungle so no more updates for a while. Apologies for all the text!
I had been asking about the front brake in a few smaller garages but nobody could get the parts or were interested in doing it. I did try to explain to one guy who misunderstood me and pulled the front wheel off to replace the bearings
Good thing the wheel was pulled off again though as the speedo drive washer was massively bent and chewing itself up in the housing. Must have been something the tyre guy did.
Anyways it all got cleaned up, speedo drive straightened and new wheel bearings for good measure. 100,000 dong (£3)
I carried on the ride and happened to stumble upon a Honda main dealer! Asked in there and he pointed me to a small garage just around the corner. I was in luck!
Explained the issue and one of the guys scooted off to find parts whilst the other started stripping the bike. He wasnt happy with the caliper so pulled it apart, cleaned up the pistons, new seals and rubbers fitted. The new discs and pads turned up, were fitted and now its working great, albeit i think it could do with a more thorough bleeding. Best of all it was all genuine honda parts used and the mechanic doing the work really knew his stuff. 45 minutes later i paid the 300,000 (£10) and was on my way!
Cant tell easily from the pics but the old disc was amazingly thin in the centre and badly warped. Anyways im here for a few days to explore the jungle so no more updates for a while. Apologies for all the text!
Edited by AceOfHearts on Tuesday 12th December 12:11
Edited by AceOfHearts on Tuesday 12th December 12:13
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.
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!
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
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