Large bikes in Laos,Vietnam,Cambodia+Myanmar

[motordude]

Hello all!
Doing a trip next year and want to go to the countries above amongst others.
I read somewhere that there is a ban on bigger bikes than 175cc in Vietnam. Is this the case? Is there anyway around it? What about Cambodia and Laos, big bike ban there too?

Myanmar/Burma. Anyone been there? Any advice how to get in with bikes, or is it impossible?

regards
John

[parkie]

Big bikes no problem in Laos & Cambodia,only an issue in Vietnam.

Good luck with Myanmar, possible but not so easy to get access. Try doing a search for previous posts abount Myanmar

[mmaarten]

The problem with Vietnam is not so much "big bikes". It is "any bike". Importing a vehicle into Vietnam (also temporary) is dificult and complicated....

Myanmar.... hmmmm...... Try to contact MTT (Myanmar tourist travel)... but don,t believe anything untill you see it, don't pay anything until you get it.

As said in the other post: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia are no problem

Maarten

[ckcooks]

Dunno if you checked out the othre post, but just an addition.
I got lucky gettin into Vietnam and just to reinforce the weird situation of the woule thing, a friend of mine tried to get in and as denied after a 2 day attempt.
Evern funnier, I never got the peperwork to enter Vietnam so it might as been as I smuggled it in. Anyhow, I was at the Mong Cai border trying to get into china and they asked for the customs paper to exit Vietnam. I told them that they never gave me one so they just made a new one for me! hahaha! custom has been very helpful. They even did not stamp my visa so I could give a go at china, and if I failed, i could come back into the country(which was the case) as the visa is a single entry.( atually they did this for me at all 3 borders I tried)

[Mingh]

Ignore my reply if your planned trip is part of a bigger one, and you're on your way on a big bike.
What we did/ Bought a Minsk 125cc 2stroke in Hanoi, drove it around North Vietnam, laos, Cambodia and back into vietnam to hanoi. Had not a single problem with crossing borders. The bike only failed on us once (burnt generator in Cambodia, BIG problem, but it got fixed in a few days). Cambodian roads were very hard on the bike, but nothing stops you to park your Minsk in Phnom Penh and rent a proper dirt bike (Baja or xr 250) for a week or so. Alltogether we were rather unprepared -we learned how to ride a motorbike in the old town of Hanoi-
Fantastic trip, 10.000km, 3 months loved every single one of them. Don't let people put you down on Vietnam, it is a morotbiking heaven. People who didn't like vietnam didn't try to get off the tourist trail. E.g. riding the Ho Chi Minh highway all the way was an incredible experience, not in the least because of the super friendly people we met.

If you venture into Cambodia, get the Adventure Cambodia book, by far the most challenging AND rewarding book ever, also log on to the www.GT-rider.com website, they can provide you with the best, most accurate info and the only reliable map of Laos.

let me know if you've more questions

[Simon the Locksmith]

What are the legalities of buying and selling bikes in vietnam? Thinking of going in Oct 2010 with 4 mates and want to buy Minsks and ride from Hanoi to Hoi Chi Mingh city then catch the train back. Any advice ?