Cheers for the great report Alex. You confirm much of what I've heard about Vietnam. I've been all through Thailand on rented bikes ... and a bit in Cambodia. Vietnam I've only visited off the bike.

A few quick questions:
I'm amazed how cheap those bikes were. Are there other, more "enduro" type bikes for sale there? I rode 125 two strokes all over Thailand ... like the CRM125 dual sport bike ... fantastic. Anything like that? Or other possibles that might be better in mud? I guess all the old Russian Minsk bikes are mostly gone by now?

You mention all the rules contrary to a foreigner owning a bike ... so how do you work that out with the seller? Reports I've read don't seem to have problems buying from a dealer or shop? Thoughts?

I have a Motorcycle endorsement on my California license and an International driving license. The CA license is very trick and official looking with a Halogram and bar code. Should be OK?

Plus One on your riding tips. My first ride in Thailand on highway I was stunned when trucks and buses would pass coming my way. A few times I ended up in the Paddy ... but soon adapted once I knew "the rules".

Did you end up selling on your bikes once you got back to Saigon? Or? Any hassles doing this? When you buy the bike ... what official paperwork do you have to show as proof it is yours? Will dealers buy a bike from a Farang?
Legal?

Have you heard anything about taking your Vietnamese based bike into Laos?
Anyone do that? Possible?

Thanks again for your report.

Other bikes:

Yes you can get enduro style bikes in Vietnam. The CONS are the price, and they don't come up for sale all that often. At vietnam motorcycles/scooters classifieds - craigslist at the time of writing this, there are two Yamahas ... Yamaha DT125 is 23mill VND ($1090) and DT175 is 36mill ($1700). Bikes are currently in Ho Chi Minh but will soon be moved to Nha Trang.

So you can see the price is much higher. You can also get 125cc bikes like these ones, but they are just road bikes ... Daelim VS125 Cruiser @ $650 (you can get Daelim's a little cheaper, this is top price) or the Suzuki GN 125 @ $500

If you wanted Enduro bikes I would go rental and check out someone like Vietnam Motorbike Rentals, Motorbike Tours Vietnam, Off Road Motorbike Tour, Motorbike Rent Hanoi. This is a small but growing company owned by Hung Nguyen, a young man who had a passion for motorcycles and long journeys. I had the pleasure of meeting him Nov 2013 at his Saigon shop and at the time he was introducing one way rentals between Hanoi and Saigon and other services.

Flamingo travel do rent out bikes sizes up to the SUZUKI DR-Z400 so you will be catered to your needs. I am mentioning Flamingo simply because this was the company I was going to use if I rented the motorbikes for our journey.

If you want to Minsk 125cc you will find they are more popular up North and you may have issues selling them down South. They are not used as much anymore, but here is a link to the Minsk Club with heaps of pointers and ideas. Minsk Club
Here is a brief post from the Minsk Club forum about an Italian guy why hired from Flamingo and toured Vietnam in about 23 days. He has a blog somewhere about the trip.
minskclubvietnam.freeforums.org • View topic - Hellò from Italy

Buying the bike

There are no problems buying a SECOND HAND BIKE from a dealer or private. I would only buy private from a fellow traveler. This is what you need. Each bike should come with a Blue Card showing the rego number, engine number. It will also have the name and address of the FIRST person that bought the bike. If you can not get a blue card the bike will be difficult to sell. It shows ownership. As well as this get a receipt or notification that you bought the bike.

You will find dealers on Craigslist and Google search

It's still illegal for you to own the bike, BUT Vietnam is quite lax about tourists traveling like this. The problems arrive when the tourist does something silly and attracts attention. My son and I had zero problems, we just blended in and cruised pass the police. Your Licence about as much as you can do!

You will not be able to buy a NEW bike, your not Vietnamese!

We sold our bikes in Saigon for $600. In that price we threw in the two helmets, the security chain and two sets of wet gear. Sold them through Craigslist and it took three days. Dealers will take your bike no problem, as long as it comes woith the blue card. Dealers offered us $390 for both bikes to give you an idea.

Getting across to Laos.. Boarder crossing are a mystery. I have search, talked to individuals, one of my friends tried it and was not allowed to come from Cambodia into Vietnam.
There is a Win 100cc for sale in Malaysia, on this forum, and he has apparently had no trouble getting out of Vietnam into Laos.
I have heard of stories where some travelers have been knocked back, gone down the the next boarder crossing, again got knocked back and gone to the third and got through :confused1:

The rules in Vietnam are often enforced with the officers individual bent.... how much is it worth for me to let you through. ... and the amount is not the same each time, there is no benchmark! But if the person dealing with you is in a good mood, well its a heck of a lot easier.

I was pulled over for speeding a while back (driving a car - and I have a Vietnamese License) The first thing they want are the car papers...which I passed over with a 500.000VND note. Thank you sir you can go....They could have taken my license, impounded the car as they did to a friend of mine...SO the moral of the story is... DON'T STAND OUT, BLEND IN>

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Thanks so much for all the great and current info on Vietnam! So useful!
Can't wait to get back over there! (more questions coming!)

Hoi An recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESSCO in December 1999.
Up to now, the ancient town of Hoi An preserves it's original architectures, including houses, temples, pogodas, streets, ports, civil building, religious structures and other non- religious worshipping structures. The everyday lifestyle with deep-rooted customs and cultural activities is fascinating.


Hoi An is beautiful at night. Countless colorful lights adorn the town.




Don't miss trying the local dish>Cao Lau Noodles. The unique noodle dish can only be made in Hoi An - all other renditions in Vietnam or elsewhere are not authentic.


Plenty of cafe and restaurants catering for all tastes


Lots of tourists come to Hoi An in the hope of having tailored clothes within just a few days and at reasonable prices. Since there are nearly 400 cloth shops and tailor shops compact in this small town, there is a wide assortment for customers of all tastes to select.

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Just a quick update Mollydog, re: Getting a bike from Vietnam to Laos.

I received a reply from Capslock on this forum about how he got across the boarder.
See the post HERE
Note that he bought the bike from Flamingo Travel, which I am assuming from the email he sent, they would have given him the paper signed by the "owner" (the Vietnamese person in who's name the bike is registered) transferring all rights to capslock.

The required paperwork is:
- motorbike's registration (Blue Card)
- visa
- authorization grant document of motorbike's owner (his name must be the same as in motorbike's registration)... a letter from the "owner" saying I'm free to do with it as I like.

Remember we can not own a motorbike in Vietnam!

CONS: In vietnam, it's not easy to find the original ownership because the bike is usually sold many times without notice to the government office. The seller and buyer deal directly and don't want to pay tax. This is very popular here in Vietnam but it's illegal. So when when you bought a bike you would have to track the original first owner and get their permission to use the bike.... of course, they could relieve you off the bike just as easily... That's why I mentioned earlier to buy off a fellow traveler.

This question of boarder hopping gets messier ...

This an extract from a forum:
i went to lao bao and they turned me down flat- u ok bike no - u go lao bao bye bye... he said somethin about tourist too... they didnt even ask for any documents just looked at my passport and seen my visa was a touristy one and said no... i was gonna try and bribe them but there wasnt even a convenient moment...

so i tried the next border up whose name i forget cau treo or somethin i think - was quite a drive to get there but they again just said you ok bike no!!! they said the laos government doesn't allow it anymore...

So on a tourist visa... no go!

It seems that the boarders are closing "no more Vietnamese bikes with 3rd country riders."

I would suggest, talking to a hire company or a tour company, tell that you want to boarder hop and see how they respond.

It looks to me too messy to go from Vietnam out, it appears to be a little easier to enter Vietnam but I would certainly do my home work before trying.

Hope this helps.

Alex

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Thanks Alex for filling in all the info gaps!
I've just got to find a way to do this again!

Cheers!

patrick

Here is a good discussion about boarder crossings - Vietnam.

See post HERE

Seems the only?? way is to approach a tour company and organize your requirements with them.

Whether you do a tour with them or get them to have someone meet you with the correct paperwork and get you through as a person/s on a tour, might be the way to go....

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

On my way back to Vietnam in March for 3-4 weeks. Will be doing the Mekong Delta on a bike, which I'll buy in Saigon.
If there is anything, anyone wants me to check out just message me
Can't wait....

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.

Hey Alex I will be buying a 125 in Saigon around March 10th and riding it through the Mekong to Phu Quoc, where I am based at the moment. Would love to buy you a if we are around at the same time.

Have you considered including Phu Quoc on your itinerary? It is a beautiful island and not too developed yet. But it is changing fast, so better to see it now. There are some abysmal dirt roads if you want some offroad adventure. You can catch a ferry from Rach Gia or Ha Tien.

Hi,
Yeh, I was looking at going over... looks like a great place for some R&R.
I hope to be in Saigon around the 10th... so lets grab a and chat about possabilities.
I have a VN sim card, which I will load as soon as I land. 01228020151.
Maybe see you in Saigon

__________________
Age does not protect you from motorbikes. But motorbikes, to some extent, protect you from age.