Adam
There are a few ways to quickly buy a minsk in Hanoi
Tourists - try to find on the net anyone finishing in Hanoi about the same time there are more riders than you would think so straight to the backpacking area { around the church )
I found two shops selling second hand minsks, had about four in all states of condition, still worth a try. The other side of the lake , walking distance.
Ask your hotel guy to put the word out - I taxied all around Hanoi to meet Vietnamese selling their bikes (I got lucky with a tourist) took me four days hassle including a day buying tyres, clutch plates etc.
Try minsk clubs like minskclubvietnam.freeforums.org • View forum - Buy , Sell or Trade your Minsk and drop a line in the forums There are a lot of guys in Hanoi who love their minsks and old hondas a sort of retro fashion. ( they take pride in having a bike with a clutch )
Hanoi is booming and any number of second hand hondas are available some almost brand new( expect little change from a $1000) Remember that you cannot buy a brand new bike unless you get in cahoots with a VN guy, more trouble than its worth. Again if your strapped for time this would be the go as tyres are about all you would need and they are more reliable, with parts and mechanics every mile. And no hassels with two-stroke oil ( A bugger when you run out and no-one speaks English).
I got good info at a rooftop bar on the main square, where a lot of expats hang out ,you'll find it.
The Minsks best quality is that it is tough, it has a steel frame easily welded and can take the rough roads ( they were copied from a Kawasaki scrambler) and if you get a good one ($350 max) no worries, but its a gamble , the guy I bought my bike from had used engine oil as two-stroke oil all the way from Saigon but I got 6000 klms without problems. Also I saw other tourists with minsks having a hard time. That said I would buy another one, dont ask me why just a soft spot I suppose Oh and they're cheap
Good Luck mate
PS here's a shot of the sticker Lao border guards put on your tank DSC00004 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
PSS A suggested route If you leave from Saigon with only a month would be to head north to Dalat then cross into Laos at Boy-y, Bolovan Plateau , Thousand islands, then into Cambodia ,Angkor Wat Pnomh Penh then back to Saigon accross the delta. Try to do no more than 200 klms a day, this is not a place to ride when tired,on that basis you could cover 2-4 thousand Klms if keen

A Wave will get you up most things you'll do with a bike as well. Especially cause they are light and don't stop running. You can, in extreme mud/rain situations even just walk them up in first gear on the lowest revs, they just never ever stop. And especially with a pair ot Trail or Enduro-Tyres (easy to find) they do everything.

now your questions:

• Is there any greater likelihood of finding a bike in Hanoi vs Saigon? Pricing differences between the two?

> No. Both are massiv and full of bikes. Minsks are cheaper in Hanoi, Super Cubs are cheaper in Saigon. But Waves, Scoopyi's, automatic and all thos are the same and easily avalable.

• Is finding a shop going to be a simple proposition? E.g. just asking moto taxis or something? Or should I arrange something in advance?

> You don't need a shop, what you want are private people. If you go for a shop you need a second hand one who ignores the rules, cause still: it is officially illegal. This will not be very hard. Just ask the Hostel, how I say, they are very used to people needing bikes.

• Same with the time it takes to make the transaction. Can it be done in a day, or should I try to get things going online before I get there to save time?

>If you really want to you will be ready to go 4 hours after arriving in your hostel. You'll pay a little more and not see so many different bikes, but with an original Honda that is still fairly new, there is not much that can happen to you. And if, mechanic are everywhere, parts as well and parts are cheap, labour is usually free or minimal (think 50 ct for 2 hours)


As an alternative: I have read posts supporting and detracting from Minsk bikes. What's the consensus around here?

• Are Minsks worth getting into rather than a Wave?

> with your time frame and the definitive wish to see 3 countries - no. Don't get me wrong, I am on one, since last year January, driven it all the way, though all countries, all corners of them, going to cross the border to Timor Leste tomorrow, repairing it I don't know how often and I love every single second of it. It's old, smelly, unrelieble, consuming fuel like crazy, vibrating, shaking and all those things. But they are also great fun. Whatever breaks is easy to fix, the engine need 3 tools only to be taken apart, and bla bla bla - bottom line, don't if you defo wanna see 3 countries, don't if you're defo on a time-budget. Cause a 300 km day is a long day on a minsk, especially if you don't get a custom seat-padding.

• Are they more available in Hanoi vs Saigon?

> Hanoi. Still some in Saigon, but Hanoi has the dedicated shops and most parts are available as well. But they are getting less and less. When I bought mine in January 2010 you could barely walk 5 meters in the backpacker area without smelling a minsk. When I did a visa-run from Indonesia in November I saw only 2 bikes for sale in 1,5 weeks.

• What are the specs and prices I should expect on those?

> dirty, maintainance-loving, parts not available outside of 3 or 4 places in the whole of south-east-asia. 125cc, two-stroke., slow (75km/h with luggage is already pushing it) Prices depend on the conditions. Useless shit goes for 50$ something that'll get you out of the city before falling apart is 150$ and 200+ can be anything from a brilliant bike you luckily scored to crap. I paid 250 with saddle-bags and new clutch-plates = a few crappy tools I threw away. It took me 5 hours to buy it, first day in Hanoi, and Vietnam for that mater. Was I lucky, maybe.



For both bikes, are there specific shops or contacts that anyone recommends?

>There are 2 dedicated Minsk-Shop, but even they are giving up on them slowly. Cuongs is the original place where you can stil find most of the parts, or they find them for you. But even they stoppend the rental business and are selling their bikes. The other one is just 10 meters down the road.
For the Honda, as said earlier, ask your Hostel, either of the two competing ones, Hanoi BPs or Hanoi Central BPs, they are both cool places with friendly people.

And just a random question: I rode China on a Qingqi 200GY and loved it. Are there Qingqi dealers in Vietnam? I'd ride that bike again.

> There are Hongda, Hoynda, Hondya, Susuki, Susuky, Kamasaki and what not copies from China. Haven't seen yours specifically, but generally the 50 bugs saved are lost in performance and repairs.



And just cause I love mine:

>>( they were copied from a Kawasaki scrambler)

No. They are a DKW-copy, but an official one. The Minsk factory was opened by DKW themself. But as history went on in the Eastern parts of Europe it became a state-owned soviet factory. Kawasaki scramlers are in fact DKW-copies. But they were not officially copying, they were Japanese-style-inventing.

As timae and I mentioned, tourists are normally the best bet for quick bike purchases, but as you are travelling in May you will find less tourists riding bikes. I was in Hanoi October 09 and there were only two riders on minsks in BP areas, forcing me to look elsewhere.
I shall use the term similar when comparing minsks and kwakas from now on , thanks for the info Timea

In-Progress Follow-Up
 

Hey everyone-
Thanks for all the tips, you got me started right. Here's the short update:

• I bought a Honda Win in Hanoi from the guys that run Vietnam-Motorbikes. It was $450 for the bike, considerably more than the street price, but they did a bunch of work on the bike to get me started and they have a buyback program which is something I like to have as an option.
• I rode NW from Hanoi and crossed into Lao at Odoumxai with no problems. They asked for a sales contract, which didn't exist, but let me through anyway.
• I've now ridden through a bit of Laos and am stuck at the border in Pakxan. I'm going to start a fresh thread for advice on that situaion.
• I've been doing a little blogging when I have some downtime: adamcohn.tumblr.com
• I've been adding photos to a publicly-visible FB album: Facebook

Thanks again, and check out the other thread if you have advice on getting a bike into Thailand.
Adam