Op het moment ben ik door Vietnam aan het rijden voor een maand met de motor, van Noord naar Zuid. Een fantastische rit over de mooiste bergen en langs rijstvelden, een onvergetelijke ervaring. Ik doe dit op een oude Minsk motor, 125cc in China (rondreis azie 1/2 jaar) kwam ik een Engelsman tegen die hetzelfde had gedaan en die heeft een mail voor mij opgesteld met alle ins & outs die je moet weten. Dus als er mensen zijn die met dezelfde ideeen rondlopen kan je je voordeel doen met deze informatie.
Easy,
Basically little bits you need to know are on this website: www.minskclubvietnam.com : It's got all sorts of information but most importantly its got a really well written repair manual that you can print out. Not essential obviously but I'm taking one along with me.
This is what I've learnt about them mostly: They are tough as nails although prone to breaking down quite often. However they are notoriously easy to fix on the side of the rode. If you cant do that all the people I've spoken to say that it takes about ten minutes before someone drives past and can help you. Apparently every tiny village along the roads will have some guy with a couple of spanners and will have your bike running again. Ususally you've just gotta clean the spark plug and it will fire up again. Be careful about taking it to some Yamaha or Honda specific garages, I had some guys trying to glue my spark plug in because they were clueless. Keep an eye on them.
You said some of you work on your bikes back home so if you want to do stuff yourself then go along Thuoc Bac street just north east of the lake in old town and buy the tools you need. There's a list in the manual mentioned above, I didn't bother with puncture repair kit but got all the other stuff for like 100,000. (If you are buying a spark plug remover then make sure you get the right size. Most shops have smaller ones for the scooters, could be worth going to a Minsk mechanic shop and buy one off them, I got one for 30,000. Its a size 22 I think.) You might be better off tool shopping after you've got your bike because some of them have obviously got different bits put on them over the years. Mine has got the old style shocks and it took me ages to find a C-spanner (I don't know if thats what you call them in holland) but chances are each bike will need slightly different things. Mostly though you only need like 3 or 4 spanners. However if you cant be arsed or know nothing about fixing them then just rely on the locals. Im about to set off with guys who made it all the way from Luang Prabang with a screwdriver and pliers and I don't think they used them. What you will need is some bungee's though, again I the shops along that tool road sell them I think.
By the way while you're in Hanoi got to the corner in old town where they sell 'Bia Hoi.' Just ask people for directions, it's 3000 dong for a glass of beer, thats like 20cents. Tastes pretty shit but its cheap. Try and smoke the local tobacco too, they smoke it through a bong. Funny stuff, gives you a proper head rush for a few minutes. Anyway...
I couldn't find anywhere on the Internet selling bikes initially so ended up getting a slightly dubious one off some Vietnemese guy. But it seems to be ok. However it cost me $300, and I obviously paid a tourist tax on that. Since then my advise is either check the minsk face book page for other westerners selling them and various other forums. Try this website too: www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/.
But overall the best place would be to go to Luong Ngoc Quyen street North of the lake. Go to the east end. No.1 on that street is a 'Mr Cuong' the famous mechanic mentioned in the manual (above). Anyway he sells second hand ones and they should be pretty good I guess although the mechanic who I've been using is like 20 yards down the road from Cuong, you'll see a sign saying Minsk repair and service outside. I know for a fact that they've got nice ones in there right now for 300 - 350$. That would be my recommendation. I went to that mechanics house yesterday actually to work on my bike, he's sound, had lunch with his family and worked on my bike. Re-wired the electrics, got a horn, new spark and took the engine apart and got a luggage rack put on for $45. I trust him anyway and he's cheaper than Cuong. The guy's name is Phong. There's a girl who works there who speaks good English, she's close to being fit as well. I've heard a few dreamy stories of people getting absolute steals off westerners selling their bikes and gear for $200 but you have to get some lucky timing with that I guess. Make sure when you get you're bike it's got legal papers with it, it's only a small bit of laminated card but if you don't get one you'll struggle to sell it again.
Fucking hell what else.......Helmets are law, I wouldn't be surprised if the police didn't try and squeeze a few dollars out of you if you didn't get one. If you cant get a second hand shitty one from the mechanics or anywhere else then head down Hang Bai, south of the lake. Walk down that road for 10 or 15 minutes. Its like a 'motorbike street' full of jap scooter shops and stuff, bit of a walk (or cycle) but eventually on the left you'll see a string of helmet shops, cheapest we found that covers your temples and with a visor was 140,000 or something like that. Rain mac's around there should cost 80,000 - 100,000.
Like I said riding in the north of hanoi is great, a lot more remote and scenery is good. If you head down south get yourself a half decent map and drive down the Ho Chi Minh Highway rather than the Highway one. They run parallel but the Highway 1 is busy and dangerous and the scenery is shit.
When you get to Ho Chi Minh City, try and sell the bike's privately rather than to a garage because they'll only offer you about $50. Whereas I sold mine privately and got $330. If you're really struggling call Dauh on 01225656508. He's an honest mechanic there who might buy them off you, if not then call Kevin on +841654797017. He's an English guy who will probably definitely buy them off you but I'm not sure for how much. Tell him Craig sent you.
There is another good mechanic in Hoi an, look for a motorcycle rent a shop called 'easy rider.' If you're developing problems half way down the country that's a good place to stop and get it fixed.
If you run into real trouble you can put your bike on a train, it costs about $10 I think. They'll nick all the fuel out of the tank though so be warned. Only other tip I'd give you is never let the staff at petrol stations put the oil in the tank for you (they're 2stroke by the way.) Alway do it yourself, they never get the mixture quantity right and sometimes put the oil in first, I used to carry around a chopstick with me to give it a proper mix. Otherwise just shake the bike from side to side. It's all little different from your Suzuki's!
Sorry it's a long email but it should save you a bit of time and money. I think thats about everything you need to know I guess. Mail me back if you need anything else. Let me know how you get on either way.
Safe driving,
Craig
Easy,
Basically little bits you need to know are on this website: www.minskclubvietnam.com : It's got all sorts of information but most importantly its got a really well written repair manual that you can print out. Not essential obviously but I'm taking one along with me.
This is what I've learnt about them mostly: They are tough as nails although prone to breaking down quite often. However they are notoriously easy to fix on the side of the rode. If you cant do that all the people I've spoken to say that it takes about ten minutes before someone drives past and can help you. Apparently every tiny village along the roads will have some guy with a couple of spanners and will have your bike running again. Ususally you've just gotta clean the spark plug and it will fire up again. Be careful about taking it to some Yamaha or Honda specific garages, I had some guys trying to glue my spark plug in because they were clueless. Keep an eye on them.
You said some of you work on your bikes back home so if you want to do stuff yourself then go along Thuoc Bac street just north east of the lake in old town and buy the tools you need. There's a list in the manual mentioned above, I didn't bother with puncture repair kit but got all the other stuff for like 100,000. (If you are buying a spark plug remover then make sure you get the right size. Most shops have smaller ones for the scooters, could be worth going to a Minsk mechanic shop and buy one off them, I got one for 30,000. Its a size 22 I think.) You might be better off tool shopping after you've got your bike because some of them have obviously got different bits put on them over the years. Mine has got the old style shocks and it took me ages to find a C-spanner (I don't know if thats what you call them in holland) but chances are each bike will need slightly different things. Mostly though you only need like 3 or 4 spanners. However if you cant be arsed or know nothing about fixing them then just rely on the locals. Im about to set off with guys who made it all the way from Luang Prabang with a screwdriver and pliers and I don't think they used them. What you will need is some bungee's though, again I the shops along that tool road sell them I think.
By the way while you're in Hanoi got to the corner in old town where they sell 'Bia Hoi.' Just ask people for directions, it's 3000 dong for a glass of beer, thats like 20cents. Tastes pretty shit but its cheap. Try and smoke the local tobacco too, they smoke it through a bong. Funny stuff, gives you a proper head rush for a few minutes. Anyway...
I couldn't find anywhere on the Internet selling bikes initially so ended up getting a slightly dubious one off some Vietnemese guy. But it seems to be ok. However it cost me $300, and I obviously paid a tourist tax on that. Since then my advise is either check the minsk face book page for other westerners selling them and various other forums. Try this website too: www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/.
But overall the best place would be to go to Luong Ngoc Quyen street North of the lake. Go to the east end. No.1 on that street is a 'Mr Cuong' the famous mechanic mentioned in the manual (above). Anyway he sells second hand ones and they should be pretty good I guess although the mechanic who I've been using is like 20 yards down the road from Cuong, you'll see a sign saying Minsk repair and service outside. I know for a fact that they've got nice ones in there right now for 300 - 350$. That would be my recommendation. I went to that mechanics house yesterday actually to work on my bike, he's sound, had lunch with his family and worked on my bike. Re-wired the electrics, got a horn, new spark and took the engine apart and got a luggage rack put on for $45. I trust him anyway and he's cheaper than Cuong. The guy's name is Phong. There's a girl who works there who speaks good English, she's close to being fit as well. I've heard a few dreamy stories of people getting absolute steals off westerners selling their bikes and gear for $200 but you have to get some lucky timing with that I guess. Make sure when you get you're bike it's got legal papers with it, it's only a small bit of laminated card but if you don't get one you'll struggle to sell it again.
Fucking hell what else.......Helmets are law, I wouldn't be surprised if the police didn't try and squeeze a few dollars out of you if you didn't get one. If you cant get a second hand shitty one from the mechanics or anywhere else then head down Hang Bai, south of the lake. Walk down that road for 10 or 15 minutes. Its like a 'motorbike street' full of jap scooter shops and stuff, bit of a walk (or cycle) but eventually on the left you'll see a string of helmet shops, cheapest we found that covers your temples and with a visor was 140,000 or something like that. Rain mac's around there should cost 80,000 - 100,000.
Like I said riding in the north of hanoi is great, a lot more remote and scenery is good. If you head down south get yourself a half decent map and drive down the Ho Chi Minh Highway rather than the Highway one. They run parallel but the Highway 1 is busy and dangerous and the scenery is shit.
When you get to Ho Chi Minh City, try and sell the bike's privately rather than to a garage because they'll only offer you about $50. Whereas I sold mine privately and got $330. If you're really struggling call Dauh on 01225656508. He's an honest mechanic there who might buy them off you, if not then call Kevin on +841654797017. He's an English guy who will probably definitely buy them off you but I'm not sure for how much. Tell him Craig sent you.
There is another good mechanic in Hoi an, look for a motorcycle rent a shop called 'easy rider.' If you're developing problems half way down the country that's a good place to stop and get it fixed.
If you run into real trouble you can put your bike on a train, it costs about $10 I think. They'll nick all the fuel out of the tank though so be warned. Only other tip I'd give you is never let the staff at petrol stations put the oil in the tank for you (they're 2stroke by the way.) Alway do it yourself, they never get the mixture quantity right and sometimes put the oil in first, I used to carry around a chopstick with me to give it a proper mix. Otherwise just shake the bike from side to side. It's all little different from your Suzuki's!
Sorry it's a long email but it should save you a bit of time and money. I think thats about everything you need to know I guess. Mail me back if you need anything else. Let me know how you get on either way.
Safe driving,
Craig
