Anyone toured Vietnam?

**kiwigazza** · 18th August 2009, 14:45

ah yeah, from what i gathered the idea is to get one of the newer models...had bigger suspension,different carb and few other things. there was 4 of us we had no problems other than having to pull the carb apart once due to a gasman putting oil straight in the tank before the gas so just blocked it up, i was on the side of the road pulling it apart when some locals came along took the carb back to there place, blew it out put it back together and then wouldnt let me give them anything for there help..thats pretty much how all the locals are over there

as far as i could tell was perfect bike, simple and everybody knows how to fix them although i did travel at the end with someone who had an older one and yeah nothin but problems.

if your in other parts of sea you can get alot better bikes, but north vn is def one of the best rides ive done

this was the guy i got mine off

http://www.offroadvietnam.com/elpophtml/cuong.htm

awesome dude although seems he doesnt rent them now although he would be the man to talk to.

i think that there is a place in hanoi that rents xr150s? or something like that

as for november unfortunatly i gotta do some work,im riding around here till end of october, hopefully shipping it back to nz and hopefully get some riding in jan/feb at home

depending on how long youve got i would say just go and figure it out when your there, probably wanna take some riding gear with you tho and make good quality copies of your licence etc, then you dont have to worry about when some dodgy cop gets his hands on it also want to check that your travel insurance will cover you as not too many are real keen on riding bikes

maybe you got that stuff under control just putting it out there......

**Boob Johnson** · 18th August 2009, 15:29

Originally Posted by ynot slow

There might be a new travel centre coming to a small town near you,the owners have had expereince in Thailand,and wealth of knowledge.If it opens be upfront and say you want to pick their brains for ideas,but will book it online,if you book with them say so as well,enjoy the trip.

Sounds all very secret squirrel at the mo hey Tony?

Originally Posted by kiwigazza

ah yeah, from what i gathered the idea is to get one of the newer models...had bigger suspension,different carb and few other things. there was 4 of us we had no problems other than having to pull the carb apart once due to a gasman putting oil straight in the tank before the gas so just blocked it up, i was on the side of the road pulling it apart when some locals came along took the carb back to there place, blew it out put it back together and then wouldnt let me give them anything for there help..thats pretty much how all the locals are over there

as far as i could tell was perfect bike, simple and everybody knows how to fix them although i did travel at the end with someone who had an older one and yeah nothin but problems.

if your in other parts of sea you can get alot better bikes, but north vn is def one of the best rides ive done

this was the guy i got mine off

http://www.offroadvietnam.com/elpophtml/cuong.htm

awesome dude although seems he doesnt rent them now although he would be the man to talk to.

i think that there is a place in hanoi that rents xr150s? or something like that

as for november unfortunatly i gotta do some work,im riding around here till end of october, hopefully shipping it back to nz and hopefully get some riding in jan/feb at home

depending on how long youve got i would say just go and figure it out when your there, probably wanna take some riding gear with you tho and make good quality copies of your licence etc, then you dont have to worry about when some dodgy cop gets his hands on it also want to check that your travel insurance will cover you as not too many are real keen on riding bikes

maybe you got that stuff under control just putting it out there......

Cheers again for the info Gaz, no hadn't gone down the travel insurance route yet so will consider that.

Yes was wondering about riding gear. I'm not planning on motorcycle touring the whole time, just a burst here n there & don't really want to take my $1000 Spidi leather jacket if ya know what I mean! (ie: adding to bag weight, take up a lot of space, ruining it etc) plus it would be way to hot to wear there surely? Any drama with getting some basic gear over there? What did you wear? Will do a mix of off road & road riding.

Definately not wanting to plan to much from this end at all, just gathering idea's & general pointers then let it flow naturally while im there.

**kiwigazza** · 18th August 2009, 15:51

yeah too hot for the leathers although does get a bit cold in the mountains, i wore shorts, t shirt and helmet but after seeing some nasty accidents ive now got good gear for all weather.

Not too sure where you could get some gear, probably thailand would be easiest...could be a good place to start around chang mai in the north there is plenty of bike hire and what not and heaps of good roads to ride its also alot easier than vietnam to sort things out if your not used to the asian ways.

**Boob Johnson** · 18th August 2009, 17:00

Originally Posted by kiwigazza

yeah too hot for the leathers although does get a bit cold in the mountains, i wore shorts, t shirt and helmet but after seeing some nasty accidents ive now got good gear for all weather.

Not too sure where you could get some gear, probably thailand would be easiest...could be a good place to start around chang mai in the north there is plenty of bike hire and what not and heaps of good roads to ride its also alot easier than vietnam to sort things out if your not used to the asian ways.

Yeah light all weather gear seems like the go. Don't seem to see locals wearing any gear at all, street cloths, no helmets etc.....mmmm

Chang Mai you say? That's were all the dirty old men settle with their Thai brides isn't it?

**kevfromcoro** · 18th August 2009, 18:31

I was up in chang mai last year... done a bit of riding its great.
Goto... www.gt-rider.com.... lots of good info in there.. the forum is a bit hard to find.. will post it up if you want.. got a few contacts up there.. kiwis and ozzies....at the moment iam working on getting back to oz.. setting up a bike and shipping it to singapore. and away we go... would like to get to veitnam.. think they have a 175 limit.bit of tea money might get me in
.. cant go in nov.. to soon for me.. maybe a year away.. anyone interested??

**Boob Johnson** · 18th August 2009, 19:09

Originally Posted by kevfromcoro

I was up in chang mai last year... done a bit of riding its great.
Goto... www.gt-rider.com.... lots of good info in there.. the forum is a bit hard to find.. will post it up if you want.. got a few contacts up there.. kiwis and ozzies....at the moment iam working on getting back to oz.. setting up a bike and shipping it to singapore. and away we go... would like to get to veitnam.. think they have a 175 limit.bit of tea money might get me in
.. cant go in nov.. to soon for me.. maybe a year away.. anyone interested??

Cheers for the info Kev. Once I get confirmation of my leaving date ill tap you up then

**kevfromcoro** · 19th August 2009, 05:29

Can you put up a bit of a atinary.. times and dates...
shag it .. i may come too..

**Boob Johnson** · 19th August 2009, 09:47

Originally Posted by kevfromcoro

Can you put up a bit of a atinary.. times and dates...
shag it .. i may come too..

Very rough outline as im not wanting to plan too much at this end & im still waiting for events to unfold here that enable me to go but it's getting rather close to a green light. It's just a matter of when not if, so if it's not by the end of this year it will be next year.

Land in Singapore sometime in November, day or two there then head up the peninsula to KL, day or two there (no plans on transport yet, probably bus), cross into Thailand, most likely by pass the mega touristie spots of Ko Samui & Phuket but who know's. Make way up to Bangkok & take it from there. Want to leave it as open as possible as you just don't know what will happen or what will take ya fancy. Kiwi's get a 90 day visa off the bat in Thailand (as you probably know Kev) & it's as easy as crossing a border & returning the same day to renew it. This seems to be similar for Vietnam & Cambodia but usually a month stint (2 to 4 weeks for Laos). Also working & business visa's are possible too. (I may consider doing some work there, dependant). All seem reasonably priced, $30 to $50US although one of the books im reading may be a bit out of date on some things.

In terms of bikes, no fixed plans on that. May buy one there, or just hire one from time to time to do excursions on. Not sure how easy it is to cross borders as a westerner with your own bike?

So that's pretty much it at this stage

**funky monkey** · 19th August 2009, 14:22

Watch the top gear vietnam special and go from there.
As for thailand go solo and you meet new people everyday who are more than willing to rent scooters and travel in packs with new friends, its a great place. And one thing you soon learn is that asians actualy can drive/ride, its just once they come to nz it goes all haywire.

**Boob Johnson** · 19th August 2009, 15:03

Originally Posted by funky monkey

Watch the top gear vietnam special and go from there.
As for thailand go solo and you meet new people everyday who are more than willing to rent scooters and travel in packs with new friends, its a great place. And one thing you soon learn is that asians actualy can drive/ride, its just once they come to nz it goes all haywire.

Yeah like most bike mad/top gear mad people ive seen that episode. I have a copy of it

**kevfromcoro** · 19th August 2009, 18:02

I was there last year .. only got a 28 day visa.. but its easy to do a border run.and get another 28 days.. we can do this 2 times which gives us 3 months. things may of changed.. not sure. accually i was in hua hin and i could of got a border pass without even going there.. bit of tea money to the right person...i rented bikes there.. cheap as.. RG 150 $6 a day..
up to a larger bikes. honda blade or harley about $38 a day.bgot me thinking .. would like to come.. lets see what happens over the next few weeks.