Hello all,

I would like to hear from any one, who has done this within the past year or two, on a motorbike.
We are planning to do it on 2 x motorcycles, of about 100cc for her, and a whopping 125cc for me.

Starting in the South, and ending in Hanoi in the North.

1/ What routes did you take.
2/ How long did it take you
3/ Was the time you did it in enough, or were you rushed?
4/ Is there sufficient hostels and fuel stops along the way?
5/ How much did you pay for your bikes, assumng you bough them in Vietnam.


Thanks to all, for any answers in advance.

Vette

Hi,
Not much help for South to North I'm afraid, but if you don't get bike prices from down south, let me know. I can get plenty of info on prices and availability of bikes in Hanoi.
What bikes are you thinking?
Geared or step through?
Wave's must make up 75% of the bikes in Hanoi, but there's plenty of other bikes there upto 125. Very rare to see anything bigger.

Happy travels
Sam

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I did it last year on a bicycle and hotels were no problem and I saw plenty of petrol for sale.
If you leave Saigon on Highway 13 you can pick up Highway 14 which will take you up to Da Nang, a much quieter more scenic route than highway 1, not sure about after that as I took the train, do take a diversion to the hill station of Da Lat.
There were several Minsk for sale in Hanoi backpackers for about $300, they looked ok with luggage and a few spares but I personally would have prefered a Honda 125.

.
Hi Sam,

We have had a "rethink", and now we will start in Hanoi, and head south.
Then sell the bikes, or whats left of them, and get the train north, back to Hanoi.

The reason for teh rethink, is the weather in the north will be colder by the time we arrive back in Hanoi on the bikes.
So, now we plan to depart from Hanoi, and head to Ha Long, then continue south untill we get serious bum ache, and call a halt.
I am giving us about 14 days to do the ride from Hanoi to HCMC.
I guess if it takes longer,,,,,,,,,,,,,then it takes longer.
We will just arrive back in China later than planned, but thats no problem.

So,,,,

Who do you know that wont charge us an arm and a leg for 2 x cheapish Hondas'

2 little Honda waves would be good, or even 1 honda wave and one standard 125cc thing.

It would be cash on collection, bought as seen, tried and tested.
I have had bikes, big, small, fast and slow, of all descriptions for many a' year.

vette

Hi Vette,
When are you wanting them?
I've got two very good friends from uni that've been living in Hanoi for a while now, they've bought a few bikes between them.
If you let me know when you'll want to buy, I'll get them to keep an eye out or if they use particular web sites I'll get the links.
They've always bought privately as far as I'm aware, but will know where to look for sure.
It'd be a shame to be in Hanoi and not take a ride upto Dong Van, but time dictates to us all in the end I guess (i didn't make it that far north either.....next time), it'd need a 7 day round trip from Hanoi to aviod rushing too much.

Sam

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....just thinking to myself.....
For a 14 day trip, buying and selling sounds like more effort than it's worth??
What about hiring?
If you're getting the train back to Hanoi anyway, you could put the bike on with you to return it too.
I rode out from Hanoi and trained it back with the bikes from Lao Cai, couldn't have been easier really.
Maybe worth thinking about?
When I was there Dave hired a pretty new Wave RS for $50/month.
$5 was the daily rate, but they obviously seem up for doing deals for block bookings.
If you want me to enquire, let me know.

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Hi Sam,

I really don't think much do I .
Thanks for a great idea,

That's a great idea you had.
We could hire 2 bikes in Hanoi, and ride them south.
Then at the end of our ride, we will plan to put the bikes on the same train with us for our return to Hanoi.

I am thinking that the trip from Hanoi to HCMC is about 1800km, but with a few diversions etc, it will be more like 2100km.
I see that covering 2100km at an average speed of 40km/h (25mph) would need,
3 hours riding every day is about 17 days.
4 hours riding every day is about 13 days

How can I find out how much it would cost to put the 2 bikes in the cargo car of the train we will be on, for our train ride back north to Hanoi?

Probably best to arrive at the station, early in the morning, for loading, it can't be that difficult to wheel 2 bikes into the cargo car.

I would be very happy if you could make an enquiry for me.
All told, we would probably want the 2 bikes for 20 days.
If a deal could be had, for a semi automatic for her, or one of them CVT, (continuously variable transmission) thats great.
For me I was thinking a standard geared 125cc would be better?
I am a porky 90kg, so don't want to kill the poor bike.

So please, by all means, see if you can get some rental info for me.
We expect to be in Hanoi around 6th to 8th of December.

vette

My wife and I rented in HCMC last year and drove up to Na Tran and then put the bike on the train and came back. It was very cold up in Hanoi as we flew up there after that. Lots of bikes and cheap.

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Larry Davis

Hi all,
Some pics here from Oct/Nov this year
The bike trip North from Hanoi starts about half way through
Vietnam - a set on Flickr

Happy travels

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