I note the LACK of much info about crossing various borders within SE Asia. Which WAS the title of the thread!

Seems the three main posters for the last two years have decided Malaysia is THE place to buy ... but NONE ever offered direct price comparisons to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam or Laos ... in terms of cost of similar bikes. Has anyone ever compared prices or compared bikes available?

And NONE told us what they actually paid for their Malaysian purchased bikes. To make this thread even half useful:
PRICES PLEASE.

Also ... the only border crossed (apparently?) by any of the 3 main posters here was Malay/Thai border. But what about going into Cambodia, Vietnam or Laos with your ML registered bikes? Any 1st hand reports? Any hard DATA?
Costs, hassles? Revelations?

Malaysia does sound simple for purchase ... but if prices are double or triple Vietnam, Cambodia or Thailand ... not sure if it's a good deal or not?
Comments?
I've read many reports about HUBB riders doing Vietnam in "quasi legal" status without problems. I know some are fearful of this ... yet many buy and re-sell after their trip. Is this considered hard or impossible now in May of 2014?

So guys ... what about some alternatives? I did read the Blog about the BMW riders who sold their bikes and bought bikes in Malaysia. Pretty useless.
Lots left out, IMO, but a couple good links.

I did like the link posted regards buying in various countries and the major PITA it seems to be with things like extending visas, residency requirements, et al. Guide Books are good ... for about two months or until the whole system changes ... again!

I'm not interested in buying new. Used in good condition is fine. I'm not planning on living in SE Asia forever ... but would spend a few months on the road.

Is renting easier? Rent a new bike in each new country?
Thoughts? Hard numbers? FACTS? Personal experiences?

My feeling is the rapidly expanding tourist industries in ALL these countries do NOT want foreigners buying and selling bikes. They'd much rather have them RENTING or doing packaged tours. MUCH Higher profits.

My "guess" is these strong lobbies are working hard to STOP bike purchases by foreigners, and paying govt. officials well to do their bidding ... and will eventually succeed. Am I crazy?

Motorcycles for sale in Kuala Lumpur - Mudah.my

Just for general info and price comparisons, Mudah is not a great site but worth a look at for an idea of types and prices of bikes here.

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Hi Mollydog, maybe you should re-read the threads and possibly do a bit of research yourself, Google is a wonderful thing. Ride safe.

P.S. For what it is worth, I paid MR7000.00 for my moto and 12,00km and 5 mths later sold it on to another traveller for RM5000.00. Maybe a look at the GT Riders website would save you a little bit of finger strain.

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Mike is riding the twisty road in the sky

Your correct Maja, I did not do much searching. I read HUBB instead. But two years ago I followed Ride Asia forum ... learned a few things but overall, not to useful for me.

Thanks for the price info.
Sorry to criticize ... (actually found some of your info MOST useful!)
I just figure if guys spend two years contributing to an Asia thread ... why would you NOT include "The Basics" of what riders might want to know?

PS: Google gives about 2 million options .. not that specific. Would take a bit of TIME to sort through it all ... 99% useless, non relevant info.

I hope we can re-boot this thread and get real feedback from current buyers/sellers/travelers in the region now. NOT X Pats, but regular HUBB travelers. I know the guys around the "Travelers Corner" Restaurant, Hostel, shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand provide good info on general travel around Asia.

I came across probably searching for the same info that mollydog was looking for. We've got the information that it's very very easy to buy in Malaysia and how long it takes, but that's about it.

No real comments about price. They research shows around £1000-£2000 depending on what you buy.

Absolutely no mention of going to vietnam at all. So we'll have to presume that none of the riders have done it on their Malay bikes.

No reports about how they've got with their bikes, or how they disposed of them at the end of the trip.

Comapred to say touring Africa, or South America information is sorely lacking in the Asia forum. Probably because everything is too busy having such a good time - At least that is what I like to think

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Ahh - Sorry, i'm an X-PAT. Maybe I know too much for Mollydog.

There is a recent post here. I posted information on how a visitor on a tourist visa can buy a bike in Thailand ( I would suggest minimum 3 month tourist visa).

The guy came with the intent to buy his own bike, in the end went to look at bikes in the South, I suggested a site 'bahtsold.com'. He approached a buyer, who was finding it difficult to sell and offered him 350B / 7 quid a day for a 2014 CRF 250 ( less than half the going rate of rental bikes in the North ). The guy took it, went to the land transport office, and hooked him up with the paperwork to travel the bordering countries.

The market for 2nd hand bikes is very very slow in SE Asia, credit is easier to get than Europe and local buyers prefer shiny new bikes. If your buying a bike to resell understand that it may not be as easy as just offering a knock-down price. Consider the seasons. Just as Western bikers put their bikes away for the winter, Asians generally won't ride too much or look for bikes in the monsoon season, you have a better chance to re-sell a bike in November / December.

Vietnam - I wish I could see a day coming when ASEAN bike could just hop over the border after completing a temp import ticket, but I think that day is a long way away.

If you are looking to buy or sell a bike, Asians love Facebook, there are lots of bike/area specific groups on FB, you will always see new posts every hour of the day.
Thailand has a lot of bikes for sale, although it may be easier to register in Malaysia. Look to Bahtsold.com / Rideasia.net / GTRider.com for further info if you haven't already.

Wow! What a rant from 2014.

Prices as quoted in mudah.my are in the same in range as Thailand. You want to buy a bike in Cambodia - Go ahead !

There are plenty of other info about borders on other sites - Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore are all ASEAN countries .. Does a English rider encounter any problems when entering Italy ? No - So why do you expect a drama here, its not the 70's - pushing the boundaries of exploration - its something people do everyday - a painless form, a standard fee and a smile.

The only troubles you will have is entering Laos on any foreign bike over one of the friendship bridges because its not permitted, but again, plenty of info on other sites.

Vietnam is a different ballgame.

Yes, and no - Buying a bike in Asia is pretty straight forward. It does make sense, why would any government allow a tourist to buy a bike if they only had permission to stay in the country for one month ( albeit that can be extended ) - Why should you be able to register a bike when you don't have an address ?

There is no organisation that represents small time rental businesses, get over it.
Its just draconian (immigration) laws. If you have all your paperwork correct then its not a problem, for example you want to ride in Asia for 6 months, and you turn up with a multi-entry 6 month visa from your own country, you do a little home work prior and you won't encounter any problems. If you enter Thailand with two thousand dollars and a 15/30 day visa exempt, your not going to get very far.

Recom237:

I think you have been an Expat too long... ;-)

A tourist visa to Thailand is 60 days, not 90 days as you say. It can be extended with 30 days at any immigration office if the right procedures are followed and right paperwork are present though.

There is no problem crossing the so called Friendship bridges to Laos. I have done that two times without problems, though they insisited I needed a escorte which costed some money one of the times.
And there are several bordercrossings over to Laos that you dont need to cross any friendship bridges if that would be a problem such as the one near Ubon/Pakse and the one in Loei province and the one in Nan province.

About Vietnam and about buying bikes in SEAsia as a foreign I belive you are spot on though... :-)

Hati-hati...

Regards from Sulawesi...

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OK here is what we paid for our yamaha Fz150i that we rode 5000km in Malaysia earlier this year ,$2600 OTD with 1 year insurance.
250's are about 2 x that. Have an address n cash,buy the bike n go.
Exchange rate is better now (was 3.65 then).

What countries did you travel with that Malaysian registrated bike?

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Snakeboy
So far only Malaysia,We have our tickets to complete the SEA ride the first quarter of next year.

So far the info have is that Laos,cambodia n VietNam have an agreement to allow passage of each others registered machines,that still leaves Burma out anyway (dont know how to spell the other name).
A fixer is possible (mentioned in other sites)for VN for other countries registered bikes just need to find one.(?)
Also maybe possible to register in Cambodia,will someone in the know please let us know,then get into VN cheaper than the guide process.Laos registration looked complicated but then maybe a fixer can fix that.

Yes, you are probably right, I the sun must be getting to me, and I don't like parting with cash.

Yes, correct, 60 days. Sorry, I'm married to a local, so I just remember the 90 days .. 90 day visa, 90 day check-in - my calendar works on a 90 day cycle. The extension would be irrelevant if you wanted to buy or register a Thai bike.

Sorry, I was so angered by the previous poster comments, I didnt mean to misinform about Laos - yes, some bridges will let you cross in a party / with an escort. Mukdahan won't let you across at all, but there are people in town that will load you up on a pickup for a fee.

Like you say there are other options like Vang Tao / Chong Mek ( Ubon Rattathani ) and Chiang Kong / Huay Xai.

Just me, I would avoid the friendship bridges - Simply because it involves parting with extra cash and time.

Like I said, all this info has been posted elsewhere before - it hasn't changed in years and probably won't in the near future. But thanks for correcting the details.

A lot of the info that may help is on the GT-Rider site Thailand it covers a lot of country's in the region and I have found it really v useful on previous trips. I hope to be over in October for several months if my broken leg heals ok
Safe riding
Paul

Hi Phil

Best way you should by in Thailand there you can register the bike under your name. For SE Asian registered vehicle to travel around SE Asia you don't need a Carnet de Passage. Other option that you can buy and register in Malaysia.

For vehicle registered in SE Asia is almost the same one you travel around the region.

Vietnam always required a crossing border permit to enter/exit the country



Honda XR 250 is strongly recommended as they are type of enduro bike suited for long distance, mixed road condition...I own one for the last 3 years in Vietnam and he work perfect

Brian

Ok guys, lots of good info here but I have a few questions.


Last time I took a bike into Malaysia I shipped from Australia but that was a long, long time ago (1977) and each time I have visited S.E. Asia since then I have rented - around 20-30 times over the years.


However, this time I am planning on buying a bike in Indonesia and riding it up through Sumatra before hopefully shipping from Medan/Belawan to Port Klang. Given that Indonesia is an ASEAN member does this mean that I can bring the bike into Malaysia without customs issues? (P.S. I know Vietnam is also an ASEAN member and I know the difficulties involved in taking your own transport in/out.)


Alternatively, can I buy in Malaysia and export to Indonesia without any special approvals?


At present, my plan is to arrive in Indonesia early November and buy a bike in Bali (probably a small auto scooter - contrary to other's experiences I find they have more than adequate power for hills/mountains - as they are way easier to ride in traffic, which will be the majority of my riding). So questions 3 is, is there anyone on the HUBB in Bali who can help with purchase / sell me a bike, and registration.


Thanks, Garry.

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