Vietnam Motorcycle Tours Exclusively On HONDA Bikes, Bike Options

We don't have big bikes. Why?

Vietnam officially allowed imports of brand-new (no second-hand, except foreigners with valid working visas import for their personal use) in May 2007. However, 90% import tax, 10% VAT and a huge fees on registration generally make a large displacement bike twice as expensive as it would cost in your country. Here are prices of some popular models:

- Honda CBR 1,000cc: over 22,000$US.
- Honda XR 250cc: over 12,000$US.
- Honda XR 400cc: over 15,000$US.
- Yamaha YZF-R1 or R6 600cc: over 20,000$US.
- Agusta F4 1000R 1+1 998cc: over 44,000$US.
- Harley V-Rod 883cc: over 18,000$US.
- Harleys Heritage Softail Classic 1600cc: nearly 50,000$US.

Will you be ready to pay that much for one of these bikes to ride in a country where speed limit is from 25 to 80km/h, mostly 60km/h? The answer is no doubt a big "NO, NO". Enough explained and said.

We don't want to use big bikes. Why?

Vietnamese speed limit for motorcyclists is from 25 to 80km/h, with 60km/h on most roads we have ridden. Crowded traffic and strange way of riding (no rule!) adds much more difficulty than you can expect. With these in mind, what is the advantage of a big bike? Nothing than a big WASTE!

Busy, crazy traffic in Hanoi and big cities

Busy, crazy traffic in Hanoi and big cities

Less busy traffic on most highways in Vietnam

Vietnam Freewheeling tours, freewheelin adventures, freewheelin' rides in Vietnam

Bike Options. From 2007, we use only modern HONDA 4-stroke 125-250cc trail bikes and real road motorcycles, no Suzuki, no Yamaha and no Kawasaki and of course NOT vintage MINSK 2-stroke 125cc motorbikes unless you request a Minsk. We put performance on top of everything else!

Honda motorcycle logo

We are the first and only motorbike / motorcycle tour operator in North Vietnam (region: Indochina, Southeast Asia) providing the widest selection of touring bikes to suit your personal preference. A good bike can make the difference between a good motorbiking holiday and a great motorcycling voyage. Offroad Vietnam^® owns a fleet of unique Honda GL Pro Neotech 1600 156cc motorcycles, step through (semi-automatic) moped scooters, Honda dirt bike XL 125cc and 250cc Honda Baja or XR motocross (enduro bikes) but does not own Minsk. If you request a classic Minsk, we hire Minsks from Mr Cuong (also known as Master Mechanic or Minsk Doctor) who owns and operates Cuong's Motorbike Adventure (CMA) shop at 1 Luong Ngoc Quyen Street in Hanoi. Minsks still handle the jobs but we just can't use the same bikes for 20 years. An upgrade to Honda dirt bikes or MX (Honda Baja or XR or AX1 250, Honda SL230cc) is also available at an additional cost. Our own bikes are supremely serviced and well equipped with quality parts and accessories. You may check how reliable our bikes are.

By your standard, these bikes are not anything special but by Vietnamese standard, they are ideal touring bikes. Even in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand you do have better choice than in Vietnam. Traffic is crazy, therefore a big bike is a real big waste in Vietnam.

The special (funny) things about Minsks are their lack of battery and speedometer, gear shifting is a bit tricky and the kick start is on the left side while the chain is on the right. A good distance for each rider is about 20m if you don't want to inhale smoke, so you can imagine how difficult for the guide to handle his job. From our customers' experience, a Honda Wave 100cc is even more powerful than a Minsk 125cc! Technology is the reason. All Hondas have working speedometers and batteries which make things much easier and they are of course an international standard. Hondas are far much more reliable than Minsks and provide a better braking system. Honda riders can ride closely and the guide can have better control of the group and provide more information. So what will you choose?

The price will be different if you select different bike options, please include this in your request to have a correct quotation. The default bike we provide is #1 (Honda 160cc).

Honda GL Pro 160cc, voyage vietnam, vietnam voyage on motorcycles

Honda GL Pro 160cc, voyage vietnam, vietnam voyage on motorcycles

- Option 1 (Honda road/dirt bike 160cc): Very smooth shocks, front disc brake, saddle bags, kick starter, 4 stroke luxury sport, very powerful bike, full spare parts support, made in 1998, imported brand new from Indonesia, the most reliable bike and available exclusively for Offroad Vietnam^® customers. After the major upgrade and fine tune in October 2007, some bikes were replaced with a 200cc piston. Spare parts price is also uploaded to give you an idea of replacement fees.
- Option 2 (Honda XL motocross 125cc): The best shocks, drum brakes, no saddle bags, kick starter, 4 stroke engine, full spare parts support, imported brand new from Japan, made in 2000.
- Option 3 (Honda Baja, Degree or XR motocross 250cc or TLR 200cc): The best shocks, front and back disc brake, no saddle bags, electric starter, 4 stroke engine, full spare parts support (only from May 2008!), imported second hand from Cambodia or Hong Kong. Baja, Degree and TLR are made in early 1990s and XR is made in 1998.
- Option 4 (Honda moped scooter 100cc): Good shocks, drum brakes, no saddle bags, front basket, electric starter, 4 stroke engine, full spare parts support, made in early 2000s, imported from Indonesia or made in Vietnam, very reliable.
- Option 5 (Russian dirt bike 125cc): Very basic bikes, smooth shocks, drum brakes, saddle bags, kick starter, no battery which means everything works only when the engine starts, even no speedometer, 2 stroke underpowered engine, full spare parts support, made in early 1990s, imported brand new from Belarus (Russia), not really reliable.

All Honda bikes are of high quality (by Vietnamese standard, not your country standard!). Speed limit in Vietnam is from 25-80km/h, mostly 60km/h. We have received several complaints about bike reliability from some fast riders (sorry, most of them are English!). Please bear in mind that speeding in Vietnam is subject to a very high charge and we can't give any guarantee about the bikes.

On our guided tours, we rent quality riding and rain gear at favourable rate but still advise you to bring your own as we may not have your size due to limited size availability in Vietnam.