Vietnam – Moped Madness

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  • #15755
    katana
    Participant

    As some of you know my latest couple of trips for work have taken me the Ho Chi Minh City ,formally Saigon, in Vietnam.

    The place is a Honda executives dream with over 6 million scooters registered as of Jan 2014 (the last time they counted) in the city. I was told that another 500 per day have been registered since and there are at least as many unregistered scooters as registered ones.

    With no need to take a driving test, as small payment to a government official is all that is needed to “pass” your test and seemingly no rules of the road (or pavement) applying to scooters the drive to work is like some sort of video game. Here are a few of my photos from the trips.

    IMG_0407_zpsjuols43b.jpg
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    IMG_0354_zpsx8dpjq9u.jpg

    Why bother hiring a van to get your new Fridge Freezer home?
    IMG_0478_zps4cx9jndt.jpg
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    BOC delivery service or a nitrous bottle?
    IMG_0361_zpswaao9wgq.jpg

    I didn’t get my phone out in time but one night a bloke passed us on a Honda Cub 50 carrying a 5ft crocodile!

    It definitely isn’t a Gold Wing and it’s too small to be a Silver Wing so it must be a Bronze Wing?
    IMG_0505_zps90xihdr0.jpg
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    If you really have something heavy that needs hauling then this is what you need – an articulated moped!
    IMG_0502_zpsqfucents.jpg

    My favourite bike of the whole trip
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    I gave the local “light salad” van a wide berth
    IMG_0511_zpsq8ioexn3.jpg

    Took this photo so Radar could tell us what it was?
    IMG_0503_zpsnkg2xskr.jpg

    #68998
    Radar
    Moderator

    Moped Mayhem and no mistake, brilliant stuff!

    This one I saw in Malaga, Spain in 2008:

    P3252041-1.jpg

    #68999
    Radar
    Moderator

    I am pretty sure the mystery bike is a Minsk, an old soviet two stroke thing. I don’t think they were sold in the UK

    #69000
    elessimo
    Participant

    I am pretty sure the mystery bike is a Minsk, an old soviet two stroke thing. I don’t think they were sold in the UK

    Yup, it’s a Minsk: looks like the 125cc. Vietnam are the major export market for these…

    #69001
    Radar
    Moderator

    Well mystery solved…didn’t take too long. We are a sad bunch ;D

    Noticed that helmet wearing seems pretty much universal which is at least one nod to safety. The pictures really convey the spirit of the place well

    #69002
    katana
    Participant

    I thought that you would come up with the answer.

    The helmets are pretty much worn by everyone but lets just say they are not up to the ACU gold standard.

    #69003
    Radar
    Moderator

    The clue is on the side panel, Минск, is Minsk in the local tongue!

    #69004
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    Completely missed this post, great pics. Think you were right to miss the ‘light salad’, what the hell is that stuff?

    #69005
    Radar
    Moderator

    This is a brilliant thread. Kat has since been off roading over in Vietnam…on a Vespa…hopefully he will post some words/pics on that!

    #69006
    katana
    Participant

    Here some more photos from my latest Trip.
    (I did go off-roading on a Vespa Px150 whilst I was there – I’ll put it up as another topic when I get some time.)

    Cool Bike – note the 4 shocks for extra load capacity
    IMG_0533_zps6tbeyygr.png
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    Not sure what to say about this one!!!!
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    Another cool bike
    image_zpsljgggvvi.jpeg

    Reckon he could have got a punnet of strawberries on there as well if he tried
    image_zpsslxplzpa.jpeg

    moped ute
    image_zpsai0nppkt.jpeg

    Dynorod Vietnamese style
    image_zpsn1ov8vsf.jpeg

    #69007
    katana
    Participant

    Completely missed this post, great pics. Think you were right to miss the ‘light salad’, what the hell is that stuff?

    Some kind of fishy crap. Freshly mangled – you can see the mangling device in the bottom of the photo. Before you ask it smells worse then it looked.

    #69008
    Radar
    Moderator

    The one with the big pane of glass…. :o

    #69009
    elessimo
    Participant

    The one with the big pane of glass…. :o

    Looks like perspex to me, but still mad; unless it’s a lorry windscreen of course. The pressure must have been intense over about 10mph, whatever the material…..  ???  8)

    #69010
    katana
    Participant

    The one with the big pane of glass…. :o

    Looks like perspex to me, but still mad: the pressure must have been intense over about 10mph…..  ???  8)

    No definitely glass – a Lorry windscreen

    #69011
    Radar
    Moderator

    The one with the big pane of glass…. :o

    Looks like perspex to me, but still mad: the pressure must have been intense over about 10mph…..  ???  8)

    No definitely glass – a Lorry windscreen

    Gulp…but at least it will be ‘safety-glass’ – toughened or laminated…

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