Arrived in Vietnam, and Bought a Motorcycle

April 9, 2014 - Saigon

So, they day after we arrived in Saigon, I had started reaching out to the people who had listed motorbikes for sale on Craigslist. Settled on one from another traveler for cheap. It was a young French guy who had driven it down from Hanoi. Well, that seems like the life of these bikes, just doing hot laps between Saigon and Hanoi.

I forgot to take a photo of the bike when I got it, but it looks strikingly similar to the photo I found using Google Images:

While Honda may have made this bike at one point in time, the more recent models - and by recent I mean between 1980 to now - have been constructed by other contract manufacturers (like Sufat). But for all intents and purposes, they are all identical, and the parts interchange, and easy to find ANYWHERE, even in rural Vietnam.

Bike was a little worn out and tired, but it was a decent price - $185 USD. Took it over to Simon Taylor, a UK expat living in Saigon, and had him go over the bike.  For $120, here's what I got:
- Engine rebuild: New cam, valves, piston, rebored to 110cc

- Front fork rebuild: new seals, shims, boot, and oil
- New clutch
- New front tire and tube
- New HD rear springs and shocks
- Fixed electrical (horn and turn signals)
- Custom luggage side racks 

- New matte black paint
- New headlight