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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 31.01.2010, 10:45 Post subject: Vietnam bike rentals |
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A few of us are looking to escape Song Gran with a bike tour.
Looking for some bikes for road use, not extreme off road, maybe the SL230's, maybe some XR250 (400 ??).. Hopefully not some decades old XTs but beggars cant be choosers maybe ??
Dont really want to end up on minsks or urals if possible, would consider anything else going really (not a wave !!) if it was more road biased than off road not a problem.
Any up to date suggestions of known good places ?? At the moment I am just doing the google search scattergun approach but perhaps BM's here have better contacts. |
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Pete_Tallahassee Motorcyclist

Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Posts: 32 Location: USA
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Posted: 31.01.2010, 11:49 Post subject: |
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I rented a 250 Honda from http://www.offroadvietnam.com/eng/2.php in August of 2009 and had a great time. They gave me extra parts to carry but I did not need them. Bike was flawless, not even a flat. Owner speaks English and is very helpful. I sent him $600.00 US two months in advance and the bike was ready when I arrived. Report linked here :
http://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?t=25931 |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 31.01.2010, 12:02 Post subject: |
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They are one of the outfits I already emailed.. Will see what they say..
Double points to any service that allows us to rent in Hanoi and leave in HCMC or load the train. |
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Davidfl Revered Old Git


Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 3833 Location: Thailand
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Posted: 01.02.2010, 12:40 Post subject: Re: Vietnam bike rentals |
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| LivinLOS wrote: | A few of us are looking to escape Song Gran with a bike tour.
Looking for some bikes for road use, not extreme off road, maybe the SL230's, maybe some XR250 (400 ??).. Hopefully not some decades old XTs but beggars cant be choosers maybe ??
Dont really want to end up on minsks or urals if possible, would consider anything else going really (not a wave !!) if it was more road biased than off road not a problem.
Any up to date suggestions of known good places ?? At the moment I am just doing the google search scattergun approach but perhaps BM's here have better contacts. |
Livinlos
Good luck with the rental & trip. It will make a good trip report for us to read. Make sure you get plenty of photos & info for us to enjoy. I can't wait. _________________ Davidfl
Keep The Power On |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 01.02.2010, 13:24 Post subject: |
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Am actually surprised at the low response on rental guys, my buddy was mailing for a week or so and I must have blasted out 30 plus emails over the weekend and been pretty negative responses. All the main ones seem to be either booked or unwilling to just do rentals they want to package a full tour with guides and accommodation etc.
Might have found some 125 road machines out of dalat, its not like I want anything exciting but just some kind of solid workhorse.
Of course a pic report will come if this all works. Right now its hopeful but by no means sure. |
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mat.ward Biker


Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 71 Location: New Zealand
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 07.02.2010, 12:33 Post subject: |
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Thanks for that... Was looking at basic bonus 125's from Mr Lee at Dalat Easy riders but those seem much better.
Will contact and see how it goes. |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 23.02.2010, 10:22 Post subject: |
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Mat,
What kind of deposit did you leave with them ?? I ask as we agreed all the pricing, sent them a booking deposit and then AFTER they got the money they now demand a 2k USD rental deposit per bike which feels very much like a bait and switch.
Call me cynical but leaving 8 or 10,000 USD with someone I dont know, in a developing country is a bit more trust than I would normally have. Plus theres the whole difficulty in having that kind of cash, in USD from THB etc.
If it was a credit card hold or similar maybe, but they want cash only. |
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Stosskraft Pedestrian

Joined: 05 Feb 2010 Posts: 6
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Posted: 23.02.2010, 14:54 Post subject: |
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Hey Guys,
I am in Hanoi, let me know if I can help.
I can tell you no one living here would give a deposit of that kind here, it is almost always impossible to get it back.
Be careful it sounds funny |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 23.02.2010, 15:00 Post subject: |
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It totally feels like a bait and switch.
We will see what responses we get but for him to demand this the email AFTER sending him the booking deposit just feels bad. |
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mat.ward Biker


Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 71 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: 23.02.2010, 16:33 Post subject: |
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Just left my passport that was fine. Have you been given that option? Remember in Vietnam good bikes are a massive investment for these operators due to the tax laws - from their point of view they are placing a lot of trust in strangers.
Let me know,
Mat |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 23.02.2010, 17:26 Post subject: |
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We have offered passports and we would of course do a visa card 'hold' as is common for rentals or hotels..
I understand that bikes are costly and I would point out no one is attempting to scam anything and we would pay for any damage that happened.. But really ?? 8000 USD in cash ?? To be given back to us on our last day in another city ??
Even the whole aspect of how to get 8000 USD (I dont want dong as we leave the country) and carrying this brick of currency, even without the possible scam. Just seems too much.
Add in we have been speaking fora couple of weeks, this was all discussed in detail, his website speaks about 'booking deposits' in detail (yet nothing on this) and this was sprung the email AFTER being sent the booking cash. All just feels bad.
Anyway the fact you left only a passport seems cleary different. |
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mat.ward Biker


Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 71 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: 23.02.2010, 22:08 Post subject: |
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Yeah, I hear what you're saying, and I have no doubt that you would sort out any damage etc. Your concerns are completely reasonable, particularly as you were not made aware of this until you had paid the deposit. Maybe I could understand this requirement if for some reason you did not want to leave your passports.
Just to confirm, you have been speaking with Hung at Flamingo? If so, then in my opinon this is just an unreasonable request or misunderstanding rather than a scam. In 2006 he went out of his way to help us even though we had bikes, and did not buy anything from him. He was excellent last year with our 10 day trip (eg he set up a paypal account at my request so I did not have to wear the Western Union charges).
Mat |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 24.02.2010, 07:21 Post subject: |
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Yes thats him...
So for a 10 day trip you didnt leave a deposit ?? Just passports..
He is saying we need passports for hotels, which I can understand, but right now hes insisting on this cash. |
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mat.ward Biker


Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 71 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: 24.02.2010, 19:24 Post subject: |
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Actually, come to think of it, of course we didn't leave our passports as we needed them for the hotels.
We signed a contract, and had our passports photocopied. I think we also left our immigration cards.
Maybe he's been shafted by someone who hired a bike and has changed his deposit policy? Still, you should have been told about the deposit beforehand. He may not have credit card facilities, hence the request for cash. Maybe an arrangement with someone who can process credit cards might be possible?
Mat |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 25.02.2010, 23:30 Post subject: |
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Well we had to say we would cancel, but he has now said passports would be OK..
I happen to have 2 so might be able to use the one without the viet visa, we will see..
Ultimately it looks like we have reached a deal but communication or rather the timing and approach to problems hasnt been great. |
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mat.ward Biker


Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 71 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: 26.02.2010, 03:54 Post subject: |
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Yep, it seems like Hung should have handled this better as far as informing you of the deposit etc.
To be fair to him it must be a bit nerve wracking for him to hire out these bikes which cost him a silly amount of money to legally register.
Passports deposits aren't practical due the fact clients need them during their trip. Cash deposits that only cover a proportion of the cost of the bikes are prohibitive for clients, and who wants to leave a shite load of cash with someone they don't know in a foreign country? I don't think he can insure the bikes as clients do not have Vietnamese licenses?
Seems like a credit card deposit would be the way to go.
If I was you, I would have been thinking WTF, but in my opinion Hung is a stand up guy and just didn't handle this as well as he could have.
Hope you enjoy the ride. Where are you going?
Mat |
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LivinLOS Leader of The Pack


Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 160
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Posted: 26.02.2010, 07:55 Post subject: |
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Yeah we can understand his side too.. But as stated he should have approached it differently as it felt like a bait and switch. But never mind I have confidence all will come out good.
We are doing a HCMC / Saigon to Hanoi.. We have arranged with Hung to pay additional fees and leave the bikes there with his contact. |
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