Looking for wheels. (Two wheels)

Since I arrived in Vietnam, I have been itching to pay good money to kill myself. Yes, I want a motorcycle. In Vietnam, a motorcycle or scooter is the most convenient form of transportation. If you drive your car around, you will drive it around forever and never stop anywhere because there is nowhere to park a car. If you do park your car, your trim and mirrors will be gone when you return to it, and one week later you will be able to buy back those same mirrors and trim at the little repair shop down the street. There is parking for motorcycles everywhere, however. Plus, if your bike is not too conspicuous, then it will usually be intact when you return to it.

Vietnamese law only allows for bikes with engines smaller than 175cc. For you knowedgeable motorcyclists, if you took one look at me you would immediatley know that this might be a problem. I am not the right size for a bike with an engine that small. I am more of a 1300cc V-Twin sized guy. Fortunately, I won't be climbing any mountains here. At least not anytime soon. Now, as with all things in Vietnam, what the law says and what you can observe out on the streets are two different things. I have seen the occasional Westerner and even the occasional Vietnamese on some pretty fat hogs. They are few and far between, but they are here. Nothing says "get out of my damn way and DO NOT pull out in front of me" like a big V-twin engine with straight pipes. To me, that's just extra safety in a country that has none. SO, I started asking around about how I can get myself on one of those bigger bikes without running afoul of the law.

I quickly found that if I want twenty different answers to the question, all I have to do is ask twenty different people.

Some conventional wisdom:

1. With a basic license (A1), you can only drive bikes smaller than 175cc.

2. If you want bigger, then you must get a special license. How? Nobody knows. Most folks think it requires a much more difficult road test. Others say that you simply have to be a member of a motorcycle club.

3. Any bike you buy that is over 175cc is going to come with a hefty import duty. Something like 100% (or more) of the purchase price. Not good. I tend to believe this, because I saw a second-hand Harley Davidson Sportster for sale here for 18,000 bucks. Not good.

4. It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. If, hypothetically speaking, a Westerner with a diplomatic ID card wants to drive around on a big fat hog, no police officer is going to do anything about it. Hmm. I am an old-time believer in the whole begging forgiveness and pleading ignorance thing, but this doesn't sound like a good idea. I'll shelve this one for now.

So, what to do? I have decided that I am going to get a big framed bike, cruiser-style, with a 150cc 4-stroke engine. Where can I find one of these? Well, Honda has plant in China that makes them, but they are a little pricey. When I say pricey, I mean up around $4000. I want cheaper. After all, I am going to ding it, lay it down, scratch it, and generally beat the hell out of it.

It turns out that Lifan, the Chinese company, makes cars and motorcycles. Some of the older ones sport stickers intended to make the buyer think he or she is getting something more famous, like Harvey Daveyson or Hongda. They are actually even trying to crack the U.S. market and sell a V-twin over there. Not known for quality or reliability, the Lifan bikes are slowly improving in that category. In spite of the Harley Davidson snobs in the U.S., you can get a Lifan cruiser for about $4000 in the States, and the Asian version with the 150cc engine will run you about $1400 in Vietnam. Bingo!

I found a dealer last week. He has one on the showroom floor, and about 10 more still in the crates. The bike pictured above is the Lifan. Will it fall apart on me? I have no idea. Will it strand me somwhere between Saigon and Vung Tau on a Sunday afternoon? Probably. But that's the adventure, isn't it?