Riding a 49.9 cc motorbike without license. Legal restrictions ?

Hi there.

I will be moving to Vietnam next year and I absolutely need a motorbike for personal transportation.
Currently I don't have any car or motorbike driver license.

After doing some digging on the internet I discovered that you don't need any drivers licence for riding a 50 cc (49.9) motorbike in Vietnam.

The situation is very similar in some European countries.
In the Netherlands you don't need a license for 50cc bikes, BUT... the law requires that the engine power must be less than 4 KW and the top speed of the bike must be under 50 Km/h.

Here is my question :

Do similar legal restrictions apply in Vietnam ?

School kids here drive bikes bigger that 50cc and squat is done about it. You should find as long as it's under 50cc you will be fine. I doubt the average traffic cop here would know the output of each 50cc bike.

colinoscapee wrote:

School kids here drive bikes bigger that 50cc and squat is done about it.


This was my pet peeve about the high school closest to my house that I got wrangled into working at on occasion.  Once about 10 boys came to class late after the break.  They informed me through my aide that the school security had patted them down for cigarettes, yet that same security lets them drive 125cc Air Blades onto the premises.  You didn't want to be in the neighborhood just as school let out as they drove like maniacs.

colinoscapee wrote:

You should find as long as it's under 50cc you will be fine.


I might add that you can and should get insurance.  Even though you don't need a license, if they stop you they can demand insurance.   

colinoscapee wrote:

I doubt the average traffic cop here would know the output of each 50cc bike.


I have seen bored out bikes for sale with 50cc papers.  My wife claims that the police can recognize them by the sound but I'm not sure.  More likely they find them when the engines blow apart.

There is a new Honda Cub 50 on the market which seems to be very popular and won't attract attention of the Beige Mafia.