Minsk bike is better than a win, confusion what to buy...

Hi, ive been seeing alot of anti Minsk posts. Just want to put this out there. I Have no issues with my Minsk, ive been doing up minsks for a long time in Hanoi, avoiding all other foreign suggestions and mechanics, etc. There is a few minsks out there that are kept in horrible condition, then there the ones that are patched up, sold, and sold, and sold again and the love to the bike has been lost.

If you buy a win, its too weak, it wont be as flexible as a minsk and when you stuck, anyone can get a minsk going again. You might read that over and over on other posts or sites.

Im a foreigner married to a viet, living in Hanoi, and collect Minsks, I also sell minsks and my number 1 rule is safety and braking! Therefore i customise the minsks to satisfy a long return of life, as in you might experience an issue 2-3 times a year which is not major.

If you want a minsk, with papers, done up, safe and reliable as i ignore unreliable minsks and been tested on road to Cao Bang and back just contact me.

Vietnamese ignore the minsk because A) as im told by many vietnamese themselves, they prefer a semi auto. B) a minsk is too dirty, this I find to be false, you just need to get the oil to fuel mixture right, and you most see some smoke on start up. I cant stress enough the ratio and keeping your bike clean, simple maintenance. C) Just want to go to work and back with less noise.

But however, the South are now taking an interest to the minsk, because the North (who have more minsks) sell them cheap. And the south do them up, and find an export market willing to pay anywhere from 600 to 1500USD for a bike for collectors as they are a prized possession nowadays. This is something the North ignores and just use them as Tour bikes.

Further, the Minsks are now more famous since the Top Gear show in Vietnam, almost all tourist wanting to do a Vietnam By Minsk holiday have seen the show. A good minsk is a minsk that has its engine, brakes, and tune ups done properly and regularly. Sadly to say its not the case. You have the Cuongs, the Phungs, you have some others, but unless you want to pay from 10 Mill dong upwards for a good customised working SAFE bike, these places will still sell you a minsk that are more frequently prone to problems.

Please people...dont be fooled by a nice painted bike, it costs 20 bucks to do that.

If you want a minsk, privately message me, but you will need to be patient as minsk are getting poached more and more. If you just want advice, post it up for others as well. A foreigner will sell you a minsk for around 8 mill or less, but expect that to be smacked up, unless they are passionate like many are about minsks. Be cautious on the "im leaving vietnam, so selling my like for 200 USD" they are banged up usually from my experience. I know where these bikes end up if not sold...usually they somehow make its way to hanoi central motorcycles.

A vietnamese will see you a bike for either dirt cheap and make your racks etc. Youll end up in pain, oh and dont forget to get the registration papers. A bike with no papers will be cheap, then you cant sell it, take it, and difficult to reregister. A vietnamese that sell minsk for 10 mill-12 mill is a good runner, done up but beware many just repaint it, clean it and sell you a donky, just like a win.

This is just my experience here. No offence to the win, but i do think the Minsk has the upperhand. Goes well with you holiday pics too, hehe. Im now building a first Minsk Chopper. Riding a nice machine is a good as you feel if its mean. :-D"