Which scooter do you like most?

gobot wrote:

stevescoots wrote:

1966 Lambretta, people get out of my way and i almost always never have to pay parking fee and the parking attendants dont put another bike near it https://i.imgur.com/Au3JWdP.jpg

Scooter with a spare tire, really?
https://pixen.netlify.com/pix/tt.jpg

Interesting choice! is it as heavy as it looks? All steel, no plastic! And nice headlight.

Someone in our apartment had one of these and I know that all the young fellows working security in the garage admired it greatly.  There is a story that may be apocryphal that the Piaggio company had been an airplane manufacturer and found themselves with an abundance of small rear aircraft wheels and tires at the end of the war.  They also had engineers who had no preconceptions about motorbike design.  Hence the small wheels and use of a levered front and gear drive rear rather than paired forks and a chain drive.  This meant that tires could be mounted with bolts from the side, hence the spare.  The early Vespas all had spares.  The first Lambretta apparently postdates the Vespa by one year so I suppose could be considered a copy but it certainly is a classic.  Here is a good article:  https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/cultur … -1-5111475

My wife has a Honda AirBlade, couple of years old now, but can't fault the Honda's performance or its total reliability.
I used to ride a nice, big, Honda V-twin cruiser - that she HATED !!! Too big, Too loud, Too fuel greedy.
It did prove to be a bit of a handful because of it's size - parking could be a problem sometimes - had to pat for 2 parking spots.
On the plus side - I could walk away leaving it unlocked. It was far too big and heavy to be stolen quickly.
Besides - hand clutch and foot gearshift is something not too many thieves are used to using. 

The 'BOSS' says I'm too old for motorbikes now, only one very slight bump into a little putt-putt about 5 years ago - - - but she now wants a Series 5 BMW car !!!  Because motorbikes/scooters are far too dangerous   

Flip465 wrote:

but she now wants a Series 5 BMW car !!!

Oh, I feel sorry for you and your wallet...

THANKS !!!!   
It's not so much my wallet I'm worried about as it is the crazy truck / bus drivers - and those bloody tri-wheelers things, charging around Sai Gon, they're even worse than the trucks !!!   

WORST of all is trying to get FULL COVER REAL, 100% WORKING, INSURANCE that will properly cover the car for ALL accidents, all the time throughout all of VN - it's almost as difficult and more expensive than getting the same insurance cover in Israel !!! 

The most of BOSS's ( SHE who must be obeyed )  closest family lives down in Ben Tre, 4 - 5 hours on a bus, that the seat are not really designed for European sized people,    and it is far too dangerous on the motorbikes !!! 

Other family on Mother-in-Laws side come from up in the Ha Noi area - it's always fun up that way - especially with the Cong An - they're not really all that used to seeing a non-Vietnamese, private citizen with a full B1 licence !
Also, from time to time I must go up north to visit Z111 Factory - not very often but it can be a real bitch getting all  the permits to go into the factory area in a privately owned car. 

Still - not to worry too much - things always seem to work out here - as long as you always remember, this is Viet Nam and do everything the Vietnamese way !   

Flip465 wrote:

The most of BOSS's ( SHE who must be obeyed )  closest family lives down in Ben Tre, 4 - 5 hours on a bus, that the seat are not really designed for European sized people,    and it is far too dangerous on the motorbikes !!! 

Other family on Mother-in-Laws side come from up in the Ha Noi area -

As if in some multi-dimensional sci-fi world, you and I seem to be married to the same woman.  My wife too is from Ben Tre and her mother is from Hoa Binh which is immediately SW of Hanoi.  In fact my wife was born in Hoa Binh but her father, who was from Ben Tre, moved his family south in 1975 and she has no clear memories of the north but knows several of her relatives who have visited Ben Tre or worked in HCMC.

I have driven the route from HCMC to Ben Tre on innumerable occasions on our normally comfortable Air Blade and it is grueling, particularly on holiday weekends when the traffic can be heavy.  To make things worse, the police make all motorbikes ride on the shoulder which is in way worse shape than the main portion of the highway.  After a few trip, you learn where some of nastiest bumps and potholes are but the scariest part is the places with loose gravel.  Of course the young and bold travel in the auto lanes but do get caught on occasion.  The bridge over the Mekong between My Tho and Ben Tre is a beautiful piece of engineering but can be rather spooky when the wind is up and cars and trucks are whizzing past you doing double your speed.  Even with a normally adequately powered bike like an Air Blade, you need to get all the speed you can in the run up to the bridge to be able to not lose RPM on the way up.

Depending on where you live in the city, the best time that you can make is about three hours if you make one brief coffee stop at a cafe vang and don't get too comfortable in that hammock.  We used to favor a place on the stretch of road that bypasses Tan An, the capitol of Long An, that was surrounded by rice fields.  It could be a rather pleasant stop, especially when the rice was ripening.

To make matters worse though, my mother-in-law, with the kindest intentions, always insisted that we bring home coconuts and other assorted fruits and on one occasion a live chicken in a sack.    That trip may have been the worst.  After that experience I told my wife that she must convince her mother that live chickens are available for sale in HCM.

All in all though, I think I still prefer driving to taking the bus which I only did once.

Hi THIGV, 

Seems quite a few things in our lives are in common !
One of the main differences is that after trying the bus trip from Sai Gon to Ben Tri,  just the one time, swore that I'll never try that again !
Even my 'BETTER HALF' agrees with that idea - - - the other people on the buses are OK - it's the stink of cigarettes, a lot of times, the smell of unwashed (properly) people, something almost impossible to avoid in VN's climate I know, BUT still - - -  the chickens, etc  and loads of shopping odds and ends I got used to years ago 
Besides - if I can manage to get hold of a really good car driver and a good car, we'll use that way of going places every time.
Think by now most Cong An between Phú Mỹ Hưng and Vo Gap already know my motorbike, or they DID know it before SOMEONE, (guess who)  sold it on me while I as in hospital one time !!!    ( unrelated neck surgery from very old parachuting injury )
The Cong An  also know that I won't pay anything towards their coffee / beer on the spot fines - so they just point at me and wave e straight past their usual 'road side check stops'. 
About the only thing my M-i-L does, is the typical Vietnamese mother's habit of phoning or texting my 'BETTER HALF' up to half a dozen times a day - just to check up on things ! How typical is that ????? 

I have a Honda 150, 2018.
Excellent acceleration, solid, powerful, good breaks. No complains.

Flip465 wrote:

About the only thing my M-i-L does, is the typical Vietnamese mother's habit of phoning or texting my 'BETTER HALF' up to half a dozen times a day - just to check up on things ! How typical is that ????? 

Don't feel bad.  Mine usually calls only once but because of the time difference to Hawaii, it is usually around midnight.   

So I ended up going to KTM yesterday to buy a Duke 200.  They were closing out hold over models of the Duke 390 for $139,900 so one of those followed me home.  $152,000 out the door.  Really pleased with having something at least similar to what I currently have at home (Triumph Tiger 800XC).

Unfortunately for me I also had my first ever visit with the brown shirts on the way home.  Since I didn't have my A2 license it was fairly costly.  Live and learn.  I am parking it until my license plate shows up since it is such a red flag without the plate I can't get my VN driver's license until I go home and then come back in May.

Your currency designations are a little confusing.

SteinNebraska wrote:

$152,000 out the door.

152,000 VND would be too little.  Did you mean 152,000,000 VND?  That would be about $6700 US which would be maybe a little high but appropriate in Nebraska.

THIGV wrote:

Your currency designations are a little confusing.

SteinNebraska wrote:

$152,000 out the door.

152,000 VND would be too little.  Did you mean 152,000,000 VND?  That would be about $6700 US which would be maybe a little high but appropriate in Nebraska.

Sorry.  new KTM Duke 390 in Saigon was 152,000VND out the door yesterday.

THIGV wrote:

Your currency designations are a little confusing.

SteinNebraska wrote:

$152,000 out the door.

152,000 VND would be too little.  Did you mean 152,000,000 VND?  That would be about $6700 US which would be maybe a little high but appropriate in Nebraska.

152 million vnd sounds about right, new bikes and cars are expensive due to tax.

SteinNebraska wrote:

THIGV wrote:

Your currency designations are a little confusing.
152,000 VND would be too little.  Did you mean 152,000,000 VND?  That would be about $6700 US which would be maybe a little high but appropriate in Nebraska.

Sorry.  new KTM Duke 390 in Saigon was 152,000VND out the door yesterday.

152,000 VND is only US$6.55.  That's why THIGV asked whether you're a bit confused on the currency designation.  As you've reiterated the same amount, it seems you're still not clear on the number of zeros needed.

When writing, I use the K for thousand and M for million.  It's simpler that way.

SteinNebraska wrote:

Sorry.  new KTM Duke 390 in Saigon was 152,000VND out the door yesterday.

That is $6.69 USD.  At that price I hope they threw in a full tank of gas (that's petrol for you Commonwealth people.)   

I'm sorry my friend, but did you miss the 3rd grade class where the teacher taught about zero placeholders.   

Ciambella wrote:

152,000 VND is only US$6.55.

THIGV wrote:

That is $6.69 USD.  At that price I hope they threw in a full tank of gas (that's petrol for you Commonwealth people.)   

Your exchange site gave you a better deal than mine (from the Vietnamese end, that is).  Hmm.

Ciambella wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

152,000 VND is only US$6.55.

THIGV wrote:

That is $6.69 USD.  At that price I hope they threw in a full tank of gas (that's petrol for you Commonwealth people.)   

Your exchange site gave you a better deal than mine (from the Vietnamese end, that is).  Hmm.

Of course in Vietnam, the only conversion rates that really matter are your neighborhood gold shop and whatever your US bank card is giving you.      What some currency traders in London or New York say is rather irrelevant.

Yes, too many zeros in silly money.  152,000,000VND

SteinNebraska wrote:

Yes, too many zeros in silly money.  152,000,000VND

They were talking about dropping three zeros which would make things a lot easier.

Anyway, it's nice to be a billionaire, even if it is vnd.😀