When a Win doesn't win.

Well, it's been more than two months for Oscar and I so I thought I'd update with a little tally of Oscars short comings.  Partly for my own amusement and also for those thinking of such a trip and wanting to know what they might be getting themselves in for. 

Guilty as charged.  Oscar today in Nha Trang.

We'll start with one '96 Honda Win.  The engine has had a fresh rebuild in Hanoi, it has a new clutch, new rear sprocket and chain, new front tyre and given the odometer doesn't work I'm just going to say it has three million kilometres on the dial.

In a somewhat chronological order here is what's broken/died/disintegrated/dissapeared/jammed or failed at it's intended purpose.

The key barrel jammed.  This was replaced more or less on the spot which was handy because the bike wouldn't have started without it.  Thank God for it failing only a short walk from a mechanic!

The exhaust manifold worked itself loose.... twice!  This caused Oscar to pop, rattle and crackle like a demented rotary powered funny car.

The chain guard/cover came off it's bracket and got eaten by the chain.  I quickly pulled over, yanked it out with a pair of pliers and continued.  It's now been replaced.

The rear brake/hub assembly has been replaced which fixed my throbbing rear brake issue.

The front axle has been replaced... which now keeps the front wheel from wobbling.  Winner!  I did find that somewhat concerning at 80km/h along the Ho Chi Minh Highway!

Oscar now has a new rear tyre to replace the bald one he came with.

The headlight bulb blew.... in the dark and in the rain.

The indicators only work intermittedly... and not in the way indicators should work intermittedly.  This is a work in progress and still not 100% fixed.

My rear indicators have a habit of working themselves loose.  I've had the right side indicator fall of completely twice now.  Each time I realised and was able to turn back and retrieve it.  My left hand side indicator is now being held on by stickytape.

The 'main' engine gasket was replaced (removal of sump. etc etc etc) after it was found that Oscar leaked oil faster than it was pumped out of the middle east.

The brake light fell off.... I've fixed it with sticky tape and yes, it works!  Roadside mechanics 101.

The little black box that has something to do with ignition died and needed to be replaced after it failed at creating a strong spark.

The electronic starter has been replaced.... twice.  I should also mention this is used only very rarely as I always kick start it from a standstill using the electric start only for emergencies... like stalling in the middle of a Hanoi intersection.

The carby has been opened up and blasted out after the bike kept on 'choking' at anything past 1/4 throttle.

The throttle grip slips which makes it incredibly difficult to accelerate as you had to squeeze the throttle incredibly tightly before twisting the throttle open.  Fixed by my good friend Mr. Stickytape.

The fuel tank sprang two holes which have now been welded over... and it's still leaking somewhere.

The cable that controls my speedo has sheared itself off the back of the instrument cluster.  Seems like it didn't like the bumps of Highway 1A.

Oil seals have been replaced after Oscar was putting out more blue smoke than the average Mazda 121.  I told people his 4 stroke engine had been replaced with a 2 stroke.

Oscar at the mechanics.  A familiar sight.

What's still wrong with Oscar?

Well, the oil seals apparantly take a while to 'bed in' so right now I've taken it to calling Oscar 'Puff the magic dragon'.  He blasts out so much blue smoke that I had one man get quite upset after I smoked out his roadside food stall at start up.  Another few hundred kays and it's 'supposed' to get better.  I'm yet to fix my speedo cable and the front brakes need to be adjusted as they are 'barely' working.  That's my job for tomorrow.

So, what would I do differently if I was to do it again?  Well, it depends on what you want from your trip.  Guys and girls, if you want to stick to Highway 1A (the main 'beach' road) and/or the Ho Chi Minh Highway you could do this on a Honda Wave/Dream, a little Nuovo or an Airblade or something.  Coincendentally I rode a Yamaha Airblade a few days back and it's the nicest step through motorbike/scooter I'm yet to ride in Asia. 
If you are intending to go off the beaten track somewhat you'll ideally need something with a bit more ground clearance and suspension travel.  Despite my troubles I'd still recommend a Honda Win.  Why not a Minsk you may ask?  They seem to be the obvious choice for many?  Well, long and short of it they are rusty piles of oil burning crap.  Yes, even more than Oscar.  Everyone I've met on this trip who has one seems to have rebuilt the engine atleast twice already.... and that's only having travelled half of the country!
If I was to do my same trip again?  Honda 'Baja' XR250.  Sure, it might cost close to three times as much but being able to sustain speeds of 100km/h+, tackle the elements of the North East/West loops and handle the general abuse of such a trip it should be viewed as the ultimate contender.  It would probably save days too given that being Japanese built it's going to be far more reliable.  ...also, popping mono's up 'Death Highway' (Highway 1A) should really be on everyones 'to do' list and sadly Oscar just doesn't have the juice for that.

How much to pay?  Don't pay $400 for your Honda Win like I did.  I was an ignorant goose and I wouldn't want to hear others paying the price I did.  I wouldn't pay ANYMORE than $300 and that should be for a really good one.  A brand new one can be had for not much more (around $400 'local price') and for an average condition one around the $250 mark.  Keep in mind that that's the tourist price.  Locals get theirs from anywhere between $150-$250 but don't expect to get that sort of price unless you look Vietnamese and can speak fluent Viet.  Your other option to get a local price is to buy a Lonely Planet phrase book and head to the 'love, flirting and relationship' section.  Off you go there Casanova.

Oh, and you shouldn't pay anymore than 90k Dong for a simple oil change. 

Hope this may be of some help to someone out there.

Now, back to enjoying paradise....

I think I've found paradise.

I find it somewhat ironic that my last entry finished with me saying it was nice to be moving again.  I’m alive and well in Nha Trang and I have been here for two weeks and to be honest, I’m almost hesitant to ever leave.

Killer bomb to killer whale in Nha Trang.

The trip to Nha Trang was an eventful journey.  I left my hotel in Quy Nhon with clear skies but leaving the town was no easy task.  At first I got a little lost.  Then, Oscar started choking.  I pulled over and got him started again but after a few metres the same thing happened.  It was fortunate that I was travelling uphill as I was able to (reluctantly) roll down the hill to where I was hoping I could find a mechanic.  At the bottom I met a group of guys sitting around on their bikes and after a brief and broken conversation about Oscars short comings they presented a phillips head screw driver and managed to fix my rattly and popping exhaust.  This however raised another concern as although the exhaust was now fixed something else still rattled.  The guys seemed to think it was low on oil but I only had it serviced in Hoi An.  None the less I took their advice (the oil cap was jammed on tight so we weren’t able to get it open to check) and rode all over Quy Nhon looking for a mechanic.  Eventually I found one and what I found incredibly surprising was that Oscar was near dry!  I’m not sure how this happened but I’m starting to conclude that whoever rebuilt this engine is an absolute monkey and should stick to knitting.  The bike started ok and the rattles were gone and I’m hopeful that no ‘serious’ damage has been caused.  So, at midday I FINALLY left Quy Nhon.

The road to Nha Trang was beautiful and for the most part dry.  Infact, it only started raining 30 minutes from Nha Trang.  Bliss!

What's not to love?

Coming into Nha Trang at night is no real easy task.  I would have been arriving in day time had I not had the issues in the morning but riding through peak hour and in the rain in a foreign city was not ideal.  The weather was so not ideal infact that I crashed Oscar as I was slowing down and pulling over to pull out my map.  No damage to me mind (+1 to proper safety gear) but the slide across the road that Oscar endured did leave him a little battered and bruised.  The left side foot peg had been bent (amongst other things) and I was unable to change it out of first or neutral so I pushed him to the nearest hotel and crashed for the night.

So now… it’s been two weeks and I’m still here.  Why?  I love this place.  It’s paradise.  I probably shouldn’t have left this blog entry so late to update because so much has gone on that I almost feel it a chore to write and particularly so when I look out my hotel room and see a bright blue sky.  I guess in short a lot of what makes me love this place are the people.  Sure, the constant touts offering me ‘massage’, cigarettes, sunglasses, ‘boom-boom’, cocaine (yes, that was a new one!) and marijuana was tiring at first but I feel that’s really only a very small part of Nha Trang but for the most part if you only come here for three of four days that’s all you’d see.  The ex-pat crowd here is colourful as are the locals.  People from all walks of life and with all sorts of stories.  Travelling musicians, dive instructors, guys with business back home that they run from Nha Trang, teachers, law clerks, resturant owners, you name it. 

Clearly the coolest Vespa in Vietnam!

A few days ago I was saying I’d leave in a few days.  I’d been saying this for a week but I think I’ll just be honest and say I’ll be here for atleast another week.  Maybe longer.  Maybe I’ll even extend my visa and simply rush down to Saigon just before Christmas.  Thanks to Rainbow Divers I’m now a certified open water (scuba) diver so maybe I’ll spend some more time swimming around looking at fish.  It’s a whole new world down there and it’s by far one of the best things I’ve done on this trip.

Anyway, I need to leave and pick up Oscar from the mechanics.  I had everything from the crash fixed (plus some more) but this time Oscar is leaking fuel.  A whole tank disappeared in less than three days with less than thirty minutes riding.  The staff at my previous hotel (I keep finding better hotels for cheaper so I keep on moving) didn’t like bringing in Oscar to the foyer at night.  Now I know why!  He’s one smelly bike!