Legitimately owning a motorbike and the quality of the honda master

China motorbike IN CHINA and the ones exported to EUROPE etc. are quite good quality (not as good as Thai and Japan, but still good).  The ones the Vietnamese import to re-sell are all the cheap quality ones to keep selling prices down, hence the reason why China bikes in Europe are quite expensive whereas China bikes in Vietnam are well known as cheap pieces of $%^&" !!!

At the end of the day you get what you pay for.  In Vietnam it is a fact that China made stuff is cheap and nasty.  In European countries etc. China made stuff is actually quite high quality as they have to pass EU QC tests or British Kite Mark etc.

Personally, in Vietnam I wouldn't touch a China made bike, as they you will have to fork out money to fix it every month (albeit cheap, but still the hassle and un-reliability more than price factor).  Also the fairings and lights etc. all seem to fall off in time, probably due to the bad bumpy roads here lol!

Hope this helps.

You have to be careful when buying used Honda motorcycles as there are a lot of Chinese knock-offs - very good copies but not the same quality.

Paperwork can be faked, too, so exercise care.  As the other responder said - Chinese means cheap, cheap quality and hard to maintain/get spares for.

As for registration, no problem if you have a Work or Resident Permit with over 12 months remaining on it before expiry. Otherwise you need a trusted VN friend who will register it on his name.

Get insurance (aro $4-5) for both of you (two policies one in each name) as owning a motorcycle involved in an accident can mean trouble for the owner AND the driver. Personal injury and death accidents usually involve custody.

One good thing, if you buy a Chinese knock-off, no self-respecting motorcycle thief would likely be attracted to it!

One good thing, if you buy a Chinese knock-off, no self-respecting motorcycle thief would likely be attracted to it!

WELL SAID hahahaha!

I've got a work permit, but I've heard that you need a temporary resident card is well. Do you know where to go in HCMC to do the paper work and make more inquires?

I'd dif get the Vietnamese insurance and keep my foreign insurance policy is well don't know if it's third party though, need to check this. I've heard they are more lenient if you have a Vietnamese drivers licence. On the security I think i might keep it padlocked to my person at all times. 

Thanks for the info!