The reading room
This blog explains how motorbike rental in Hanoi works, from prices, documents and deposits to handover and riding, and where to go once you have the bike.
Fuel & Running Costs
The fuel gauge is close to empty, no station is in sight, and a stall at the roadside has petrol in bottles. An…
Read guide: Buying Petrol From a Roadside Seller in Hanoi: What to Check Before You PourFuel & Running Costs
You have a rental bike, a tank that needs filling and no Vietnamese banking app on your phone. You cannot be sure in…
Read guide: Paying for Petrol in Hanoi: Cash, QR Codes and Card Questions at the PumpElectric & 50cc Options
A weekly electric rental feels simple until return day, when someone says the scooter should come back with “enough” battery and you realise…
Read guide: Returning an Electric Scooter: Agree and Record the Battery Level Before You Set OffElectric & 50cc Options
An electric scooter pulls away with almost no sound, which feels pleasant until someone steps out right in front of you because they…
Read guide: Riding a Silent Electric Scooter: Pedestrian Awareness, Horn Use and Checking It Is ReadyManual & Semi-Automatic Motorbikes
A loop into the hills outside Hanoi can mean a long climb followed by a long descent, and the type of bike you…
Read guide: Geared Bike or Automatic for Long Climbs and Descents: Choosing for Hill RoadsManual & Semi-Automatic Motorbikes
This is your first time on a geared bike, the rental is a semi-automatic, and the thought of hands, feet and gears all…
Read guide: A Car-Park Drill Before Your First Semi-Automatic Ride: Controls, Gears and StoppingManual & Semi-Automatic Motorbikes
Anyone reading local rental listings or chatting with a shop in Hanoi soon meets three short words: xe số, xe côn tay and…
Read guide: Xe So, Xe Con and Xe Ga: Decoding Vietnamese Motorbike Terms on Rental ListingsManual & Semi-Automatic Motorbikes
The only free space near a cafe or guesthouse can be a tilted pavement, a driveway ramp or a slope beside the road,…
Read guide: Parking a Geared Motorbike on a Slope: Gear, Stand and Where Not to Leave ItManual & Semi-Automatic Motorbikes
When the start button on a geared rental bike gives only a weak whirr, a kick lever may still get the engine running.…
Read guide: Kick-Starting a Semi-Automatic When the Battery Is Flat: Manual Technique and LimitsManual & Semi-Automatic Motorbikes
A semi-automatic that dies in the middle of a junction leaves the rider holding a silent bike with traffic on every side. None…
Read guide: Stalling a Semi-Automatic at a Junction: Restart Steps From the Manual and Causes to Report09:00–21:00 daily
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