Vietnam has been known mainly for a few things: coffee, banh mi, pho, and motorcycles. A weird collection if you know nothing about the country, but it makes perfect sense if you’ve been there.
I recently paid a visit to its old capital, Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon), and you bet I was going to be on the lookout for two-wheelers the moment I got there. What I didn’t expect, though was how overwhelming the sheer amount of two-wheelers on the road would be. I also knew the roads were going to be chaotic, but I didn’t know it would be more stressful to be inside a Grab—our main mode of transportation around the city—than to be a pedestrian trying to cross a busy intersection.
There were motorbikes on the highway, on the sidewalk, and even inside establishments. They were EVERYWHERE. That was the default way (and arguably the easiest) for locals to get around. As fun as a sight that may be for a motorcycle enthusiast like me, I was looking for something more. I was looking for the culture.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything. There were rarely ever any big bikes, there were no custom two-wheelers, nothing. Motorcycles, to the people of Saigon, were just a means to get around the city. A machine for commuting. Nothing more, nothing less.
At least that was what I believed until I stumbled across this shop called Fivex Saigon located in the heart of District 1.
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We found Fivex thanks to a post on one of the Yamaha SR400 groups on Facebook which my girlfriend was a part of. The post included a photo of a custom SR400 supposedly displayed at the shop. By some stroke of luck, the post randomly came out just before we left, so we still got to swing by on our last full day in Vietnam.
Fivex (or Fivex SG.Co) is a Saigon-born clothing brand that sells all sorts of good quality motorcycle apparel such as caps, shirts, jackets, boots, and bags. Some of the designs the brand uses are also from local artists, which I think is pretty cool. I was able to chat with the owner, Rin, who is an avid motorcyclist himself. He shares how he wishes to expand his business to the Philippines someday.
Rin owns the custom SR400, while the classic Honda and BMW inside the shop are from his friends. He shared with us how this side of the motorcycle scene—the one I’m used to and was looking for—is very much alive in Vietnam. He showed us photos of his rides around Vietnam, as well as photos some of the bikes that roam the city of Ho Chi Minh regularly. You can find a few snaps through Fivex Saigon’s Instagram page (@fivex.sgco).
Rin also shared with us a few hotspots for some of the city’s nicest bikes: Saigon Classic Motorcycles Custom (SCMC or @saigonclassicmotor on IG) and Chucha Shed (@chucha_shed on IG). These joints sold coffee and food and were regular hangouts for riders. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go because we just had no time left, but we’ll definitely pay a visit when we get the chance to go back to Saigon.
Suffice to say, there’s more to the motorcycle culture in Vietnam than meets the eye. The only reason we couldn’t find anything worth getting giddy about was because we were looking in all the wrong places. One of these days, I’ll make a trip back to the country just to see more of what the motorcycle scene has to offer, because I’m sure there’s more. So much more.
More photos of Fivex Saigon:
