Hi! Thought I'd report back: we ended up making it as far as the entrance of Trang An, but found it too commercialized and artificial. Went instead to Van Long and loved it - I guess we got lucky, because we saw a family of 7 Delacour's langurs and even a tiny little baby! Considering how excited our rower was, I imagine it is not very common. It was just a wonderful morning,

I did not write "Forget it", I wrote that it is better (in my opinion of course, EVERY advice is subjective) to rent bikes locally. NOT same same !

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I've ridden Hanoi to Saigon twice. I don't agree with larsay about it being boring and to be avoided. However I know little about motorcycle hire as I ride a bicycle. I have met a few doing it on motorbikes and they seemed to be having fun. From what I heard there are companies that hire in Hanoi and arrange shipping back from Saigon (do they still do the old Russian 125cc 2 strokes?). Presumably recommendations for one of these companies is what the OP is after.

Choosing your route is important.

I rode H1 back in 2003 with a deviation up to Dalaat and finishing down H20. I admit, I wouldn't want to ride H1 nowadays.

My second trip was down the HCM Highway and this is the route I would recommend for leaving Hanoi. I rode all HCM, but also did an extra loop to Nha Trang via Dalaat. With a bit of tweaking on the HCM you can go via the main tourist towns likes Doing Hoi, Hue, Hoi An, etc. After Hoi An you can return to HCM or follow the small roads of East coast all the way to Vung Tau.

I am going back in Feb to ride Da Nang to The Delta via the East coast, I hope it won't be boring.

Plenty of cyclists have ridden H>S and you may find some interesting journals on the crazyguyonabike.com website.

Enjoy

Flamingo is excellent

Well Larsay, you did lead off with an expression of disbelief and a description of the ride between Hue and Hanoi as "long and absolutely boring." Which it would be, of course, if you jumped on Route 1 and didn't get off until Hanoi, but who would do that? Now you're shouting about giving information "only if asked," while perhaps not noticing that the OP asked for rental recommendations and tips, which you've declined to provide. And you conclude by yelling "END OF DISCUSSION," as if the discussion belonged solely to you.

For whatever it's worth, I had the same immediate response as LostRoadie, so maybe consider your own contribution to whatever misunderstanding ensued. Or not, as you prefer. Go ahead and get offended, if that works for you.

In the meantime, I rented and thought that was absolutely the right choice...for me. I used Flamingo Travel, which has well-maintained bikes of all sizes and offices in Hanoi, HCM City and Hoi An. One-way rentals are reasonable, and the company did exactly as they said they would in all respects, which is worth something. They were more expensive than smaller companies renting lesser bikes, but I got what I was after.

From Hoi An to Hanoi I took mostly back roads--Ho Chi Minh highway, then up to near Dien Bien Phu, across to Sapa, winding around down to Halong Bay, and eventually back up to Hanoi. There were, I admit, a sparse few minutes of boredom.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Scuse me ! You have written "Whatever you do, do not listen to larsay, obviously has no insight on the “journey not destination” way of life on two wheels". Obviously, we do not have the same idea of politeness !!!! A POLITE person would have started with "I disagree with Larsay" period ! What did you expect ? A big "Thank you" ? I will give detailed info if I am asked by the person who asks.
END OF DISCUSSION !!!!

Calm down larsay, no need to yell. :)

You gave advice for taking a train to someone looking for a bike rental shop, which I disagree with. You also recommend buying and then selling a bike, which is certainly possible and done all the time, but I also don’t agree it is the best way for everyone.
Now you go on a rant about rides you have taken but still have not posted any useful information that is on topic in this thread, like the names or websites for the excellent used bike shops you say are near your home where Billy could find a bike to rent, which is the topic at hand.
There is nothing in my post that is rude, just my opinion based on experience so please don’t take things so personal. My experience with imported Chinese bikes when I was trying to save money has not been good. Renting a quality bike from a reputable company is all I’m recommending to billy, who asked about bike hire shops. Avoid buying a Chinese bike from a random backpacker is good advice, take it or leave it.

Have a great day.

You are kindly invited to remain POLITE on this forum !

Larsay has been living in Hanoi for now 12 years - where he uses his own scooter, an excellent Honda Wave S, EVERY DAY ! Larsay lives in happy retirement and, therefore, is constantly roaming the WHOLE country - highways , small mountains roads, dirt roads - on a scooter, his own or rented, which are not "crappy Chinese", but excellent scooters Honda, Suzuki, etc. made in Vietnam under the supervision of JAPANESE engineers. What about 15 scooter days between Hoi An and Dalat going through the Highlands, at least 6 trips to Babe Lake, including 2 on small mountains roads, at least 10 to Sapa going Hanoi-Sapa on small roads, not the national one, 3 trip Hanoi-Langson-Dong Khé-Cao Bang-Babe Lake, 2 trips Saigon-Chau Doc at the Cambodian border, one week Saigon-Ha Tien-Saigon etc etc etc ????? So much for my ignorance of the country !!! There are indeed some Chinese scooters, which are no crap, if not, no Viet, a people who know a lot about scooters, would certainly not buy.

Some used-scooters places are excellent ; I know at least 2 shops in Hanoi, alongside Ho Tay where I live, where you can buy one with 15 000-20 000 km on the meter. OR you buy directly from a backpacker who is selling his in a main Backpackers zone (Ngo Huyen St in Hanoi, De Tham St and around in Saigon) ; they have a sign "For Sale" with a tel number. It is done all the time

I’ve been very happy with previous rentals from https://www.tigitmotorbikes.com/
At the very least the website is a great resource for planning your trip.

https://youtu.be/QEspCiOHIU0

Absolutely no affiliation as I’m just an American traveler.
Buying a crap Chinese bike from some random broke backpacker and then trying to sell it can be done for sure, but not how I like to travel... and then after you spent $$$ fixing it numerous times and probably lose money on the resale you’ll likely wish you just rented from a reputable company. Reasonable cost for a month, one way, with support if there’s an issue with them bike is a small price to pay for the adventure. Of course reasonable cost is subjective... Plane tickets are expensive, time off from work is expensive, a quality bike with roadside support for a grand adventure is priceless.

Whatever you do, do not listen to larsay, obviously has no insight on the “journey not destination” way of life on two wheels. Who in their right mind would want to ride a small bike on a highway anyways instead of off the beaten path through villages and beautiful scenery at your own pace? And then just ride around big cities? Haha. The kind Of person like larsay that recommend taking a train city to city, that’s who. Nothing wrong with that at all of course, but if you have the bike skills to ride then there’s no better way to see Vietnam, or any place IMO.
Freedom.
Safe travels.