By Ryan Borroff
Photography by Aston Leach
At first, crossing the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City is a leap of faith. The colour and the shape, not to mention the sound, of hundreds of two-wheeled vehicles as they speed past in a single, uninterrupted traffic flow is nothing short of awe-inspiring the first time you witness it.
Three million motorcycles
With an estimated three million motorcycles and scooters in Vietnam’s biggest city, you would expire from heat exhaustion before seeing a break in the traffic so you can cross the road. You can spot the tourists a mile off. They’re the ones scratching their heads trying to work out how on Earth they will reach the other side.
It took us a while to pluck up the courage to venture into the street, but in fact there was little need to worry. For pedestrians there is only one rule to follow: move continuously and predictably across the road and do not stop – the traffic just flows around you as you walk forward, like a shoal of fish flowing around a rock in the ocean.
Honda manufacturing plant in Thailand
The road is a delicate balance of chaos and order, and riding in such a mass requires advanced skills of peripheral vision, quick reactions, fairness and foresight.
It’s a scene played out daily across Asia because, there, the two-wheeler is king of the road. With the cost of a car beyond the budget of the majority of people, a scooter or motorbike is the primary means of transportation for tens of millions of people.
In China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, young people buy small two-wheelers at first, then upgrade to more powerful and comfortable models – it’s similar to the way people purchase cars in Europe.
The rise of the two-wheeler
The scooter’s step-through design has long been popular globally, particularly with skirted women, who welcomed the upright riding position and ease of access. These were just two of the big advantages of the scooter, which was invented in the 1920s. But it wasn’t until after World War II that scooter culture really took off in both Europe and Asia.
Inexpensive to run, easy to repair, comfortable and fun to ride, lightweight, agile, highly manoeuvrable in traffic and ideal for navigating narrow city streets – the two-wheeler is perfectly tailored to suit Asia’s needs.
Easy to store and even easier to park – you can leave them almost anywhere due to their relatively small size, and in Asia people usually do – two-wheeled transportation is considered essential for getting around, not least because many areas lack pavements and in rural areas public transport can be sparse or non-existent.
Best of all, smaller-engined bikes, particularly scooters, can achieve high levels of fuel economy that cars can’t get close to – not yet at least.
Adaptable transport
And though designed for short commutes, such two-wheeled transport has proved itself surprisingly adaptable. In Bangkok you are likely to see all manner of cargo being transported on it. In Hanoi, scooter taxis offer quick and efficient – and exhilarating – trips around Vietnam’s capital city.
In Mumbai, you can see scooters carrying tiffin tins as the dabbawalla, or ‘box people’, rush to deliver lunch for the city’s growing middle-class. In Taipei, scooters and bikes have their own dedicated waiting areas at traffic lights and designated parking spaces around the city – but then, Taiwan is the biggest scooter market worldwide.
Now scooters and smaller motorbikes are growing in popularity here, too, as people respond to our cash-strapped times by buying an economical and fun-filled two-wheeled alternative that addresses their commuting needs. In fact, Honda’s manufacturing plant in Thailand assembles the motorbikes and scooters created especially for European and British riders.
Honda in Asia
Honda sells more than 15 million bikes and scooters in Asia each year, at its Ladkrabang factory in Bangkok, where most of the workforce arrives each day by scooter or motorbike.
It’s also the factory that is responsible for assembling many of the two-wheelers that have become increasingly numerous on UK roads. These include the best-selling PCX125, the CRF250L and the newest models to the range – the MSX125 and all-new 500 series – CBR500R, CB500F, CB500X.
Honda CBF125
They are all built here for the European market. They are becoming more appealing to riders in Europe for the same reasons they are to riders across Asia: they offer a great combination of ease of use, affordable prices, quality, style and fuel economy.
European vs Asian trends
Historically, European riders have tended to ride bikes with larger engines than their Asian counterparts, who have traditionally favoured smaller machines. But in recent years, these scooter and motorbike markets have started to change. In the Asian market, where most people own low-capacity two-wheelers, there’s now a trend towards bigger bikes.
In contrast, experienced European riders are buying motorbikes and scooters with smaller engines, and in urban areas there is a growing trend for people to move out of cars and onto a bike or scooter for commuting.
In the UK, the market is shifting to low-capacity machines, including 125cc Honda bikes, as people move away from high-capacity machines because of the rising prices of fuel and car insurance.
‘We have seen a shift in the European market away from big bikes,’ explains Dave Hancock, head of sales and customer operations for motorcycles, Honda UK, ‘and more towards mid-capacity motorbikes and scooters such as the NC700X, NC700S and low-capacity models including the Vision 110, CBF125 and PCX125.
In the UK market, the two best-selling bikes overall are both Honda and both 125cc machines – the CBF125 and PCX125.
Honda CRF250L
‘European buyers are now slowly but surely tending towards low- and mid-capacity machines, including the CRF250L and CBR250R,’ adds Hancock. ‘These two machines, alongside the CB500F, CBR500R, CB500X and MSX125, are machines for the global market. They have been well received in both Europe and Thailand.’
Demand for ‘niche models’
While biking cultures in Asia and Europe are swapping tastes to some extent, at the same time riders on both continents are looking for more individual and unusual two-wheelers. The trend towards greater choice and personalisation is sparking the development of innovative products – known in the industry as ‘niche models’.
The MSX125 is a prime example and it’s a bike designed for both Asian and European markets. Manufactured in Thailand – where there is a massive demand from young people for trendy, unusual scooters and bikes – the MSX125, which stands for Mini Street Xtreme 125, has become hugely popular and has been clocking up sales in the UK, too.
A combination of motorcycle and mini-bike, the MSX125’s design is inspired by Honda’s iconic, small-wheeled Monkey bikes from the 1960s. Styled by Honda’s European and Japanese design studios and manufactured in Thailand, the latest three models in the CB500 series are selling very well in Asia and Europe.
‘In some ways, markets are equalising,’ says Hancock. ‘Customer expectations in Asia are rising to meet those of Europeans, while European customers are looking for more affordable transport with good quality and reliability.’
Meanwhile, Asian bike preferences are being influenced by Europe. ‘European culture still very much has a halo effect on the Asian market, specifically within motorcycles and in wider lifestyle culture,’ says Hancock. ‘World Championships, such as MotoGP and World Motocross, have Asian fixtures in the calendar, and this fosters a strong brand image for Honda in Asia.’
Produced in Thailand, the Scoopy i model is a particularly interesting example that boasts European cultural credentials – it comes in limited-edition Liverpool FC and Manchester United models. It isn’t sold in the UK, but who knows? Watch this space!
