Vietnam's Cafe and Biking Culture | Honda Rebel 300

I thought I had to try out Vietnam's custom motorcycle culture. Nothing better to do it with than this. The, is it too far to say, legendary, maybe pushing a bit but, the Honda Rebel, not available in European markets, 300. This is a bike that came out in 2017 and can you believe it, this bike replaced the old Honda Rebel that had been out since 1985. And they just kept it going somehow, plodding along for 30 years or so, which seems unthinkable. This came along, Rebel 300, 2017, 300cc, 26 horsepower, ultra lightweight, ultra lightweight, that's pushing it, lightweight of 168kg with fuel and that ridiculously low seat height, so it's manageable for everyone. Proper cruiser styling there, single cylinder, water cooled, and importantly, this was brought out as a complete blank canvas. So you go out, you buy this bike for, I think it's no more than in pounds sterling, the best part of £3,500 to £4,000. You have a blank slate with a brilliant cruiser silhouette to modify, customise, however you see fit. Do you want to know the reason I picked this one? It may be a little rough around the edges but, this is a perfect example of a Honda Rebel that's had exactly what's done to it that's meant to be done, i.e. heavy customisation. In Vietnam and in this part of the world, they're like black on black on black. Take a look at the wheels, these are screw over wheel caps that go over the original wheels, so these have just been screwed on with these screws either side, so you get that kind of metal plate finish. This is what the scene's like here, they like it all murdered out. So that's black, we've then got this added fuel tank, so you've got a red fuel tank underneath that I can see, that's the original colour there. You've got these Batman style plastic engine covers to give it a kind of brutalist look. You've also got this front headlamp which is different, with this slightly cheap headlamp surround that's already started rusting. You can tell that's not original Honda because there's no way that would have happened. And the exhaust note from this little 300cc. Actually that sounds incredible. What we're going to do today is to try and experience a little bit of the Vietnamese bike culture. We're going to see if a couple of the little bike cafes and hangouts are open, and we'll just take you with us on a little bit of a day in the life in the beautiful Da Nang with a proper Vietnamese custom motorbike. Just ordered a couple of drinks and while we wait, I'll show you two very nice little bikes here by the entrance. These are two proper little legends. First one from Japan, of course everyone knows it, the Honda Super Cub. Complete with proper patina, but in lovely condition with the little screen and hand protectors there. Such an iconic, timeless design. And right next to it, this is far more rare here. Vespa 150 Super in that stunning baby blue metallic type colour. Wheel attached to the front and the simplest gauges you will ever see there. Indicating, in fact that may well just have gone round the clock there, because that says just 318 kilometres. That's an iconic duo. And three of Honda's most famous little bikes here on display on the wall. First up, I think that's one of the old... That's one of the old monkey bikes, I think. I love that bulbous looking tank on the front and the huge amounts of chrome on that, with those aftermarket wheels. And below that, that is... That's got to be one of the original Dax's ST70s. Take a look at that, just below the ST70 logo. There's that famous Dax logo because it's named after the Dax & Dog. We've got the Dax & Dog with two wheels, front and rear on that. I love it. And the Mini-8 bars on the front in that beautiful green colour. With, incredibly, another Honda Dax in deep blue right next to it. You realise how good the new Honda designs are. They've kept them so similar to these old original, what would be, I think, 1970s Hondas. It's so interesting coming to the different places, different countries, seeing what bike cultures are like. You go to the USA, for example, it's all Harley-Davidson's and it's Indians. In the UK, it's, of course, the British bikes. And then South East Asia, it's always the little old Japanese bikes, and predominantly Honda, because Hondas are the bikes that mobilise South East Asia. So here, the fact we've got the old Honda Cub outside, the Dax and the Monkey here, it perfectly symbolises South East Asian biking culture and the custom culture within Vietnam. I think it was about two days ago, I posted, or we did the video a few days ago, that we were going over to Da Nang by bus. And, weirdly, I never thought about watching this. So many of you commented to say that when you're on the bus and the sleeper trains yourself, experiencing the overland travel, you decided to watch Apocalypse Now. That 1979 film. And it's a film that has completely gone under my radar. It came out four years after the end of the Vietnam War. And Monica and I just started watching it yesterday. We watched it about an hour before falling asleep, because it's a three-hour epic. But it gives such an interesting insight into the war. And Da Nang, right here, was one of the key bases for the US military. So you had a gigantic naval presence from the US, a huge military presence, and the Air Force as well. So Da Nang Airport, still in existence now as a civilian airport, that started off life as a huge US airbase. So there are loads of areas within this town that have been heavily influenced by the American military presence. And this is almost the first time that we've crossed away from the sea, or the coastal area of Da Nang, where all of the tourists are. They then have to cross a bridge to the next part of Da Nang, which is where we are right now. And this is the local area, and it's almost an exact cut-off. All tourists right next to the waterfront, and almost no tourists here, are set away from the water. Oh, it's heartbreaking. The ladies behind me have been trying to strap a blender to the Honda Dream, and it's just fallen off and shattered everywhere. I think there's a Harley-Davidson dealership here, in Da Nang, which I'm very surprised by. So let's go and check it out, because I'd quite like to pick up a Da Nang-specific Harley-Davidson top. So, if I might, it's only about five minutes away. Quad lock as well. A lot of you will know, it's been a channel sponsor for ages. I always bring my quad lock stuff here. I've got the handlebar mount pro, vibration dampener, and, of course, everything attached to my phone case. And it's as easy as that. With the vibration dampener protecting the internals, this is a must-have everywhere I go. It's excellent, and all black, just fits perfectly with the Rebel. This is a good start. One of the big Harley-Davidsons. That is just the most phenomenal-looking bike. And next to it, didn't expect this. 660 Triumph Trident, and the Triumph Speed 400. So this, that's okay, that's fine. This may possibly be a dual dealership. So let's go inside, check it out. I love these Harley location-specific tees, because... It just tells you a little story, doesn't it? Yeah. About where you've been. It's a great memory as well. Isn't it? I think between us we've got about ten of these, and I picked one of these up from Wars, Harley-Davidson in London as well. And they're all so different. It's the kind of ones that, in 20 years' time, you find tucked in someone's cupboard that hasn't been seen for a while. But they've all got a story, and that's the Dragon Bridge. So we'll definitely have to pick a couple of these up. Take a look at this quickly. Just before I engross myself too much in T-shirt shopping. That's proper stitching. They're very nice. The problem is, can I actually get them home? I can imagine the tariffs and imports are quite hefty in Vietnam for one of these. So this is 789 million Vietnamese dong. Bear in mind this is 16,000 pounds in the U.K., 12,000 pounds equivalent in the U.S.A., I believe. Here in Vietnam, 22,500 pounds for one of these. You've got to be someone with significant means to be able to afford one of these. This really takes me back to about a year ago. Because this is the exact base bike. It was brand new when we started. That I, along with Wars Harley-Davidson, designed for my idea of a dream Harley-Davidson. So it takes me back just so well. In fact, the base model bike is such a good-looking machine. And out of all of the Harley-Davidson range, that is why I picked it for the customization process with Wars. This is the bike I would pick because it is so timelessly classic Harley-Davidson. I really, really like this bike. Whoever bought the Harley-Davidson from Wars, I would love to know. Because honestly, I don't know anything about it. I don't know where the Wars Harley-Davidson that I designed went. So if someone bought it and you're willing to get in touch and just let me know about it, how is it? I would be so happy to hear from you. That's very cool. And that. That's the one. Yeah, cool. This is one of the most incredible cafes I've ever been to. And I cannot believe we're leaving Da Nang tomorrow. And we almost didn't see it. This is set away from the tourist area. So I'll put the details in the written description. And it feels so authentic. You come in, there's an MZ motorcycle downstairs. It's described as a living museum. Of course, please. And it's made in the style of a 1970s Vietnamese house. So you've got all of these antiques set around the place. I think that's a picture of Lenin right there. Monica's sitting in front of a tiny little 50cc motorbike. And you've still got all of the old 1960s, 1970s electrical switches set up, screwed into the walls. It is absolutely magical. No doubt at all. The most characterful, authentic-feeling cafe I've been to in Vietnam over the past month and a half. This is... What is it? Yeah, this is a tea. And I've completely forgotten what we ordered because I've run out of coffee. They are that busy here. But this is what everyone gets, especially after 5pm. You'll see everyone going to the cafes and bars in Vietnam. But at least from what we've seen, it's almost never to get alcohol. It's always to just get a cup of tea. So everyone will be sitting around with these iced teas. And they are delicious. I just wish I could remember exactly what the flavour was. Do you know another interesting thing? The reference to a lot of Russian stuff. For example, the picture of Lenin there. Right at the top of the mantelpiece. And this cafe is designed to be a 1970s time-warp. That you can just sit in and enjoy all of the ambience around it. And the Russians... I was just reading on this. What's the link between it? During the Vietnam War, the Russians provided huge amounts of money. And military weapons. And expertise as well. So I think at any one point there were something like 10,000 Russians in Vietnam. Helping the Vietnam War effort. And it was largely thanks to them that Vietnam in the end was successful over the Americans. So you see a dictionary there from Russian to English. You see Lenin at the top there. I think it's largely due to the huge impact the Russians had on Vietnam throughout the 60s and 70s. Even the bathroom here is incredible. Went to wrap the video up yesterday at about 6pm. And the microphone was completely dead. So it's the following morning. Midnight tonight. We're heading off to our final destination in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City where we'll spend a week. And we've just got one week left. Or maybe nine days left before our Vietnamese adventure ends. So Da Nang. It may not be the place that's obviously got the most overt culture in Vietnam. But I think just going to those cafes yesterday. The first time we've seen those cafes. We've never been to them before. It shows that actually if you just dig a bit deeper below the surface. Some of the culture here in Da Nang is on a level with anything we've seen. That was for me a phenomenal day of richness and culture. Exploring some of the old cafes linked with that Viking history that Vietnam has to offer. Final thoughts on the Honda Rebel 300. Especially for us Brits we get the Honda Rebel 500. So it's much of a muchness. This is an excellent, excellent bike. And it's more than a challenge for the likes of the Royal Enfield. So if you've been looking at one of these considering it. I highly recommend it. Superb machine. So thanks so much everyone for watching. From the beach here in Da Nang. Have a brilliant week all. And we'll see you in the next one.