Step 3: Selling your bike in Phnom Penh

Selling the Honda Win for more than peanuts

I didn’t get as much use out of the bike in Cambodia as I did back in Vietnam. Mostly because I didn’t think the Win was up to traversing the 300 or so kilometers of unpredictable road conditions to Siem Reap.

After getting the rear tube patched, I rode it around the city for a couple days then left it at my guesthouse till I got back from Siem Reap. This turned out to be one of my better decisions since the road there varied between brand new tarmac and basically montages from Mad Max. There was a lot of construction going on and the dry season wasn’t helping with the dust.

Like Mordor, the road to Siem Reap was not optimal

Bus tickets to Siem Reap are plentiful and the Giant Ibis is one of the best in the business. It was like being in an airplane, with power outlets, meals and the whole shebang. The way back was with some other company, a horrible sleeper bus which was compartmentalised into tiny shared cubicles with aircon that just sucked in the dust from outside. I think that bus gave me PTSD.

Siem Reap was really interesting. Massive ancient ruins, shops & museums etc., a fun hostel community, and great nightlife with just the right tone.

On my return to PP the bike was still working and in one piece. While in Siem Reap another traveler told me about this facebook page called Phnom Penh Buy and Sell, which turned out to be a gold mine. I’d searched around a bit but couldn’t find any sites that seemed to have any useful traffic and this page was full of potential buyers.

So I posted an advert on the page and the next day I get a few inquiries. In the meanwhile I spent the day loitering around the city checking out motorcycle garages and none of them wanted to buy the thing because it was Vietnamese. Apparently there’s a stigma against Vietnamese goods. I mentioned that the bike wasn’t manufactured there but they were adamant. It was either ridiculously low prices or outright disinterest. Be warned.

Most of the cities I went to in the region seem to have a big “public activity” scene. Exercise equipment in the parks, aerobics and badminton areas on the pavements etc.

One of the inquiries from the Facebook page turn out to be interested enough to come check it out, and he ended up buying it off me for a fair price. The timing was just right as I was leaving the very next day, and was pondering just handing it over to some local outside the city.

As far as maintenance issues, the bike didn’t throw up anything too weird. As mentioned I got the oil changed and stuff after buying it. The gearbox turned out to be a bit dodgy when going uphill to Da Lat, but it was manageable.

Way down to Nha Trang. The plate is obscured because on the way up to Da Lat, the whole licence plate/brake light assembly just kinda slid off and hung on the brake light cable, so I tied it up with some rubber strips that were conveniently on the luggage rack.

Initially I thought it was just worn out clutch plates and a clutch adjusted to suit them, but (after selling the bike) the new owner found out that the gear dogs etc were worn. The suspension replacement at Da Lat was mostly for my own comfort, as my lower body was starting to lose all feeling after the hill climb on sometimes barely there roads.

So there it is; getting from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh with your motorbike.