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D
espite the bike’s well known
issues, there are still plenty of
people who fall in love with
the Minsk - Saigon Minsk Club
alone has over a thousand members.
The group, which was founded in 2009
by Nguyen Huy, an oil rig designer liv-
ing in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, just
celebrated its fourth birthday in Binh
Phuoc province.
Huy says the group gathers Minsk
lovers, also called Minskers, from all
over the country. “Our members are
always very friendly to each other, even
though some have high positions in the
society,” says Huy, adding that on a re-
cent journey to Binh Phuoc, Mai Thanh
Phong, vice director of an advertising
company, was always willing to repair
any bikes along the way.
There are two types of Minsk, the
Civil and the Sport. The Civil Minsk is the
most common here in Vietnam, where
in the 80s and 90s, the Minsk was one
of the most popular motorbikes, par-
ticularly in the countryside, thanks to its
power - a Minsk can easily carry up to
seven people, or two big pigs.
In Ho Chi Minh City, people have just
started to take to themachine, withmany
modifying bikes to make something indi-
vidual. “How they are overhauled de-
pends on individual tastes and styles, so
you can tell a lot about the owner’s char-
acteristics through their Minsk,” says Ha
Xuan Hai, a graphic designer who joined
the group two years ago.
According to many Minskers, it’s
easy to fall for a Minsk initially, but it’s
hard to stay in love since they are so
very prone to break downs. Making
matters worse, it is now very hard to
find a place to repair them. Moreover,
Minsk parts cannot be found easily eve-
rywhere in Vietnam. All this means that
those who own a Minsk end up invest-
ing a lot of time and money in it.
“Buying it is easy, but taming it is
very difficult and even costly. The aver-
age price of a Minsk is around VND4-5
million, however the cost for repairing
it is sometimes double,” says Phan Lu
Dang Duy, an architect and experienced
Minsker. What’s more, fuel costs are
astronomical compared to a standard
Honda Wave, with the Minsk guzzling a
liter every 30 kilometres.
Every year, Saigon Minsk organizes
three
phuot
(road trips) to do charity
work. Last year, they went to Dak Lak
province to give the poor rice and other
necessities. The funds were raised from
the members, their families, friends,
and some companies.
“We initiate these charity trips with
the hope of contributing to society and
While the classic Russian Minsk motorcycle undoubtedly has lots of charm,
opting for one means accepting plenty of mechanical misfortune.
Duy Khuong
joined a group of Minsk fanatics to learn more about the allure
of this temperamental classic.
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