The Bike that Mobilised Vietnam | The Honda Dream

I've done it I've been so excited for this—ever since I arrived in Vietnam I've been desperate o obtain the single most important vehicle in Vietnam's history The problem is for me It's nearly impossible to get your hands on it I'm talking about the Honda Dream—the vehicle in question at mobilized Vietnam The problem is despite its remarkable success it's now impossible to rent one of these bikes because they simply no longer make sense—they haven't been produced anymore for about 10 years and all of them have been confined either to scrapyards or tucked away in people's garages where they've simply sat unused for years as newer models have emerged But finally this is the rd property we've stayed at where I've had to ask "Can you get me a Honda Dream " Doesn't matter how much it costs It costs can you just find one Third property in Vietnam and the owner said look Freddie it's just and I've just seen it Freddie it's just not possible But then two hours ago she said I've managed to find one In the garage in the basement of your building there should be a Honda Dream is there Go to the security personnel and ask for the key to the Dream The bike tha mobilized Vietnam I'll hop on the bike and do a full walk-around in a moment but come here first a bit closer That's just a layer of dust I have no idea when this was last used and I don't eve ow if there's any fuel in it We've also got hello We've got a little crowd so I need to check if This will start If this doesn't start this won't even be a video First things first try and figure it out out where the key goes on this legendary little bike But this is insane That's not Oh my god is that No that's the key Look at that So that goes in there Hello We're just trying to get this going hopefully Should be good Okay let's get started I love doing this in front of an audience Yes oh that's brilliant Thank you thank you—I'll get there Should I check this fuel Inspecting the carburetors I love how everyone instantly seems to understand about the bike even with or without a complete language barrier Good We need to get this underway immediately This is now our top priority Stage oh god stage stage one done Okay pretty much I'm going to now go out get this started take a ride and get it into the sunlight for the first time in probably what’s It's been quite a while I've got 80 meters— I could throw a tennis ball toward the apartment and it would stop It wants to I can feel it yearning to begin Sorry for the lackluster background My original plan was to capture this in a more scenic setting That's not going to happen Please please the fuel's fine Yeah yeah Alright you can go now Yes yes No problem at all Thank you so much Yeah really appreciate it Bye-bye I give you the Honda Dream the single most important vehicle in Vietnam's history and I'm ot overemphasizing that What you've just seen over the past 20 minutes for me trying to ge This bike failed to start and move more than 100 meters despite two different people coming over to help me all because this bicycle is deeply rooted in the history of Vietnam This vehicle very nearly single-handedly mobilized Vietnam as in 1992 the percentage of people who The percentage of people who had a motorcycle in Vietnam was about 1.6 percent The percentage of people who had a car in Vietnam was so negligible it's virtually unmeasurable—likely less than 0.1 percent at this point the early 1990s people in Vietnam were either cycling or walking—until Honda arrived In 1985 Honda launched the Dream in Thailand and Vietnam quickly recognized the brilliance of this sturdy rugged little machine beginning to import Honda Dreams from Thailand over to Vietnam and this was such a phenomenal success in Vietnam that in 1997 the Vietnamese decided we wanted a piece of this for ourselves so they opened a factory in Vietnam and from 1997 onward Until 2017 the Honda Dreams were manufactured right here in Vietnam all the way up to the point of demise of the bike when it was discontinued due to emissions regulations in 2017 What I was desperate to do justice to this dream I wanted to ride off into the hills here one and a half kilometers above sea level in Sapa and give it the proper tribute it deserves send-off but that's simply not going to happen I know that if those two gentlemen are trying to start this Dream couldn't pull it off so it simply isn't going to happen But that perfectly demonstrates e far-reaching influence of this bike It's predicted that during the 1990s between 80 and 90 percent of all vehicles on the road in Vietnam were either the Honda Cub or significantly older models commonplace now the Honda Dream—just picture it cruising around places like Hanoi and seeing 80 to 90 percent of all vehicles being the exact same model When the second gentlema came over to me and I could tell he saw I was struggling—just by the look in his eyes as he approached bringing back all those memories I walked over to the bike turned the key made a few adjustments to the dashboard gave it a quick wipe-down to make sure everything was in place He eased the choke open slightly twisted out the kickstart and gave it a confident downward kick Held it there for a few seconds just to hear the engine turn over and I could see all of him memories flooding back He just knew all the little intricacies and nuances of how to start these bikes In the end unfortunately he said "It's probably going to be the fact that" Fuel in the 1990s was very different from what we have today and unfortunately this is likely outdated fuel so it's just not going to start I did ask him though how do you know the Honda Dream so well and he said of course I used to have one everyone did He said mine was a 1994 model as he gazed thoughtfully into the distance Everyone everyone in Vietnam has in some way been affected by the Honda Dream Let's take a look at this legendary design Keep in mind when this model was released Thailand in 1985 and then production began in Vietnam in 1997 at a time when no one roducing motorized transport to Vietnam something they've never had before so there's no point in building a specialist facility pure and simple speed machine This has to be a vehicle that's equally at home tackling an 80-year-old challenge an elderly grandmother or grandfather a 16-year-old on the way to school a construction worker with everything with his tools an entire family of four seated on it—it had to be incredibly easy to use extremely easy to access and absurdly inexpensive to maintain operate and upkeep and it perfectly meets all those criteria There's a small amount of wind protection at the front and the seat heig of course we're in Southeast Asia so you need a low seat height to accommodate the riding style and terrain here Everyone there's no point having a high seat so here at six foot one you can see my legs are nice and folded It features a bench seat specially designed to accommodate your whole family Watch this—it's incredibly comfortable easily fitting one two or even three adults and possibly one more An adult and three children can fit there There's no under-seat storage at all so the period-specific and very popular modification here was to strap a basket to the front where you'd place items such as all your groceries tires as thin as an average bicycle because it's the cheapest way to replace them when they eventually need changing and just a slightly more boxy shape more modern in design than the Honda Cub that preceded it about 30 years earlier Kickstart semi-auto on this side so it's not too intimidating with a very simple little speedometer reading all the way up to 120 kilometers per hour—I'll give you a closer look Here You've got that classic square headlight up front No controls on the left side Front brake as usual—very simple Just a small dash with a fuel gauge which is extremely useful and the speedometer over there The choke fuel cutoff is here accessible through this perfectly placed hole That’s the ultimate in ease of use—small rack for luggage front basket included A charming little Honda logo on the seat and visible from the sides is an incredibly plush ultra-comfortable seat designed for maximum comfort for anyone seated all the way in the back all the way to the front and that now legendary logo—the Honda Dream 2 A couple of extra details o add here The semi-automatic gear shift allows you to change gears using your heel and toe as you can see You don't need to get your shoes messy Here we have the small helmet holder right here so you ca Secure your helmet when you're off the bike and take a look at this—I hope I'm not cutting it too close I'm out here but this is incredible—I just realized you can adjust the suspension here Here's a picture of two people Twist it and I can feel the suspension compressing Now there's an image of just one person so this setup is for a single occupant This is even more incredible than I imagined Twist it and you've got a suspension setup for two or More people—that’s the smartest simplest suspension setup I’ve ever seen and the fact that they’ve got two people there Nothing technological or complicated You don’t wa o deter those who only want a means of transportation simply place a picture of two people —clear and straightforward as obvious as it could possibly be It’s accessible to everyone I'm about to do something that's probably a bit stupid but I need to feel what the Dream is like at least walking down a hill to get some nice shots keep in mind I can't start it so I'll just run up there—it's steep enough where I can just roll down and at least get that feeling of a dream moving So let me dream if my dreams can ever come true This might have been a simple return to basics practical mode of transportation but that was not the case for the Vietnamese When this arrived in the In the 1990s Vietnam was one of the poorest countries on Earth and for many people simply surviving was a challenge affordable food was a challenge and 60 percent of people in Vietnam in the early 1990s lived below the poverty line poverty line So this bike came along and even for people in Hanoi the heart of Vietnam it would have cost as much as an apartment The basic Honda Dream was priced at the same level as accommodation yet still despite all of that despite the price in comparison to other accommodations the Vietnamese still embraced these wholeheartedly In Vietnam this was the ultimate status symbol All you What I have to do now is imagine the satisfying thud of this engine as I roll down the hill Apologies but you'll have to use your imagination It's incredible to think that just nine years ago Vietnam was producing and churning out these dreams right here on location but times have changed and the Dream can no longer be found here meet emissions standards and newer more stylish scooters with advanced technology hit the market and suddenly a bike that had single-handedly powered Vietnam’s mobility became everywhere across the country from everyone from politicians to doctors to villagers who had never experienced personalized transport before But all of a sudden within just a few years of this becoming the norm wo-wheeled motorized transport suddenly it's almost a thing of the past and it's now at a stage It's rare to see these around and this exact model is the perfect example Left in a garage underground gathering a thin layer of dust and grime no longer used considered a relic with no real reason to be driven again And as a means of transportation here in 2026 the era of the Honda Dream being a true workhorse is over Unfortunately those days are gone It's a thing of the past While the Honda Cub may dominate the headlines as the bike that mobilized Asia the Honda Dream The Southeast Asian counterpart to the Cub holds its rightful place among the legendary motorcycles in history And now if you'll excuse me I'll be riding off into the distance And I just can't get over you