No two Hondas better describe a Vietnamese riding career than these: the Wave Alpha is the bike most people learn on; the Winner R is the bike they graduate to. Honda VN publishes both specifications (retrieved 23 September 2026).
Transmission is the whole story
Wave Alpha: four-speed rotary semi-automatic, no clutch lever, 109.2 cc air-cooled, 6.12 kW at 7,500 rpm, 8.44 Nm at 5,500 rpm. Winner R: 149.2 cc liquid-cooled (KC46E), 11.5 kW at 9,000 rpm, 13.5 Nm at 7,000 rpm, manual clutch. The Alpha can be ridden within minutes by a complete beginner - our semi-automatic gearbox explainer covers why. The Winner R requires genuine clutch-lever skill before Hanoi traffic becomes survivable.
Economy
Alpha: 1.72 L/100 km from 3.7 litres - frugal commuting. Winner R: 2.59 L/100 km (UDC method, per Honda’s published note) from 4.5 litres. Nearly double the power, half again the thirst.
Size and weight
Alpha: 96 kg, 770 mm seat, 134 mm clearance. Winner R: 124 kg, 795 mm seat, 153 mm clearance, sport tyres. The Winner R is 28 kg heavier and asks for it at parking speed.
Price and rental
Alpha: 18,841,091 VND list. Winner R: 46,360,000 VND list. At our counter the Wave class is price-published at 150,000 VND per day; the Winner R is not price-published - contact us to confirm current availability. Our advice for visitors stays the same: master the semi-automatic format first, then decide whether sport riding in Vietnam is really for you.