Indonesia motorcycle tour
 

Hello,

I am planning a motorcycle tour of Indonesia sometime in March 2023.

I've been to Jakarta a few years back and enjoyed the city but this tour I would like to explore the "less" touristy places and take the back roads.

The plan is to rent a bike and tour for 30 days. Don't want to deal with carnet to ship my bike from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

For starters which island would be recommended? Sumatra or Java?

Are rental bikes allowed to board the ferry from Ketapang, Java to Gilimanuk, Bali?

Appreciate any info.

Thanks in advance.

Brendon

Sulawesi was my preferred island of Indonesia, but you didnt mention that island….

Of Java and Sumatra I would have chosen Sumatra. Java is only one huge traffic jam….:oops2: Not that bad - but still a lot of traffic! Java has a lot of interesting stuff such as Borobodur temple, Prambanan temple, Mt Bromo and many other volcanoes - but I liked Sumatra more, especially the northern part with Lake Toba, Bukit Lavang, Banda Aceh - and the very best motorcycle road in the whole country - namely the coastal road from Banda Aceh and down the west coast of the island, just pure Magic!

Any of Java and Sumatra would make a great adventure but Sumatra is less congested with traffic - so more pleasant to ride a bike there than on Java.

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your insight and experience.

To be honest, I never even thought of Sulawesi. LOL

Actually, I hate traffic jams and always prefer to ride in quieter cities/towns. So, Sumatra looks like the better choice over Java. Maybe it's my age thing? LOL

What general route would you recommend for a 30 days maximum tour in Sumatra? Air Asia does fly to Medan and Banda Aceh from Kuala Lumpur.
Which city would be better to start from?

Do you have any recommended bike rental shops so that I can look at the rental costs and types of bike.

And lastly do you have any links for motorcycle routes in Sumatra that I could research on?

Thanks again.

I rode my own bike during a RTW trip there so rental shops I know nothing about unfortunately.

For 30 days I would just do a loop around the island, should be just about enough time for that. I think I spent around 25 days on Sumatra. I also did patked my bike in Padang and went to the Siberut island and spent some time with the Mentawai people.

I guess Medan would be a good place to start a Sumatra trip. Thats where I started my 3,5 months and 13 k kms adventure through Indonesia. Close to Bukit Lavang for Orangutan sightseing and jungle trips. Then north to Banda Aceh, south along the west coast which is a fantastic ride! Then inland to Lake Toba, spend a few days there - further southbond to Bukittingi, then Padang and further south to Lampung, then turn north and keep to east of the island. I didnt go to the east side of the island south of Medan but Im sure there are great riding and interesting sightseing spots there as well.

Thanks for the info on the general route.

Will research for the bike rentals.

Good luck with your trip. Obviously you could start and end your trip whereever it suits you, that wouldnt matter.

I found a motorbike rental shop in Medan on another forum. I have of course no experience with them - but I thought you might would like to know:

https://rentalmotormedan.com/2020/06/01/pilihan-motor/

Thanks buddy. I appreciate it.

Probably continue my research on Sumatra in December.
I leave for Hanoi, Vietnam for a 4 weeks tour on a Honda XR150 in a week's time.

Waiting for a trip report from Vietnam…:thumbup1:

Just an update.

I have decided to pull the plug on Sumatra, Indonesia for the time being.
Tried to book flights to KNO, Medan but couldn't get the cheap fares for that route.
I subscribed to Air Asia's Super+ which is only for ASEAN destinations but could not get the seats for March 2023.
Air Asia MO is likely to allocate limited seats for the Super+ subscribers and that means one has to book way in advance like >5 or 6 months ahead.

However, I have secured seats for Hanoi in May 2023 and am going back to Vietnam again to complete the North West and maybe parts of Central Vietnam.

I lived just outside Jakarta for a year and owned a small 125. Traffic was horrible and not at all fun to ride in. Once you got well away from Jakarta... well, it was still bad. I've toured in south India on an Enfield Bullet and it was a wonderful picnic compared to riding in Java....

He-he, yeah as I wrote above - Java is just one huge traffic jam…
150 000 000 inhabitants on 124 000 square kms of land says it all.

Sumatra is much more adventure friendly.

PS - have a look at Steven Campbells photos from his overland trip in 1973 on the Horizons Facebook site. Some amazing photos there!