All,

I am thinking of moving to Jakarta for work. The thing is ... if I move I need to have a bike! Is having a bike in Jakarta a realistic idea? I would ride mostly on weekend mornings early and take the odd trip outside the city.

I see there is an active Harley scene, but that is not my thing. Also there might be a Triumph dealer.... does anyone have any info?

Any other information on living there would be great. I have a wife and a small baby. We lived in BKK and enjoyed it, looking to go back east.

C

I lived in Jakarta for a year, teaching English. I had a 110cc step-thru there. Frankly, I found riding there to be awful. The traffic congestion is horrendous 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Imagine Bombay, Bangkok, etc.

Once you get away well outside the city, there are some scenic rides through the country, but within the city itself, riding is not fun.

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

I live in Jakarta, I'm Indonesian. No problem at all for an expat to have a bike here. I have an expat co-worker who commutes on motorcyle.

The traffic here is horrible. During rush hour, from 6.30 am to 9 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm, you can expect traffic jam every where in the city and the traffic jam is terrible. Outside of those hours, traffic is not bad, unless there's a demonstration going on, then it will be long lines of slow moving vehicles.

Because of the horrible traffic jam, I commute on my bike everyday. I've been doing it since 2002. To me, it's much much better than driving, because I love motorcycling too.

As for brand of bike, in addition to the Japanese bikes brand, Harley, Ducati, BMW and the new ones Husky, Triumph, Aprilia and MV Agusta are also available here. Each has dealership here. But the price is much higher here, due to the tax and duty. For big bikes, expect to pay about twice of the price in the US or Europe.

hope this helps,
bob

Jakarta, if you don’t mind the traffic and pollution then it’s a great place to live. Just make sure you do some research before getting a place to live, so hopefully heading in the opposite direction to the traffic.
Bike wise I think just about every type of bike is now available, but you will have to pay.

Yes, if you have a death wish.

I just came back from Jakarta a couple of days ago, after spending a month there on business.

The traffic in Jakarta defies description - about all I can think of to say is that it makes Bombay or New Delhi look like Switzerland by comparison.

I am sure you could adapt to it, and learn to ride in the city - but, jeepers, would you want to? Heck, I love motorcycle riding, but I would rather mix cement than ride a moto in Jakarta.

I suggest that you go there and "look around" for a few weeks before laying out the money to get a moto. Use the Blue Bird taxis to get around (they are metered, honest, and clean, and they cost peanuts), and look at the traffic and see how everything works. It's kind of like "tolerant chaos" - you would definitely need to adapt your style to the Javanese style before you try driving there, otherwise, you will be roadkill within the first 100 meters.

Also keep in mind that Indonesia is a very corrupt country, and suffers from some of the most idiotic bureaucracy and over-regulation in the world. You will probably become very frustrated trying to comply with all the regulations (translation = barriers) that you would encounter as a non-Indonesian speaking foreigner trying to purchase, register, and insure a motorcycle in Jakarta... not to mention officials and police with their hands out right, left, and center looking for a bribe.

If I had to live in Jakarta (not an attractive proposition, in my opinion), I would try my darndest to find living accommodation that is very close to my place of work, and I would use Blue Bird taxis to get around.

If you do elect to ride a motorcycle in Jakarta, do make certain you have adequate medical insurance coverage.

Michael

Yes, that is correct. On the way to the airport on Sunday, I saw a group of riders on huge Harleys and Gold Wings heading in the opposite direction on the toll road.

But, for daily use, it would be pointless to get anything other than a 50 to 100cc 'street fighter' scooter. There are hundreds of thousands of motorcycles in Jakarta (no hyperbole), and over 99% of them are these small scooters. Anything larger than a small scooter totally negates the advantage of having a motorcycle, which is that you can filter through traffic.

Like I said earlier - wait till you get there, and then spend the first few weeks sitting in the back of a taxi scoping out traffic and local rider behaviour. Mere words are not sufficient to describe Jakarta traffic, it is something you have to see with your own eyes to comprehend.

Michael

Did you ride a motorcycle while you're here?

True, traffic is horrible here but I don't think it's any more dangerous than riding in other places, because you have to ride at a much slower speed. During weekdays, in rush hour, you're lucky if you can get to 60 kph, most of the time you can only ride at 30 kph top.

Sadly corruption is rampage here, but you don't have to be a part of it, and don't generalize, most of us Indonesians are not part of it. I never in my life bribe anyone for anything.

As for buying a motorcycle or vehicle... did you buy a motorcycle while you're here?

It's not a complicated process. It's the same process that any Indonesian will have to go through when purchasing a vehicle. You must have temporary residency permit (if you work here, you must obtain this permit anyway), which is the equivalent of ID card for Indonesians, then just go to any dealership and purchase whatever vehicle you want. Same thing with insurance. Any insurance company will sell you their insurance policy, the sales person you buy your vehicle from can and will help you get insurance.

But you can only buy with cash. I don't think there's any bank or leasing company that would finance your purchase.

If you don't have the permit, then you can not register vehicles under your name, and that means you can not buy new vehicle. You still can buy used one though, cause with a used one, you can have the vehicle registered under the previous owner's name. But when the registeration needs to be renewed you'lll have problem if the previous owner refuse to lend you his id card to renew the registeration. When purcashing used vehicle, usually the buyer leave the registeration under the previous owner's name, the p.o knows it and don't mine it. The new owner usually register it to his name when the time comes to renew the annual registeration.

Well, I commute on a Sportster for 10 years and then for almost a year now I commute on a Ducati Monster. I don't have any problem lane-splitting or filtering through traffic on my bike.

One bike that I rode and I found difficult to ride in the traffic here was a BMW1150RT. With the hard bags on, it was difficult to ride in traffic jam here. But I'd be stupid to buy a big touring bike to commute.

Thanks for the comments.

I am looking at a Triumph Bonnie ... nothing fancy, black. I have lived for a few years in Bangkok so I am somewhat used to Asia in general. The bike would only be for Saturday and Sunday mornings. Early riding only. And maybe the odd blast with a bike club. I will do everything i can to live and work near each other.

Hey mate, I live in jogjakarta if you fancy a break from the capital (you will) come down and I'll take you riding on the volcano.

Commuting in JKT is a realistic proposition, but you'll want to get an automatic bike like a vario (honda) or mio (yamaha). They are so much easier to ride in tight traffic than a full manual bike. Plenty of tuning options (bore-up kits etc) to keep them interesting.

Any built-up (import) bike is gonna cost alot more than europe or even thailand, saying that though you will get good money back for it when it comes time to sell...

Bikes are generally cheaper in Jkt than elsewhere in Indo. Have a look at Motor Bekas - Jual Beli Motor - Tokobagus.com for some ideas of price. search for Moge (big bike) to find some second hand larger capacity machines, be aware though that alot of these bikes come with no paperwork at all. Kawasaki may be worth a look too, they have the er6 range and versys, zx6 and zx14 aswell. The good thing is that kawasaki are legal from the dealer and cheaper compared to other big bikes. Maybe the ER6 naked would suit you? Parallel twin like the bonnie but more modern.

thruxton, no paperwork,
Triumph Thruxton 2012 Brand New - Tokobagus.com

er6 search
Tokobagus - Situs jual beli online terdepan di Indonesia

There really is no comparing the traffic in JKT to Bangkok, its so much worse and goes on seemingly forever. It has already been suggested to try and live as close as possible to your place of work. You may consider a bicylce to commute on, the traffic here in Jogjakarta is no-where near as bad as JKT and I can cross the city as fast as a bike, much faster in heavy traffic.

let us know how you get on
Andy

Just got to Jakarta and spent 3-4 hours in monster traffic jams. Good times!

Andy, well Jakarta became Singapore, which became Ho Chi Minh city ... I am off next week! No Bonnie, maybe XR 250?

Go and have a chat with Grattianno from Motorrad Corner.
I got super service from him and you can rent a bike for starters before you decide if you want to buy one...

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I lived in J for 6 yrs. The traffic is stultifing but there is so much life going on around you that you never get bored(maybe its me).I envied the bikers that weaved in and out around the cars.

If you love mixing with wonderful people(which the Indos are) then you will love it. No need for an expensive bike but if you want one it is all there and it will do your testosterone the world of good!

JUST DO IT.