Starting in Indonesia, heading North
 

Hi guys, I'm starting a trip from SE Asia up toward India and maybe Europe in June. I'll travel with my own bike the whole way and I want to start in Indonesia, but have heard a rumour that it is hard/difficult/impossible to take a bike from Indo to Malaysia and beyond.

Can anybody lend me some more information? Can I buy in Indo and get that bike out of the country? It seems I will need to get a carnet no matter what.
I suppose this is also a good time to ask what people's thoughts are on finding a bike in Indo (probably Jakarta). I'll be looking for a used dirt bike, probably something like a KTM 350.

Thanks!

See that blue bars towards the top of the page?
Read throught the drop down thingys .. the one you want now is
"ON THE ROAD", "SHIPMENTS BY TRAVELERS' ... then enter shipments from Indonesia and leave the rest blank .. comes up with a few shipments to Malaysia .. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/get...o_type=country


You should read through the rest of the blue bar thingys too .. will answer questions you have not though of yet.

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Oh buying a bike there.. your best off buying what the locals have - they will be cheap .. particularly if second hand.. Some buy a bike in each country .. saves carnet fees .. shipping costs .. saves enough that some simply give the bike away when leaving..

Thanks Warin, I missed those links. Somebody over at gt-rider said I would need an import/export license, which those shipping records don't mention. Would this just be the same as having a carnet, or do you know if it is something different?

I think this may be one of the trickier borders (with bike?) so perhaps would be best to buy an Indo bike for Indo and then try in Malaysia for something for the rest of my trip. I'd like to keep the same bike the whole time; I'm a big softie ;)

I'll get onto those links, thanks!

Indonesia (and India, and Pakistan, if you go that way) do require the carnet. But if you buy a used MC in Indonesia, then you can use it in Indonesia without the carnet. The carnet is used for temporarily importing foreign vehicles into the countries, that are in the carnet system.

My info could be outdated as it has been +7 years, when I took my (EU plated) bike from Malaysia to Indo... but it is my understanding, that to go this way was the bigger problem, than to go the other way. Malaysia is officially in the carnet system, but at least on land border (coming from Thailand) they were very relaxed about it, I had to look up the customs guys, to get my carnet stamped. Looked like I could have easily entered with my bike without carnet. BUT it could be different, if you ship it in. And there may be another key difference, if you had bought that bike in Indo: they are both ASEAN countries. If you get that bike to Malaysia, then I think it could be possible to also visit Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Vietnam, maybe, if it´s your lucky day, and Burma, if you are willing to arrange entry via a tour agent. Overland from Thailand to India is still a sizeable task, although Burma has opened up a bit in recent years.

I´ve had some of the best riding trips of my life in that region. Good luck!

Very different things!
The carnet is for temporary import.
The import/export license is for a person doing business .. permanent import and/or permanent export.
At least that is my understanding. Like most things it changes by country. Best information is from those who have done it recently .. look in the blogs ... blue bar again at the top.. there is heaps of reading up their... a newsletter there too ...

Any border can be tricky .. depend on who you get and how they are felling. Ware a friendly smile, relax .. and it could be easy. Don't try to rush .. that will only get them suspicious and you'll be there longer.

Starting in Indonesia, heading North
 

I currently live in borneo, indonesian part. We locals dont need carnet to get through kuching, malaysia. If we go further, northen malaysia, we probaly need a carnet.
Used KTM350 probably abit rare here, 250 or less is more common, a new 250 sixdays will set you 10.000 usd local price.

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Thanks guys. Looks like Mr Lim is still operating his Onion Boat so that should be ok. I think I'll be looking into the cost of a carnet and potentially taking that route as one bike for the whole trip would be nice.

Looks like many insurers won't cover riding anything over 200 cc anyway, so that puts a small spanner in the works. Maybe I'll just have to buy a small bike after I come off and say it happened on that!