I
f you’ve ever lived in a bustling city, you’ll cer-
tainly have been stuck in a traffic jam or two, par-
ticularly during rush hour.
Buses and trucks chugging out noxious black
smoke that fills your eyeballs, badly maintained
angkot (taxi) just waiting to break down at any
given minute, asthmatic Bajaj (small capacity motorcy-
cle) carrying people and/or produce, cars changing lanes
without using indicators. Just some of the things that bik-
ers in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, otherwise known as
The Big Durian, endure daily. However, it’s not all bad ...
Jakarta is a sprawling metropolis with a growing, yet
varied, economy. High rise hotels, luxury apartments
and office blocks surround much less affluent housing.
On every corner, in every street, you will find a bike.
Being a traffic-riddled city, scooters and mopeds rule the
roads. The majority of motorbikes in Indonesia are 100cc
to 200cc. Big-engine bikes are taxed heavily and, there-
fore, only available to the privileged few. And, let’s be
honest, they are rendered pointless as a reasonable way
to get around Jakarta and surrounding areas.
Riding in and around Jakarta requires a lot of aware-
ness, almost needing eyes in the back of your head. The
riding habits here are somewhat different to riding in Eu-
ropean cities like London. The possibility of scratching
people’s wing mirrors when passing them, getting clipped
by any of the hundreds of other vehicles sharing the same
tarmac as you, are very real. For the novice, it can be
bloody intimidating but, oh boy, do you learn quickly!
If you choose to ride in Jakarta, Bali or wherever, here’s
a tip. Don’t be a silly sod. Pay attention to your surround-
ings more so than you would in any western city. People
come from all directions and are sometimes oblivious to
bikers.
One thing I love about riding here is the bike clubs.
Admittedly, I’m not a member of any clubs but I’ve seen
many around and keep track online of some of the various
rides that take place. Bike meets are a pretty big thing and
any given Sunday morning you’ll see lots of great looking
bikes.
Local McDonald’s car parks turn into the Ace Café –
Goldwing’s, Ducati’s, trikes, even scooters. There’s some-
thing for everyone here. The behaviour of the riders is
very similar to that of any bike meet you’ll go to in the UK,
Australia or anywhere, even if the general atmosphere is a
little different. Ace and The Bike Shed have little to worry
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