Help to find a local motorcycle guide/helper.

[ChrisW]

Three friends are planning to ride from Jakarta to Maumere and we would like a local guide/ helper to travel with us.
We plan to rent the bikes in Jakarta and leave them in Maumere. We will then fly back. We would like to employ a local with good English to help with the planning and any problems we encounter on route. We are all in our late sixties and would like to find an easy route, comfortable motorcycles and half reasonable accommodation. Hope someone can help.

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[The Bigfella]

I went the other way, back in 2011 when I rode up from Oz to the China border... and started circling around in Asia. No real need for a fixer, although a couple of us used one for getting sorted with the ferry from Kupang to Flores. The locals were always helpful and with the added ease these days of Google Translate... things should be easy. The biggest problem I suspect is going to be finding a one-way bike hire. It will probably be easier and cheaper to buy some cheap scooters and donate them to a charity in Flores. I did that in Vietnam and it only cost me US$400 for 5 weeks and 3,500km (for the bike, that is). Just buy something popular so that repairs are easy - Honda Wave, for example.

 

[DrGMIA]

FWIW: I landed in Bali a couple of years ago and spent a day speaking with motorcycle rental places around town. I found one (1) that would rent me a Baja that I could take off the island and on to Java. However, the rental shop did some "Permission" paperwork and wanted $1,000 USD deposit. The ferry boat ticket office wanted to see the Permission paper, then sold me a ticket. Once on Java I had no issues. I did stop at a Kawasaki dealer and asked about renting and was told "No." However, that Kawasaki dealer did say they would sell me a new Kawasaki (250 KLX).

As a sidebar, a couple of months ago I traded stories with advanced world motorcycle traveler Franki Yang. We were discussing where we had found to be the worst traffic on our travels around the world (me, six (6) times ). Once on Java I enjoyed the south country driving, but as I got closer to Jakarta it became worse and I eventually turned around and went back to Bali (and got my $1,000 deposit back.) Yang said he voted for Jakarta being the world's worst. I'd offered Cairo, but bowed to his experience.

Dr. G
Professor of Motorcycle Adventure, SOUND RIDER magazine, and Adventure Motorcycle University
Moto-Journalist, author, script consultant and general motorcycle wastrel
Latest publications: ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLIST: FRAZIER SHRUGGED (2022-Amazon), and
(Revised/Updated) MOTORCYCLE SEX, or FREUD WOULD NEVER UNDERSTAND... (2024-Amazon)
Sole sensual survivor: www.greataroundtheworldmotorcycleadventurerally.com

 

[merantau]

How many days are you going to be in country?