Jakarta News : April 2017

Sunday, 30 April 2017

Sunday, 23 April 2017

Wednesday, 19 April 2017

I don't like pempek http://ift.tt/2oV6R1U

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Time for nasi goreng http://ift.tt/2oNZjvK

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Monday, 10 April 2017

Well, I have been away for a while and now I think it is time to come back. Perhaps, soon I might even tell you why, but for now lets talk about Motorbikes.

I have just received the licence plates for my latest motorbike or matic. A Honda Vario 150 matic. It is heavy, black and fast. We changed up from the MX because Jeremy has school this year and so it will be easier to ferry him about and also shopping is simpler on a bike like this.

However, we had to wait a while for the plates. We have been messed about by the dealer and a few other things but the bike is great and I think it will be a change to use a matic rather than a clutch or kick down one.

Also it is a Honda. I started out on a Honda back in 2008 but then changed to Yamaha.

My clutch red Yamaha MX was fantastic and true joy to ride and with its bigger wheels made puddles and holes in the road a little easier to pass.

My Black Yamaha MX was also great but it was a kick down which was a different ride to the Red one. It had 4 gears not five but it was a great bike.

My first bike, was a Honda Supra Fit 1lt and was second hand but well looked after and it taught me the basics of riding in Jakarta. Slow and prone to stalling it was just about able to ferry me around. I was not sorry to see it go when it did, however it was a great starter bike.

For those that see large bikes, fast bikes in their country, Indonesia just isn't the place for large MotoGP bikes. 250cc bikes are fast and loud and available and twice as much as a 150cc.

150 cc is the largest sized engine you can have for an automatic here and it is a step up from the 135 cc Yamaha's that I had. 150 cc are normally bigger bikes such as the Yamaha Vixion or Honda Mega but there are so many bikes to choose from, you need to pick wisely.

Motorbikes are the number 1 form of transport for nearly all as they are cheap, reliable and easy to use. So with the amount of bikes on the road there is no sense in having a bike with a larger engine (unless you want to show) because the average speed is around 30 kph on the way to work and on the way home 15. 15!!

Jeremy already has a helmet and will be wearing when out and about and off to school and he is already learning how to behave on a bike. This means no jumping up or down or sudden movements and the hold on to me and he likes to go on the bike so that he can see more buses, trucks and things as we ride about but I don't like to take him far because whilst fun, its not that safe not that good as an idea.