Noisy Motorbikes

There very probably is, but who's going to enforce it?
Wants, wishes and should bes are great, but you have to live with what isn't going to change.

There is no law in Indonesia against extreme noise. That's what the police told me.

Depends which noisy motorbike you mean:

The tinny Kawasaki
The upgraded 250cc noise
The 125 Mio bored out exhaust noise
The anything to make it go faster noise
The kampung no one cares noise
The RX king noise plus smoke
The old vespa noise plus smoke
Fake Hogs noise
Real Hogs noise

The over revving at the bengkel noise.

I prefer the noise to the smoke and the noise to dangerous riding and at least you can hear them coming and going.

Speaking of motorbikes what is a good motorbike to by for long distance riding and city riding?  New not used.

155 Xerox is good or vixion if you want a clutch bike. Vixion is 150cc.
I had a 135 Mx and used to go Jakarta to anyer on it no problems and now I have a 150 honda Vario which is equally good and great in the city.

I have always been told bigger wheels are better outside of cities due to bad roads and I agree.

Would agree with lukereg, especially if your using in the city, I’m a fan of Honda and if the roads are decent out from Jakarta (I don’t really know to be honest) and your experienced I would go for the Honda CBR 650F, from personal experience (currently own one) it’s a fantastic bike and historically been brilliant, the most recent bikes are very well thought out and rider friendly compared to other manufacturers (only recently went back to Honda from Suzuki amongst others) we are very limited in Batam for roads hence a mid range bike, but it’s more than enough here
Expect to pay from new 150%+ for anything 300cc and above  compared to Europe (some excellent 300s knocking about ) the ones lukereg mentions are probably 50% cheaper than Europe prices
Get insurance from main dealers, because it will be a magnet for sticky fingers
And make sure you get the correct bike license, very similar set up to uk / Europe as you could get bike confiscated and a lot of unnecessary trouble

To add on the bike licenses I’m not sure if it has been rolled out throughout all of Indonesia the C license was the norm, in 2016 in Batam C was less than 250cc, C1 250-500cc, C2 over500cc

I wouldn't recommend big powerful bikes here mainly for the safety of the rider versus the road conditions and the others on the road who would make something worth having impotent.
My choices are based on local bikes and conditions. I am sure a bigger engined bike would be amazing to tour on but on Jakarta or any of the major cities going much over 50km for a sustained period of time is a dream.
As for licences, yes there are different requirements for larger bikes but I have don't really know the process or how they are banded.
Most bike brand's have larger 250+ cc bikes but they are way out of my price range and need to have. I have through Ramadhan had 3 bike accidents due to carelessness of those around me making me even less to want to move up to something more powerful
Happily losing muffler guards and scratch free body work was pretty much all that happened apart a few bruises.

So what ever you choose just be careful.

As I understand with licenses on your home country license ( uk A1 =C, A2 =C1 & A = C2)
When I made an Indonesian license for the bike it was similar to the car license with the exception they knew I had a uk license for larger bikes so I was issued with that equivalent for Indonesia.

Big bikes aren't a great idea here, partially because the road surfaces aren't suitable for high speed, but mostly because it would be extremely dangerous as drivers have no clue how to handle a large motorbike's speed and manoeuvrability.
If I were to do this, I'd be looking at one of the larger engine scooters.
Apart from their ease of handling and general suitability for local roads, the things are easily fast enough and will handle longer distances without a problem. The weather protection is a very nice bonus.

Totally agree and like I said I don’t know the roads away from Jakarta, here in batam I guess we are blessed with the Baralang Bridge Route that has perfect riding service on certain days congestion is zero
Depending on what you want it for daily commute, like what lukereg suggests if going away for a distance and decent roads roads ie touring and venturing out then a larger bike in my opinion, but like any machine, the user dictates along with experience and condition of roads etc the speed you can go along with local knowledge of congestion etc
But either choice you’ll still have a huge amount of other “pretend “ road users, just look at them as an obstacle

There is no law, because the high potential of noise-terror equipment is new. Even a completly corrupt judge ("I'm driving an expensive car!") couldn't find any. And you can see in the way, the posts are missing the theme, that it's even no problem for extatic tourists.

Thanks guys for the advice on the motorbikes.  I do not want a large bike at all I can't see them being of much use in Indonesian cities such as they are.  I will look at Honda 150 and I might look at Yamaha also just to compare the two.  As for a license I have a USA license so I guess I will have to apply for one.  Where do are applications made for a license?

Larger police stations sort out licences for foreigners.
You'll need a SIM C motorcycle licence to ride legally.

Take with you originals and photocopies of:

Passport
KITAS/KITAP
ID card

The medical is done onsite and the payment is made directly to the bank, but you have to pass the tests first.

One note, the eye test is letters, so make sure you know the Indonesian pronunciations or you could fail because they think you're getting them wrong.

I am sure there is a licence center in jogja and you should ask around for an agent and follow the advice given.
Honda's are better on fuel but look plastic and less sturdy but are very reliable where as Yamaha looks to be better built and seem to better if you are taller but that's just my perception.

Thanks Fred I am working on my KITAS now hopefully will have it by July so I can apply for the license. I need a motorbike I am tired of using GRAB and Go-Jek.  Yeah Lukereg I will look around Jogia and see if there is a license center.  Yeah I agree Honda do look plastic but are reliable but I'll look at Yamaha and maybe Kawasaki see if I can find a 150 or a little more and I am tall so yeah I want a bike that fits me.

For the license application in Batam (can’t comment for other parts of Indonesia) the questions are offered in English, French and I can’t remember the other and obviously Bahasa, if none of the mentioned languages can be read, (either at the start or end of the month) a spoken test is offered in English and Bahasa by appointment only, this is at the main police station both for foreigners and locals.
If using an agent they’ll be able to advise you on this (in batam they are very good due to the large amount of expats)
Used to be 12 month license now 5 years I’m almost certain this is the case for all Indonesia
If your KITAS etc expires or cancelled, you must cancel/ return your license this is highlighted for foreigners at the application process,
Carry your license at all times as you must when using a vehicle, otherwise a fine I’m told they are quite larger in batam but I can’t conf

Thanks Gwmeath I'll start checking this out.  I do have a sponsor but he will probably charge so I may do it myself.

You can get a license for around *** as a local, although I was quoted ***. You can still get by with an Intentional Driving Permit though although this needs ot be renewed every year whereas a local license is valid for 5 years.

Scooters are pretty cool these days but are expensive, can cost Rp50 million compared to motorbikes which are cheap. I used to have a Kawasaki z650 a long time ago a Yamaha 250cc Trials bike. These days I'd rather drive a car and live.

Decent scooter you should have change from 20million , 250cc bikes can cost towards the 50million mark

A lad a few houses down has the new Z900rs (retro) beautiful bike and really brings back fond memories, the Mrs seen me drooling at it and reminded me that I have enough toys
(Almost my birthday though 😁)

Just looked at pics of the Z900rs, looks great.

Back then I was thinking of upgrading to either the z900 or the GSX750 but I always found the GSX750 top heavy, a really heavy bike. But those old z650's and z900's were beautifully sleek with a lower center of gravity, amazing bikes and very nice to ride. I used to live near to Newton Circus in Singapore back then and would often ride up through Malaysia with my mates and our women. Fantastic fun.

I’m told some nice places for rides in Malaysia
Although I’ve been many times it’s always been work and just the odd night to myself
Few expats here go every so often usually a few days before the Moro go then ride back a few days later

Yes, the great thing about it is that the back roads are super smooth and winding with not too much traffic. Amazing to ride them on a bog bike. The only problem is that on many of the sharp corners grit builds up and your tyres can slide.

I am thinking of getting a Yamaha Aerox 155 S that is all I can afford right now.  It a good looking motorbike the cost is about 28 juta rupiah.  Now if  I can pass the license test that would be great.  Any suggestions.

Multiple choice questions = very very straight forward
Bike test = through a few cones, stop/ start, figure iof 8 that’s about it fasten your chin strap police here hate it and rightly so

Aerox is a great bike so that's a great choice. I don't know about the test there is a written and practical and maybe a medical. An agent can help with these things if you able to find one. There is always someone who knows someone who can help you complete the process for the SIM C.