Renting a bike for your Bali holiday? Here's what you need to know.

This is not the kind of helmet I had in mind.
(source)

I am breaking my oath to solely write in Indonesian on this blog. This, though, is for the common good (well kind of).
See, I live in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, and every day I see tourists riding motorcycles in very dangerous ways, mostly for themselves, sometimes for others.
Accidents happen frequently, bandages and casts are far from being rare, and I wonder how many tourist-motorist (motourists?) have actually sat on a saddle before flying here.

Traffic in Indonesia is rather unique and, to understand it a little better, here is a little sum up I have done with the help of several Ubud denizens.
If, after reading this, you don't feel up to the challenge, nobody will blame you. Id you do, happy riding, and stay safe!

What changes?

Indonesian driving philosophy is… Different.

Being behind the wheel in Europe and in many 'developed countries' often mean that "There are rules, we obey them, and screw the ones who don't".
In Bali, things work slightly differently, and by that I mean that it's the exact opposite.
"There are rules, who cares? I'll take care of not running into others and be vigilant".
If in some countries driving can become a race, in Bali it becomes a walk. A walk in the crowd that is.

The roads are crowded with motorbikes.

The motorbike/car ratio in Bali is grossly 7/1. You will find yourself drowned in a flow of two-wheelers more often than you could imagine. It means less space, more low speed control and a lot of cool to keep.
It also means that lanes roads are only seen as such by car drivers. Almost every road in Bali is considered as a 4 lanes road for motorbikes.

Blinkers, Horns… about that...

In short: never trust a blinker and never think a horn is honked against you.
You will need to anticipate a lot, and understand that a 'toot' here and there means that someone is overtaking or warning you about something. Or saying hi. Or having fun.

Brakes? BRAKES!

The recrudescence of automatic transmission cars and motorbikes is having a disastrous effect on the local traffic flow. Without an engine brake (hrm, sort of), motorists tend to stop for anything ranging from a pothole to a slight right turn. You're warned.

All roads lead to surprises.

Your number one enemy is the road. Roads in bali can be disastrous. Between gravel, chalk, potholes and wandering animals, you'll have your share of surprises. Bumpy, squishy, slippery surprises.

Tips

Wear a helmet

I would go and tattoo "DUH" on my forehead if this obvious, obvious precaution wasn't ignored so often. A full helmet costs 40$. It won't ruin your holidays and will preserve your head, nose and teeth in case of a crash. In Ubud, I see many bare headed riders apparently thinking that the universe protects them. I also know several people with fake teeth.

I am not this only one having this point of view. Quoting Yasmine:
" And I often see female tourists not wearing a helmet, They drive fast even thought they have a passenger . Some times a go I hear a lovely long term tourist fell from her bike, got several broken bones, slashes on her face, lost many teeth. Good bye to lovely...because she's a reckless driver ."

Also, and this is not a joke, a helmet might save your life in case of falling coconuts, and save you a pretty bad time would a hornet/fly/bat come in high speed contact with your face or eyes. Yes it happened to me, even the bat (the coconut missed me by a meter though).

Don't go shirtless

Not only is it considered impolite by the locals and gross by everybody, but wearing at least some fabric to protect your limbs against the sun and a serious case of road rash will be beneficial.
I've seen what sliding on asphalt did to my friend's arm and back, and I wish it to nobody.

Use your lights (wisely).

Driving with your light on at any moment of the day or night is recommended. For the sake of all that's good, light up comes the evening.
Also, remember your blinkers. Locals don't use them much but they do notice them. I cannot count how many times I have seen tourists turning without signaling. Don't forget to turn them off either.
Correctly used lights are keys to avoiding being reared full speed by a storming vehicle.

Keep your motorbike well maintained.

Renting a bike doesn't prevent deflated tires and dysfunctional lights. While picking your ride, make sure brakes, lights and tires are in a good state. If anything breaks during the rental period, prefer fixing it immediately. It won't cost you much. Not fixing it might.

Bruce advises: "Always check that your lights all work (particularly the rear and brake lights)!"

Look forward while cruising.

Why? Because that's what everybody does here. Rear view mirrors are great to check every now and then especially when switching lanes at lower speed or going out a parking spot.
While riding at normal speed though, every single driver in Bali will be focused exclusively on predicting what the ones in front of them are going to do. Do the same and look forward, since the ones in front of you expect you to pay attention.

GO forward while cruising.

To quote one of my Facebook friend Annie:

 "DONT STOP in the middle of the road  The chaos principle works so well until a newbie gets freaked out by the merging traffic and...stops "

Nothing to add.

Learn how to brake (and all the rest)!

As Iwan added in the comments, learning to brake is essential. Read brake too hard and you will skid, front brake too hard and you will fly. Finding the right balance for the right speed, knowing how to pump brake or how to keep your distances doesn't come instinctively. You can always take some time to practice (not on the bypass, that would be a bad idea).

Be predictable

I'm sure you know a lot of sleek tricks, and high speed slalom while motorbike-twerking makes you look like you're right out of an action movie.
You can take a 90 degrees turn at 70 KM/h? Good on you.
In Bali, though, slow down, use your blinker, swerve softly and take your curve smoothly.
Or, you know, scare the hell of everybody and potentially trigger a crash.
The same logic can be applied to breaking and parking.

Be confident

Have you ever though of what it would feel like to be a toddler on a roller derby track? Well, if you drive at 20 Km/h while everyone else is doing 45, you'll know.
As long as you know what you're doing and where you're going, though, you should be safe.

Know your limits

As Matthew humorously puts it: "I don't ride in Ubud, I'm too old and too smart for that"


Nothing will protect you against the occasional (daily) crossing dog and sudden brake. Not speeding is a good prevention measure, being aware of your surroundings is another.
Most importantly, if you don't feel comfortable riding a motorbike, do not rent one, end of the story. You'll be doing a favor to everybody, and most of all, yourself.

Don't be an ass

Yves says: "I would need a calculator to count how many times I've seen them texting or holding a phone to their ear while throttling the bike with the other hand"

Me? I've seen tourists do sudden U-turns on a narrow two ways lane, swerve left from the middle of the road to stop and say hi to a friend without any kind of warning (I almost reared that one), people overtaking while going uphill and being all surprise that, oh, there was someone in front of them…
If your hobby is to dodge death, good on you. Roads are full of people who don't share it.
Remembering that your only goal is to safely reach a point A from a point B is the only kindness asked from you. It's really not hard and it could spare you a wasted holiday.



Do you have other tips for driving safely in Bali? Wanna share?