Indonesian Electric Bike Laws Inquiry

javasatu

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Aug 8, 2016
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I am an expat and gear/bike freak and interested in buying an electric bike that is sold locally. The electric bike have no pedals and looks more like a motorcycle. The specifications: 2000 watt motor, 72V, 20 ah lead acid battery, maximum speed is 58km/h and range is 60km.

California laws, electric bikes with more than 750 watts requires motorcycle license and Department of Transportation (DOT) certifications/approval. If not mistaken, the above electric bike is classified as Class 3.

I was wondering any electric bike fans/experts advise if I need an Indonesian motorcycle license to ride the 2000 watts electric bike in Indonesia. I will be riding the electric bike casually to the bank, grocery store and errands.
 

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I believe you do. It will be in the traffic laws (Undang Undang Lalu Lintas) where it defined what a motorcycle is. Anything that is not self propelled and goes over 25km/hour (double check these) is classified as a motorized vehicle. And you need to have a license, and you need to register the vehicle.
 
These E bikes are everywhere in Bagan Myanmar. Very easy to ride. About 8 hours on a full battery. I haven't seen them in Indonesia. Searched unsuccessfully to see where they are made and what they cost without success. You do need a licence in Myanmar to use one although I think few tourists get licences. I confess I did not as the issue did not come up. Very light traffic in the area but I wouldn't dare ride a bike in Bali or Indonesia without a licence.
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I believe you do. It will be in the traffic laws (Undang Undang Lalu Lintas) where it defined what a motorcycle is. Anything that is not self propelled and goes over 25km/hour (double check these) is classified as a motorized vehicle. And you need to have a license, and you need to register the vehicle.

I agree with this, I don't know the law in Indonesia, but many electric moped/bike laws around the world say it must be electric-assist, meaning it needs functional pedals, and give a top speed, which will almost certainly be far below 50km/h.
 
There's a guy on FB always trying to sell them and always facing an avalanche of questions which he never answers and disappears again. Like insurance. Licence. Dangers. Helmets. Pavements. Etc. Plus he was charging like 20jt or something. Like one of those go bike things. One you stand up on not sit down.

Scootee or something

Just a side note those silly Brompton folding bikes are like 60jt each?! WTF ?!
 
In Indonesia, any vehicle without pedals that can go over 25 km/h is generally treated as a motorcycle. You’ll likely need an Indonesian motorcycle license (SIM C). It’s a good idea to check with local traffic authorities to confirm, as regulations can vary by region.
 
I bought a little electric scooter. It has pedals but I have never fitted them. It's fast enough to keep up with local traffic and has enough range for local stuff. It seems to do about 40km on a charge but I have never tested it properly.
Charging from nothing to full takes about 6 hours.
These things look like a scooter style motorcycle, but the cops seem to ignore them. I looked at several types before I bought one, and every shop said they were road legal without a licence or registration document.
So far, so good. There are hundreds of the things around my area and I have never seen the police take any interest at all.
It will carry a 'gallon' of drinking water on the footwell but has a tiny luggage area for whatever. I leave a waterproof poncho in there just in case of rain. I also leave a reusable carrier bag and a few other handy things in there.
It was cheap and does what it was bought to do.
I can't tell you if it's actually legal, but I can say nobody here takes any interest in stopping you when you ride one.
Because it's a scooter design, the bike's body protects your feet and legs from surface water and dirt after rain.
 
I bought a little electric scooter. It has pedals but I have never fitted them. It's fast enough to keep up with local traffic and has enough range for local stuff. It seems to do about 40km on a charge but I have never tested it properly.
Charging from nothing to full takes about 6 hours.
These things look like a scooter style motorcycle, but the cops seem to ignore them. I looked at several types before I bought one, and every shop said they were road legal without a licence or registration document.
So far, so good. There are hundreds of the things around my area and I have never seen the police take any interest at all.
It will carry a 'gallon' of drinking water on the footwell but has a tiny luggage area for whatever. I leave a waterproof poncho in there just in case of rain. I also leave a reusable carrier bag and a few other handy things in there.
It was cheap and does what it was bought to do.
I can't tell you if it's actually legal, but I can say nobody here takes any interest in stopping you when you ride one.
Because it's a scooter design, the bike's body protects your feet and legs from surface water and dirt after rain.
It sounds nice, but small if it can only fit one gallon in the footwell. I would like one the same size as a regular motorbike.
 
These E bikes are everywhere in Bagan Myanmar. Very easy to ride. About 8 hours on a full battery. I haven't seen them in Indonesia. Searched unsuccessfully to see where they are made and what they cost without success. You do need a license in Myanmar to use one although I think few tourists get licences. I confess I did not as the issue did not come up. Very light traffic in the area but I wouldn't dare ride a bike in Bali or Indonesia without a licence.
View attachment 1588
Indonesia has more variants of models and types of electric motorcycles and electric bicycles. In terms of percentage, it is very small and many of them are similar in shape to ordinary motorcycles or some even look sportier, some even imitate the BMW CE04 electric motorcycle which in Indonesia costs more than Rp. 1B like this one:
The easiest way to identify is by checking the license plate, which is blue.
Most E bike in Indonesia (I think also in Myanmar, even in many African countries) are imported from China, as CBU or main components (motor and battery) and branded as local products.
 
I bought a little electric scooter. It has pedals but I have never fitted them. It's fast enough to keep up with local traffic and has enough range for local stuff. It seems to do about 40km on a charge but I have never tested it properly.
Charging from nothing to full takes about 6 hours.
These things look like a scooter style motorcycle, but the cops seem to ignore them. I looked at several types before I bought one, and every shop said they were road legal without a licence or registration document.
So far, so good. There are hundreds of the things around my area and I have never seen the police take any interest at all.
It will carry a 'gallon' of drinking water on the footwell but has a tiny luggage area for whatever. I leave a waterproof poncho in there just in case of rain. I also leave a reusable carrier bag and a few other handy things in there.
It was cheap and does what it was bought to do.
I can't tell you if it's actually legal, but I can say nobody here takes any interest in stopping you when you ride one.
Because it's a scooter design, the bike's body protects your feet and legs from surface water and dirt after rain.
I have a similar e-bike. It has 4 gears, which limit the speed to 25, 30, 35, and 40 kmph respectively. The range is officially 70 km, but that is assuming you stay in 1st gear the whole time. I used to be able to do about 50 km per day on a full charge, but the battery capacity has declined after about 15 months. Now, I bring the charger when I go to work and top up there. Before I started topping up at work, I never quite ran out of battery charge, but it was annoying to have to downshift to first gear and still have the Empty indicator blinking at me for the last 3 km to the house.
During the Christmas break, I may either upgrade to a full-size electric motorcycle or just go with a used gasoline-powered motorcycle.
 
Seems like those e-bikes are super convenient for short commutes, but the battery decline would drive me nuts.
 
Nobody ever states the make of the e-bike they boast about.
 
The first time I returned to Indonesia early this year, immediately bought an e-bike, as I only had a road bike (racing bike); less convenient for shopping.
I chose Selis, with IDR. 6 m gov subsidy, I paid Rp. 12M (much cheaper than my road bike) with one lithium battery which is claimed to provide 60km.
The purchasing process is very easy. However, when I received it, I was disappointed because, the suspension was really bad, like riding a cart and the battery was also defective; can't be full. They replaced immediately with a new battery, but it still couldn't reach 50km; and for the suspension they say all e-bikes are like that, there is no solution to upgrade, as of now, there is no after market suspension like products from Ohlin.
Even my maid doesn't like it. So, I gave it to my BIL who doesn't seem too fussy, he uses it to his office almost every day even though he also has a car which is quite comfortable. Indeed, he always charges it at the office and so far according to him there has been no big issues though he agreed that the suspension was very bad.
At the motor car exhibition last February I visited Savart both, it looked much more solid, the suspension was better, the power was much more powerful, built quality way better - the price was still reasonable, around Rp. 40M. But what I don't like was:. short range , 60-70km, Indent is quite long without certainty, battery rental system.
Finally, I bought was the Xmax Connected even though I initially eyed the Kymco Downtown.
 
The first time I returned to Indonesia early this year, immediately bought an e-bike, as I only had a road bike (racing bike); less convenient for shopping.
I chose Selis, with IDR. 6 m gov subsidy, I paid Rp. 12M (much cheaper than my road bike) with one lithium battery which is claimed to provide 60km.
The purchasing process is very easy. However, when I received it, I was disappointed because, the suspension was really bad, like riding a cart and the battery was also defective; can't be full. They replaced immediately with a new battery, but it still couldn't reach 50km; and for the suspension they say all e-bikes are like that, there is no solution to upgrade, as of now, there is no after market suspension like products from Ohlin.
Even my maid doesn't like it. So, I gave it to my BIL who doesn't seem too fussy, he uses it to his office almost every day even though he also has a car which is quite comfortable. Indeed, he always charges it at the office and so far according to him there has been no big issues though he agreed that the suspension was very bad.
At the motor car exhibition last February I visited Savart both, it looked much more solid, the suspension was better, the power was much more powerful, built quality way better - the price was still reasonable, around Rp. 40M. But what I don't like was:. short range , 60-70km, Indent is quite long without certainty, battery rental system.
Finally, I bought was the Xmax Connected even though I initially eyed the Kymco Downtown.
Wow, that's very expensive for a bike, electric or petrol. The new Honda Vario 150cc. Is selling for IDR. 25.5 Juta. Why is this ebike so much more expensive? That doesn't seem reasonable to me.
 
Yah, not cheap compared with bakso

Then what do you think the price of this road-bike? similar as mine, no electric, no petrol, a portion of bubur ayam will me give power to ride 20-30km, here the price is US,

I spent more as I bought it in Egypt - but my daughter road bike in London is much more expensive; this is not the high end.

I love this one -

I dont know where are you from, have you check the price in your country?
 
It sounds nice, but small if it can only fit one gallon in the footwell. I would like one the same size as a regular motorbike.
Normal scooters can't carry the gallon bottle because the frame gets in the way. Mine looks a lot like a normal scooter in size and style, but I don't need a licence and all the other stuff as it's a bicycle.
I tried the pedals yesterday. They work but are far too close to the ground and difficult to use so I took them off again.
Other bikes have better places ones you could probably use if you get stuck.

FotoJet-2023-12-21T163503754-564218822.jpg
 
Seems like those e-bikes are super convenient for short commutes, but the battery decline would drive me nuts.
That sounds about right. For short runs, there are no issues, but longer runs are out of the question.
Short of anything else, charging times are far too long.
A trip to work of 5km is fine as long as you give the thing a top up charge every night. That allows for missed charges as the battery would last a few days without dying on you.
A 10km round trip every weekday is about as far as I would use one for. After that, it's an electric motorcycle with a Lithium battery or petrol engine.
 
Was thinking 3 wheel for stability and would only be used by wife or housekeeper for probably no more than a 2k trip one way or shorter. Can get this one for around 8 juta with an extra juta for a second battery to have in hand.
31f49fc3-8d70-49cb-b7f4-50bbdd799d51.jpg
 
In Indonesia, any vehicle without pedals that can go over 25 km/h is generally treated as a motorcycle. You’ll likely need an Indonesian motorcycle license (SIM C). It’s a good idea to check with local traffic authorities to confirm, as regulations can vary by region.
 
In Indonesia, any vehicle without pedals that can go over 25 km/h is generally treated as a motorcycle. You’ll likely need an Indonesian motorcycle license (SIM C). It’s a good idea to check with local traffic authorities to confirm, as regulations can vary by region.
Regulations concerning classification of vehicles and driving licenses don't vary by region. They are set by national laws (UU 22/2009) and further implemented by Peraturan Kapolri which are also valid nationwide.
SIM C, C1 and C2 have nothing to do with the number of pedals, the speed it can go, the fact that the rider has cool sunglasses or not or the size and noise of the exhaust but has to do with the kapasitas silinder the engine has (less than 250cc, up to 500cc, more than 500cc).
 

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