Satpol PP Patrol Motorbikes

Patrol motorbikes used by Bandung's Satpol PP (Municipal Police) to enforce municipal regulations and public order. These motorbikes are parked near Dalum Kaum street that I told you about yesterday.

Modified Moped

Photo caption: A modified moped (underbones, motorcycle, or motobike) displayed in Balkot Festival 2012. This moped belongs to a member of FCMB (Forum Club Motor Bandung) or Bandung Motor Club Forum, one of creative community organizations that takes part in the festival.

About Forum Club Motor Bandung (FCMB)

FCMB is a forum 23 motor clubs. It was founded on 27 July 2006. Its mission, according the forum's blog whose link I gave above, is to provide a forum whereby the city's 'bikers' "can foster their potential and creativity and develop programs that benefit the community".

Road-side Motorcycle Repair Shop

A road-side motorcyle repair shop at Cimindi in the western part of the city. Small businesses like this are an important mover of the city's economy. However, they also raise concerns of pedestrian safety because they often occupy/use the pedestrian sidewalk for their activities. There are regulations about this, but the enforcement is very slack.

Despite its monochromatic tone, this is not an old photograph. I just like doing my 'street photography' in monochromatic tones.

A Vintage BMW R71 with A Sidecar

This vintage beauty was just parked there at Gasibu square one afternoon, begging to be photographed. If I got it right, I think it is a BMW R71 motorcycle with a sidecar. It was produced in the 1940s and has a horizontally opposed flat-twin boxer engine. The R in the type nomenclature stands for road, thus this type is a roadster (a motorcycle that is used for road touring).

Raincoats, Rain Jackets, and Rain Pants

Raincoats, rain jacket, and rain pants are very useful on a rainy day.

Bikers' Insignia

Pick your choice: DKW, BSA, Harley Davidson, Ariel, and a lot of other names I haven't even heard of before.

Photo taken at Braga Bikers Fest last December.

Brotherhood Braga Bike Fest

Images from Brotherhood Braga Bike Fest that was opened today and is going to take place until tomorrow (December 13, 2009). Hundreds of bikers from all over Indonesia and some guest bikers from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia are taking part in this event.

Antique Honda

I spotted this old (antique?) Honda motorcycle in front of a shop on Jalan ABC (street). At first I thought it was from the mid 70s. Then I searched in the internet and learned that this model - called Honda S90 - is from the late 1960s. Wow, that's about 50 years old! And it's still running.

In the course of my googling, I also found that there are quite a number of antique motorbike communities and workshops here. One of them is even quite close to where I live.

Vespa MP3 250

I snapped this photo on the road side parking of Jalan Braga sometime ago.

Vespa MP3 250 is a real beauty among the ordinary motorbikes and scooters parked beside her.

As the name indicates, MP3 250 is packed with 244.3 cc single cylinder QUASAR 4 stroke engine that enables it to comfortably run at 120 kilometers per hour. It is also equipped with CVT automatic transmission which makes it easier to handle in frequently congested city traffic. Its emission and exhaust noise, according to its manufacturer, is also quite environmentally-friendly. It meets Euro 3 standard. The price tag, however, is not very friendly to many Indonesian motorbike and scooter users. Priced at about IDR 110 million (USD 11,000) this Vespa model is about 4 times more expensive than its Japanese counterparts with the same engine capacity. But for fashion and comfort, I don't think I would mind paying more for this beauty.

Street Documentary: Hauling A Motorbike

This is how a motorbike is hauled onto a truck and transported from the shop to the buyer here.

Indonesia, by the way, is one of the largest motorbike producers and markets in Asia. According to the chairperson of Indonesia motorbike Industry Association (AISI) Gunadi Sindhuwinata, Indonesia currently has an installed production capacity of 7.5 million motorbikes per year. As of last year (2008), the domestic market absorbed about 6.3 million units or about 84 percent of the total production capacity. Due to the crisis, however, it is expected that the demands for motorbikes in the domestic market will drop to only about 58 percent of the total production capacity or about 3.8 to 4.4 million units this year.

Motorbike Wash

Motorbike wash and salon like this is now a booming business in Bandung. There are so many motorbikes in our streets that it does not take a business genius to see that it is a potentially lucrative business opportunity to provide services related to motorbike maintenance and care.

For your information, there are currently about 35 million motorbikes in Indonesia. For a country with about 237 million population, this means about 1 motorbike for every 6.7 persons. I don't know what the number of motorbikes is in the greater area of Bandung, but it certainly is big and growing.

Classic Vintage Motorbikes at Braga Fest

Classic vintage motorbike show and parade have always been part of Braga Festival. These motorbikes are parked on the road side for the visitors and spectators to admire and be curious about. They can even ask the owners for a ride.

There are quite a large number of classic vintage motorbikes in Indonesia. The proud owners of these motorbikes are organized in clubs and even have their own specialized repair shops.

There are two major classic motorbike clubs in Bandung: MACI Bandung and Bikers Brotherhood MC (motor club). Unlike HDCI (Harley-Davidson Club Indonesia) whose members are exclusively limited to the owners of Harley-Davidson motorbikes, MACI and Bikers Brotherhood MC are more open in their membership. Anybody who has a classic vintage motorbike can become their member.



What kind of motorbikes do the members of these clubs have?

They are quite varied. Some are American made, some Japanese made, but many of them are European made. Among these, the German made DKW motorbikes are - in my observation - the most numerous.

DKW (Dampf Kraft Wagen or steam-driven car) was once (in the 1930s) the world's largest motorbike manufacturer. The company was founded by the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen in Saxony, Germany, in 1916. It initially manufactured steam fittings. Later on it also produced another DKW ( Des Knaben Wunsch or "a boy's desire"), a prototype engine which was later modified to become its first motorbike, also called DKW (Das Kleine Wunder — "a little marvel"). The company was famous not only for its motorbikes, but also automobiles. As a result of a series of mergers, the DKW brand ceased to exist in 1966. The last automobile bearing its brand was F102.

Today's post is BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO's participation in the Monochrome Monday. To see other black and white photographs of the participants of this meme please follow the link.

Harley-Davidson and American Symbols and Icons

There are quite a few things that can instantly be recognized as American when you see them. Harley-Davidson is one of them. Can you find two other things in this photo that are symbolically and iconically American?

This Harley-Davidson motorbike belongs to a member of the Bandung branch of the Harley-Davidson Club Indonesia (HDCI). The Harley-Davidson Club Indonesia (HDCI) was established in Bandung, on May 26, 1990, and currently has 24 branches throughout Indonesia.

A legendary motorbike, Harley-Davidson actually had quite a humble begining. It began with a design that William S. Harley drew in 1901 of an engine for a regular pedal-bicycle frame. To realize the design Harley worked together with his friend Arthur Davidson and together produced their first engine in 1903. Although this first engine was considered rather unsuccessful (the engine could not overcome Milwaukee's modest hills without pedal assistance), their first experience was proven to be very valuable in in their future ventures in motorbike engine designs.

The first functional prototype Harley-Davidson engine was produced in 1904 and was successfully tested by Edward Hildebrand (the first rider) at a Milwaukee motorcycle race held at State Fair Park on September 8 of that year. The motorbike placed fouth in the race. This is the first documented appearance of a Harley-Davidson motorbike.

Dragon Parking

Does a dragon aslo need a parking space?

It apparently does, this one at least.

I took this photo sometime ago at the basement parking of BeMall, one of Bandung's shopping centers specializing in cell phones, computers, and electronic goods and gadgets.

BeMall, by the way, is located on Jalan Naripan (street), Bandung.