In Reply to: Renting a motor bike at the airport posted by itsgail on Tuesday, 22. March 2016 at 13:53 Bali Time:
I have hired motorcycles 13 times in Bali and Lombok. I have never hired a motorcycle at Bali Airport. Nowadays, I hire bikes in the lanes running off Poppies Lane 2.
For a long hire you can get the daily rate down to as low as Rp 20,000 per day for a one or two month hire.
You can leave your heavy bag with your hotel in Kuta and take off with a light bag containing your essentials for your motorcycle trip.
I put a rucksack between my legs on a stepthrough scooter. I put fruit and plastic bags holding wet towels under the seat.
I wear a helmet, gloves, boots, jeans and a thick long sleeve shirt. I also carry a International Driving Permit and a STNK in a plastic wallet in the top buttoned down pocket of my shirt. The STNK is the bike registration papers.
I regularly get stopped by the Polisi when riding motorcyscles in Bali. I just show them these two documents and I am waved on.
The Polisi are trained to check the IDP. I have never shown them my Australian DL. The Polisi cannot read English, so I cannot anticipate their reaction to an Australian DL.
If you want to ride every day, then a long hire would suit you. If you want to ride every second or third day, to see out of the way places, then hiring a bike on the spot makes more sense. You can hire scooters in Kuta, Ubud, Padang Bai, Senggigi and Kuta, Lombok.
If you want to hire a scooter to tootle around Kuta, I would not bother. Parking, heavy traffic and one way streets are annoying.
If you rarely ride a motorcycle in your country, I would not ride in Bali and Lombok. Bali and Lombok are not places to learn to ride and maintain a motorcycle.
Check your travel insurance policy to make sure that it will cover you for motorcycling in Bali.
I will also be motorcycling in Bali in July. I will see you on the road.