Ricco1

Yeah; aku guru bahasa inggris. I'm 4 months into my first teaching job here in Jakarta. I earn about 2/3 of the national minimum wage back home but with a cost of living here being about 1/6 of what it is in the U.K., it's not a bad life. Running the bike is ridiculously cheap. Petrol 35p a litre. I had new front pads fitted: £1.50. Insurance is non-existant and like many people here, I don't bother with a license. Tax costs £15 a year. Actually bikes themselves are relatively expensive; my 5 year old 160cc Honda cost £700. Cars here are ridiculously expensive, and no way would I like to drive one on the roads here. Bikes over 250cc aren't allowed, unless you bribe the local police. I wouldn't say biking is a great pleasure here, more a necessity. A few weeks on hot overcrowded buses, stuck in unbelievable traffic, sees to that. This city is so big, this part of Java is so crowded, you have to ride for 3 hours to get any quiet roads. Those roads are worth the effort though; deserted, winding, up to 6000 feet, tea plantations all around, with the promise of barrelling 10 foot waves at the quiet surf beach, after an hour of biking bliss. Not a bad life!

A few words are similar or the same, here in Indonesia. Oil is oil, lampu is a light, petrol is benzin (benzine yeah?). Most words are completely different though! What I do is give the guy who fits the parts a small tip each time, no matter how small the job is. 5,000 Rupiah is about 40 pence but he's very happy with that. I'm the only white guy for miles around so I'm easily remembered. Now, when he does an oil change for me he cleans the filter, blasts out the empty sump with high pressure air. Indonesians who don't tip just get the standard oil change. I'm sure I could ask him to do some more bits for me, outside the remit of the shop, if I asked him. The shop probably wouldn't care, nobody sems to care too much about most things in these parts. Are you a teacher by any chance?

I'm In Asia too; Indonesia. Where are you? I've found a similar thing, the shops just charge for the parts, and not very much at that! You can certainly ask them to do other things though, as long as you have a grasp on the language...

Thanks for that, interesting. It's also interesting that I've never had to use the choke. Even if my bike has stood for a couple of days all I do is tap the starter button, it starts instantly, runs perfectly, no need for any throttle at all. The temperature here averages around 30c, never goes below 25, maybe that's something to do with it? I don't know...

Cheers Ingah! mine is 2005 Well I haven't had to use it yet, and suspect I never will have to, it's never even remotely cold here!!

I run a Honda Megapro here in Indonesia. It's similar to a Honda CG but the engine is 160cc, single cylinder, 4 stroke. On the left side of the carb there's a black plastic lever which points forward. It's about 2 inches long, half an inch wide. It has 3 settings: 'down', 'middle' and 'up'. It's set on down, I've left it in this position since I bought the bike. I don't have any issues with the way the bike runs but I'm curious as to what this lever does! Any ideas? There's no choke on the bike or at least, none on the handlebars...

Yes I tried that trick and as I expected, there was a spark. It's running perfectly most of the time, the problem has only happened twice, for short periods. I'm wondering whether it might be a fuel problem? Slight blockage somewhere, carb perhaps? I thought of dirty petrol, but I'd expect a more regular problem if that was the case, as I'm still on the same tank of fuel as when they problem occured. Any other ideas?

Thanks for that reply, very interesting. I'd pretty well ruled out an electrical issue, as the starter motor turned the engine over perfectly, when it wouldn't start. I'd guessed it might be a fuel issue but there again, I know very little!! So is that a possibility; the starter motor working perfectly, but an interruption of power from a loose battery connection, maybe causing an irregular spark? Or am I missing the point altogether? Thanks again.

I own a Honda Megapro here in Indonesia. It's a 160cc, singly cylinder jobbie. I bought the bike 4 weeks ago, it's run very sweetly. During these 4 weeks I've changed the oil, air filter, and I've had the engine tuned. I've also treated the fuel with Redex, on the last 2 occasions that I've fuelled up. All was fine until a couple of days. As soon as I touched the start button it fired up immediately, and ran sweet as a nut. But then 2 days ago it took 3 or 4 attempts to get it going, maybe 15 seconds on the starter button in total. And since, it's run perfectly, no hint of misfiring or anything. This morning I rode a mile or so to the shop. After I came out of the shop my bike wouldn't start. It turned over fine, but there was no hint of life in the engine, no spluttering, no near misses, nothing. I then tried to kickstart it, nothing. I tried for 5 minutes then started wheeling it to the local repair shop. As I was walking I touched the start button again, it fired immediately, and ran perfectly. I've plenty of fuel in the tank. Any ideas what the problem might be? Thanks

My 5 year old Honda 160 Mega Pro is showing it's age. The tank is dull and scratched, as are the plastic panels. I'd like to spruce it up, possibly with a re-spray. Questions: Can the existing transfers be removed without leaving marks which will show on the new paintwork? Do you think replacement transfers will be available? Also, can plastic panels be painted successfully, to leave a reasonably hard wearing finish? Thanks

I traced the sound to a loose housing for the horn. Dab of supergule, sorted! Thanks guys.

Thanks for that Pete! Well the bike doesn't have a fairing, so that's ruled out. The sound remains regardless of whether the clutch is engaged or not. Does that rule the clutch out? I've checked the exhaust thoroughly, it seems perfectly sound. So I guess the cam chain tensioner is the most likely? I don't know where this is located on my bike. Is it somthing I can check without tools? Thanks again.

I'm living and working in Indonesia at the moment. I've bought a Honda Mega Pro 160cc single cylinder 4 stroke engine. There is an unusual noise at certain times. I only hear the sound between 3000 and 4000 rpm. I only notice it when cruising at these revs, not under hard acceleration. It's a rattling sound, not a knocking sound. I'm wondering whether it's an engine problem or something else, mountings maybe. I'm sure I can get it sorted out here where work is ridiculousy cheap e.g. 2 new mirrors, brake pads, speedo cable and 3 new bulbs for 6 quid- fitted. But, I don't speak the language. Also, people with white skin are almost always considered rich, a prime target to be ripped off. So it would be good to have some opinions as to what this problem might be, before I take the bike in. Any thoughts or ideas regarding this? Thanks