High-tea ridings: Scoci members take in the view from a tea plantation between Surade-Kiara Dua, West Java, during their ride from Jakarta earlier this year. (Courtesy of Scorpio Owners Club Indonesia)

On Saturday nights, groups of motorcyclists meet in certain locations of the city. They park

their bikes in neat clusters, and sometimes fly their club’s flag.

“Preparing for a drag race?” The Jakarta Post asked Arief Budi, chairman of Pulsarian Detasemen, a club for Bajaj Pulsar motorbike owners that meets weekly on Jl. Margonda, Depok, south of Jakarta.

“No. We don’t do drag racing, we promote safe riding instead,” said Arief.

Bikers around town are known to congregate at the Senayan sport complex’s east parking lot and Jl. Panglima Polim in Blok M, both in South Jakarta, Taman Suropati, Central Jakarta, and especially in Depok, where almost every free space along the 3-kilometer street of Jl. Margonda is filled with rows of motorbikes.

Territorial as street cats, bikers tend to gather in designated areas. Scorpio Owners Club Indonesia (Scoci) members for example have been meeting at the same spot on Jl. Panglima Polim since the club was founded in 2006.

According to Scoci member Elsid Arendra, bikers in his club arrive one by one from 9 p.m. onwards, or flock in groups of 10 to about 30 for a kopi darat or land meeting. Scoci club members own Yamaha Scorpio bikes.

Most motorbike clubs have weekly meetings, usually on Saturday nights, where members catch up with each other, share updates on spare parts, plan club programs and even do business deals. Saturday night meetings are rarely cancelled, except if something more important turns up.

“We will not have a meeting on the street this weekend as we are instead holding the club’s national assembly in Parung, West Java,” said Yogi Sinar Yudho, member of the Yamaha Jupiter club, last Saturday.

Yogi’s club has 1,000 members from 40 club chapters in Sumatra, Java and Bali.

“Our weekly meetings are not just about meeting with our friends. We also have programs to change the public’s perception of biker clubs, which are often associated with the criminal world and drag racing,” said Budhie Soenarso, a member of Pulsarian Detasemen.

“Here, the majority of us have families, and we like to bring our wives and children out with us once in a while, to let them know what we are up to in our clubs,” Budhie said.

Subianto, chairman of the Depok Smash Club, said his club also served as an “information center” for job vacancies.

Strangers with the same hobby or motorcycle brand experiencing the need to network end up becoming brothers or sisters when joining biker clubs.

Clubs invite new members in several different ways. Subianto of the Depok Smash Club said his

club gave pamphlets to Suzuki Smash riders while they waited at traffic lights, while Budhie Soenarso from the Pulsarian club said his club tended to attract new members at workshops and dealer showrooms.

“Most of our members were hooked through pamphlet introductions,” Subianto said.

Social and charity activities also attract new club members who wish to help people.

“Traveling for charitable causes is common for many clubs. The important thing is motorbike club members thrive to be role models for other motorcyclists on the road,” Elsid said.

“In one of our charity excursions, we brought books, school uniforms and stationery to an elementary school in Lebak regency in West Java, whose students came from poor families,” Elsid said.

Koko, chairman of Terompet Roti Community, said his members, who sport a logo of terompet roti or a bread vendor’s horn on their jackets, were mostly high school students and rode different brands of motorbikes such as Vespa, Revo, Honda Kirana, Yamaha Jupiter, Karisma, and Mio.

Although Koko’s club members tend to be 17 years old, they are required to get their parents’ consent before joining the club, Koko said.

Subianto, on the other hand, said the 35 members of his Depok Smash Club were aged between 16 to 50 years old.

“Our members come from various backgrounds, from restaurant employees, to high school students and the unemployed,” he said.

While Jakarta has the highest concentration of motorbike clubs and bikers, clubs have branches in many cities too.

According to Subianto, there is an association of Suzuki Smash Clubs around the country, with coordinators in Sumatra, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java and Bali.

“Nationally, the Suzuki Smash Club has more than 2,000 members.”

Arief said Pulsarian Detasemen club had around 80 members in Depok, 500 bikers in the Jakarta Skuadron branch, and at least 800 members in the combined areas of Bekasi, Depok, Bogor, Bandung, Jogja, Cikarang and Cikampek.

Motorbike clubs have been around in Indonesia for decades. The first Harley-Davidson Club was founded in Cirebon in 1958, followed by the Harley Club Bandung in 1960 and the Harley Club Jakarta in 1963.

When bikes became more affordable, the number of motorcycles in the city soared and motorcycle clubs mushroomed as a result in the 2000s. Motorcycles can now be purchased for as little as a Rp 300,000 (US$25) cash deposit.

According to Subianto, even though there are around 70 brand clubs and biker communities, relationships between clubs remain.

“When we first started the club, we visited every club in Depok and introduced ourselves. That’s the tradition.”

Relationships with other clubs are not only limited to courtesy visits, but also extend to offering help on the road to other bikers. Motorbike clubs also unite under several affiliations, such as the Depok Motorbike Alliance (AMD) in the city of Depok.

“Our existence is also acknowledged by the police,” Arief said.(iwp)

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