There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in

Honda VTR250 Indonesia

God, I hate Honda. I really do.

It’s only a few days away, and they’re gonna launch the Honda VTR250…


Honda VTR250
… in Thailand! Arggg!!!!

But why not here in Indonesia? Hell, it’s not as if there wouldn’t be any demand; there surely would.

And I’d be the first to put my name down on the waiting list!

But so far, the big Japanese motorcycle manufacturers – with one notable exception, Kawasaki – have failed to come up with the goods. For them, the Indonesian motorcycle market is just a huge “mass market” of seething mediocrity, meaning they only produce and sell girly little bebek (duck?!!!) motorcycles (which strangely enough are mostly ridden by guys) and relatively low-performance men’s motorcycles like the Honda Tiger and Yamaha Scorpio.

Yet will things change? Well, possibly. Because now that the AFTA (Asia Free Trade Agreement) has been signed, Indonesia can no longer impose ridiculously high import duties on motorcycles made in other Asian countries – as was the case in the past.

This is what has made it possible for Kawasaki to launch the high performance Ninja 250 on the Indonesian market (made in Thailand, the Ninja 250 is a very quick bike with great looks).

But will Honda buck up the courage and follow in Kawasaki’s footsteps? Well, speculation is rife that they will, and some pundits have even said that Honda might manufacture the VTR250 in Indonesia rather than import it from Thailand!

Not that I am holding my breath…

Honda VTR250: essential specs

Engine and transmission
Engine type: 2 cylinders, 4-stroke, 90° V-twin
Displacement: 250 cc (15.28 cubic inches)
Cooling system: Water cooled
Power: 29.91 HP (22 kW) @ 10500 rpm
Torque: 22 Nm (2.24 kg-m) @ 8500 rpm
Throttle: Cable operated
Gear box: Manual 5-speed

Dimensions
Wheel base: 1405 mm
Seat height: 775 mm
Weight 161 kg

Other
Fuel capacity: 12.4 l

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