In short. A beginner needs an automatic of 110 to 125 cc: Honda BeAT or Scoopy, Yamaha Gear or Fazzio. They weigh 87 to 96 kg, the seat is 742 to 750 mm high, the tank is 4 to 5 litres, and a person of any height can handle them. If you are taller than 180 cm, ride two-up with backpacks or plan to go into the hills, take a Honda Vario 125 or 160 or a Yamaha NMAX 155: they are 20 to 40 kg heavier, but steadier and carry two uphill. Licence: an Indonesian SIM C or an international licence with category A, covered in a separate guide. The first days: empty streets in the morning, a helmet that fits, no passenger.
Why automatics only. Bali rental shops have scooters with a variator, here called "matic": there is no clutch and no gears, the right grip is the throttle and front brake, and the left lever is the rear brake, like on a bicycle. Bikes with a manual gearbox and 250 cc motorcycles are not needed by a beginner in a rental: they need other licences (SIM C I and above by engine size), have another weight and other prices when dropped. All models below are automatics.
Nine models by official specifications. The data is from the manufacturers' pages, read on 5 November 2026; in a rental shop you will get a bike of earlier years, and its figures are the same within a couple of kilograms. Weight is kerb weight, with oil and fuel, as the manufacturer gives it.
- Honda BeAT: 109.5 cc, 9 hp, 87 to 88 kg, seat 742 mm, tank 4.2 l, 14-inch wheels, disc at the front and drum at the back, linked CBS brakes. The lightest and the most common in rental shops.
- Honda Scoopy: 109.5 cc, 9 hp, 93 to 94 kg, seat 746 mm, tank 4.2 l, 12-inch wheels, disc and drum, CBS. The same engine as the BeAT in a round body; on 12-inch wheels potholes are felt more.
- Yamaha Gear 125: 125 cc, 7.0 kW, 95 to 96 kg, seat 750 mm, tank 4.2 l, 14-inch wheels, disc and drum, 10 l storage under the seat. A workhorse with hooks for bags.
- Yamaha Fazzio Hybrid: 125 cc, 6.2 kW, 95 kg, seat 750 mm, tank 5.1 l, 12-inch wheels, disc and drum. Low and soft, a favourite of rental shops in Canggu.
- Yamaha Grand Filano Hybrid: 125 cc, 6.1 kW, 100 kg, seat 790 mm, tank 4.4 l, 12-inch wheels, disc and drum, 27 l storage. The highest seat among the light ones, awkward if you are short.
- Honda Vario 125: 124.8 cc, 11.1 hp, 111 to 112 kg, seat 769 mm, 14-inch wheels, disc and drum, CBS, liquid cooling. The golden mean: it pulls two and the weight is not frightening.
- Honda Vario Evo 160: 156.9 cc, 15.4 hp, 116 to 118 kg, seat 778 mm, tank 5.5 l, 14-inch wheels, versions with ABS or CBS, 18 l storage.
- Yamaha NMAX 155: 155 cc, 11.3 kW, 130 to 132 kg, seat 765 mm, tank 7.1 l, 13-inch wheels, two disc brakes, ABS in the Connected/ABS version, an XL full-face helmet fits under the seat. The heaviest in the list and the steadiest on the open road.
- Honda PCX 160: 160 cc, 11.8 kW, 30 l storage according to the Astra Honda article on the model; we did not find weight or seat height on the model page, by class it is a pair of the NMAX.
How to choose for yourself. Four questions that decide everything:
- Height. Sit on it and put both feet flat on the ground: on a 742 to 750 mm seat most people can, on 778 to 790 mm with a height under 165 cm it is already on tiptoe. A bike you cannot hold up with your legs at a traffic light will drop you in the first traffic jam.
- Weight of the bike. You can push a light BeAT out of sand and turn it round on a narrow street by hand, but not a 130 kg NMAX with a passenger and bags. For town and beaches 110 to 125 cc is enough.
- Passenger and road. Two people with backpacks to Ubud, Kintamani or the Bukit are hard going for 110 cc, and you will not overtake on a winding road. With two adults take from 125 cc, better 155 to 160.
- Wheels and brakes. The 14-inch wheels of the BeAT, Gear and Vario are calmer on potholes and gravel than the 12-inch ones on the Scoopy and Fazzio. ABS on the Vario 160 and NMAX helps on wet road markings, and Honda's CBS links the brakes so that the rear one backs up the front.
A 4-litre tank on the light models against 5.5 to 7 on the heavy ones is the difference of one extra fill on a long trip; where and with what to fill up is in the guide on petrol.
What a beginner should check with the rental shop. The contract, deposit, insurance and photos of scratches are covered in the guide on renting a scooter, and here it is about the bike itself. Ask to ride around the yard: both brakes must grip without squealing, the handlebars must not shake, the throttle must not stick. Check the tread and pressure by eye, the lights, brake light and indicators, and the mirrors on both sides. Take a helmet that fits, with a buckle and an undamaged visor, and your own helmet pays for itself in a week. If the bike is hard to lift off its stand, it is not your bike.
Licence and fines. For a scooter up to 250 cc you need an Indonesian SIM C or an international driving permit with category A; details are in the guide on driving licences. Without a licence, the insurer and the rental shop will leave everything on you after an accident, and cameras and police checks are covered in the guide on ETLE fines and the guide on being stopped by police.
The first week on the road. Traffic is on the left, and for the first days your brain keeps pulling you to the right at junctions. So:
- Take your first rides at 6 to 7 in the morning on empty streets in your own area, without a passenger and without a destination.
- Both hands on the handlebars, the phone in a holder, listen to navigation prompts in an earphone and do not look at the screen.
- A horn here means "I am near": give a short beep before a blind turn and when overtaking, and nobody will be offended.
- Sand and wet road markings in turns, dogs on the road, lorries on the bypass: keep your speed lower than seems safe.
- Rain: put on a raincoat five minutes before a downpour, brake early, go round puddles, because there are potholes under the water.
- Always wear a helmet, even to the shop round the corner: most injuries in the chats are "rode without a helmet for two hundred metres".
If you do fall, the order of actions is in the guide on a scooter accident.
Our advice. For the first month: BeAT, Scoopy, Gear or Fazzio, light and cheap to repair. When you stop thinking about the handlebars and start riding two-up and far, switch to a Vario 160 or NMAX. Do not take a "bigger" bike from the rental shop to look serious: in Bali the one who looks serious is the one who got there.
What this means for you. A light automatic of 110 to 125 cc, both feet on the ground, a category A licence or SIM C, a helmet that fits and empty streets in the morning. The nine models above cover almost the whole rental fleet on the island, and the difference between them is in weight and seat height, not in colour or name.