How do you say "This bike is a rental" in Indonesian?

Motor ini saya sewa — MOH-tohr EE-nee SAH-yah SEH-wah. Worth mentioning — repairs on a rented bike are handled differently.

How do you say "It needs an oil change" in Indonesian?

Mau ganti oli — mohw GAHN-tee OH-lee. "oli" is engine oil, not "minyak"

How do you say "Should I leave a cash deposit or a card?" in Indonesian?

Deposit pakai cash atau taruh paspor, ya — duh-POH-seet PAH-kehye chahsh AH-tohw TAH-roo PAHS-pohr, yah. often they ask for your passport instead of money

How do you say "The battery's dead" in Indonesian?

Akinya soak — ah-KEEN-yah SOH-ahk. 'soak' — casual local slang for a dead/shot battery

How do you say "Will it take long to fix?" in Indonesian?

Benerinnya lama gak? — buh-nuh-REEN-nyah LAH-mah gahk?. "Benerin" instead of "perbaiki" — that's how they say it at the bengkel, not textbook Indonesian

How do you say "I just need the tire topped up a bit" in Indonesian?

Isi angin aja bannya — EE-see AHN-geen AH-jah BAHN-nyah. small favor at the bengkel, often free or just a few coins

Scooter trouble: what to say at the bengkel

A bengkel is a repair shop, and you need the word: searching "scooter repair" gets you nowhere, the sign says BENGKEL. There are dozens in any neighbourhood — usually a roof, a compressor, and one man who fixes everything.

People don't ask the price first, and they should. Patching a tube is ten to fifteen thousand, an oil change under a hundred including oil, brake pads one-fifty to two hundred. Asking "berapa" before work starts is completely normal and saves the awkward conversation at the end.

The key word is "bocor": flat, punctured, leaking. It works for a tyre, a tank, or a roof. The second is "mati": dead, stalled, won't run. "Motor saya mati" gets understood with nothing else attached.

One honest note: half of what goes wrong on a rented scooter isn't yours to pay for. Message the owner before you pay. Bald tyres and dead brakes are on them; dropping it is on you.

Pronunciation below is written to be read out loud in English spelling. It isn't linguistically exact — it's meant to get you understood.

30 phrases

I have a flat tire
Ban saya bocor
bahn SAH-yah BOH-chohr
My bike won't start
Motor saya tidak bisa nyala
MOH-tohr SAH-yah TEE-dahk BEE-sah NYAH-lah
Local: Motor saya nggak bisa nyala ·
Can you fix this?
Bisa diperbaiki?
BEE-sah dee-puhr-BEHYE-kee?
Politer: Pak, bisa tolong diperbaiki? ·
How long will it take?
Berapa lama?
buh-RAH-pah LAH-mah?
Politer: Permisi, berapa lama? ·
How much will it cost?
Berapa biayanya?
buh-RAH-pah bee-ah-YAHN-yah?
Politer: Permisi, berapa biayanya? ·
Fill it up, please
Isi penuh, ya
EE-see puh-NOOH, yah
Can you check the tire pressure?
Tolong cek angin ban
TOH-lohng chuhk AHN-geen bahn
Politer: Permisi, tolong cek angin ban ·
The brakes aren't working well
Remnya kurang bagus
REHM-nyah KOO-rahng BAH-goos
Does the oil need changing?
Perlu ganti oli?
puhr-LOO GAHN-tee OH-lee?
This bike is a rental
Motor ini saya sewa
MOH-tohr EE-nee SAH-yah SEH-wah
Worth mentioning — repairs on a rented bike are handled differently.
Please change the oil
Tolong ganti oli
TOH-lohng GAHN-tee OH-lee
Politer: Permisi, tolong ganti oli ·
Please check the brakes
Tolong cek rem
TOH-lohng chuhk ruhm
Politer: Permisi, tolong cek rem ·
Can I wait here?
Boleh tunggu di sini?
BOH-luh TOONG-goo dee SEE-nee?
Politer: Permisi, boleh tunggu di sini? ·
The bike won't go, something's wrong with the engine
Motornya gak mau jalan, mesinnya kenapa gitu
moh-TOHR-nyah gahk mohw JAH-lahn, muh-SEEN-nyah kuh-NAH-pah GEE-too
The chain's rattling
Rantainya berisik banget
rahn-TEHYEN-yah buh-REE-seek BAHN-guht
It needs an oil change
Mau ganti oli
mohw GAHN-tee OH-lee
"oli" is engine oil, not "minyak"
I don't remember when the oil was last changed
Ganti oli terakhir kapan ya, lupa
GAHN-tee OH-lee tuh-RAHK-heer KAH-pahn yah, LOO-pah
How much does an oil change cost?
Ganti oli berapa
GAHN-tee OH-lee buh-RAH-pah
Can you patch the puncture?
Bisa tambal ban gak
BEE-sah TAHM-bahl bahn gahk
Politer: Permisi, bisa tambal ban gak ·
How many days do you want to rent the bike for?
Sewa motor buat berapa hari
SEH-wah MOH-tohr BOO-aht buh-RAH-pah HAH-ree
How much is it per day to rent?
Sewa sehari berapa
SEH-wah suh-HAH-ree buh-RAH-pah
I need a helmet
Ada helm gak
AH-dah huhlm gahk
Politer: Permisi, ada helm gak ·
Should I leave a cash deposit or a card?
Deposit pakai cash atau taruh paspor, ya
duh-POH-seet PAH-kehye chahsh AH-tohw TAH-roo PAHS-pohr, yah
often they ask for your passport instead of money
I don't want to leave my passport, just a cash deposit
Paspornya gak mau saya tinggal, deposit uang aja ya
pahs-POHR-nyah gahk mohw SAH-yah TEENG-gahl, duh-POH-seet OO-ahng AH-jah yah
The battery's dead
Akinya soak
ah-KEEN-yah SOH-ahk
'soak' — casual local slang for a dead/shot battery
Can you take a look right now?
Bisa dicek sekarang gak
BEE-sah DEE-chuhk suh-KAH-rahng gahk
Politer: Permisi, bisa dicek sekarang gak ·
Will it take long to fix?
Benerinnya lama gak?
buh-nuh-REEN-nyah LAH-mah gahk?
"Benerin" instead of "perbaiki" — that's how they say it at the bengkel, not textbook Indonesian
Can you give me another bike while this one's being fixed?
Boleh pinjem motor lain dulu, yang ini kan diperbaiki
BOH-luh PEEN-juhm MOH-tohr LEHYEN DOO-loo, yahng EE-nee kahn dee-puhr-BEHYE-kee
Politer: Permisi, boleh pinjem motor lain dulu, yang ini kan diperbaiki ·
How much will this all cost?
Totalnya jadi berapa
toh-TAHL-nyah JAH-dee buh-RAH-pah
I just need the tire topped up a bit
Isi angin aja bannya
EE-see AHN-geen AH-jah BAHN-nyah
small favor at the bengkel, often free or just a few coins

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