Indonesian President Jokowi shows off his blinged-out gold motorbike

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin'.

Sulaiman Daud | January 21, 2018, 03:04 PM

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo is known to be a fan of heavy metal music. In Nov. 2017, he was gifted a box set of Metallica's records by Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen.

But now he has the perfect opportunity to blast that music, while roaring down Indonesia's highways on his shiny new gold chopper.

On Jan. 21, Jokowi posted a photo of himself standing next to a gold motorbike on his official Facebook page, which you can see below.

Translated, the caption reads:

"I finally have a motorcycle designed and created by the nation's citizens. A chopper-style motorcycle with its trademark low rider position, relaxed seat, and a little high handlebars.

The engine is from a Royald Enfield 350 cc, the rest is a workshop modification by Elders Garage and its partners. Bandung leather upholstery, sewn nice and neat. The frame is designed for the average size of Indonesians by Veroland and made in Jakarta.

I bought this gold-colored motorbike not just because I like it, but also to build the brand value of the work of the nation's citizens.

Once it was reported, my son called. He asked for this bike. Wow, I haven't even ridden the bike and already I've been asked to lend it!"

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Shrewd bargain

The company that Jokowi gave a shoutout to, Elders Garage, also shared the president's photo on their official Instagram page and posted a video of themselves presenting the bike to him.

They mentioned that Jokowi bargained the price of the bike down to RP140 million (S$13,886) from an initial RP150 million (S$14,878).

View this post on Instagram

[Part 1] Dalam berbagai kesempatan, Presiden #JokoWidodo (@Jokowi) sering menyampaikan pentingnya #inovasi dan #kreativitas dalam melakukan sesuatu. Hal-hal yang bersifat rutinitas, linier, monoton, serta menghambat harus segera ditinggalkan. Demikian pula saat dirinya memutuskan untuk membeli sebuah #motor. Ia memilih motor Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc bergaya chopper yang merupakan hasil modifikasi #Chopperland dari bengkel ‘#EldersGarage’. Tidak hanya sekadar membeli, tetapi Kepala Negara juga berupaya mendorong produk lokal agar memiliki brand value yang lebih baik. “Saya membeli produk karya anak-anak bangsa untuk meningkatkan brand value . Bukan kali ini saja saya dorong produk lokal, seperti #SejiwaKopi di #Bandung, Toko Kopi Tuku di Jakarta dan Aming Coffee di #Pontianak,” ucap Presiden sebagaimana disampaikan dalam Siaran Pers Deputi Bidang Protokol, Pers, dan Media, Sekretariat Presiden, #BeyMachmudin. Presiden juga melihat motor hasil modifikasi #Chopperland memiliki peluang ekspor yang cukup baik ke sejumlah negara di #AsiaTenggara. “Saya melihat potensi pasar yang dimiliki tidak hanya di dalam negeri, tapi juga dapat diekspor ke luar negeri, seperti #Malaysia, #Thailand, dan #Filipina,” kata Presiden. Motor berwarna emas itu pun telah tiba di #IstanaKepresidenanBogor, Provinsi #JawaBarat, Sabtu (20/1) sekitar pukul 09.50 WIB. Kedatangan motor tersebut diterima langsung oleh Presiden pada pukul 10.20 WIB. “Bagus dan rapi ini motornya,” ucap Presiden saat melihat motor tersebut. Untuk diketahui, Presiden pertama kali melihat motor tersebut saat perayaan Sumpah Pemuda, pada 28 Oktober 2017 silam. Saat itu, bahkan Presiden sempat mencoba duduk di motor tersebut hingga akhirnya jatuh hati dan langsung memesan motor tersebut. “Semula harganya Rp150 juta, saya tawar, jadinya Rp140 juta,” katanya. Sementara itu Heret dari Elders Garage mengatakan bahwa motor tersebut dinamakan #chopperland. Video:Biro Pers Setpres @kemensetneg.ri @sekretariat.kabinet @kantorstafpresidenri @elders_garage

A post shared by Elders Garage (@elders_garage) on

The other company Jokowi mentioned, Veroland, also had an Instagram post up to mark to occasion.

View this post on Instagram

Terima kasih atas ucapan selamat, dukungan dan doa dari teman teman semua. Mohon maaf bila belum semua comment bisa saya balas langsung. . “Bersatu kita teguh, bercerai kita runtuh.” . #chopperland

A post shared by Veroland 🇲🇨 (@kickasschoppers) on

Both companies are Indonesian and based in Jakarta, the nation's capital. According to Elders Garage, Joko said (translated):

"I see the potential market not only in the country, but also can be exported abroad, such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Philippines."

Arguably, the media-savvy President has made a smart move to promote Indonesia's industry and raise its profile for the cost of just one gold chopper.

Too bad Singapore doesn't have a large-scale motorbike industry of our own, otherwise our leaders could order their own tricked-out bike and challenge Jokowi to a friendly drag race.

Like this but with more Limp Bizkit. Pic from Viral Thread.

 

Top image from Elders Garage's Instagram.