In Reply to: Motorbike Licences posted by Jenn on Wednesday, 1. April 2009 at 18:17 Bali Time:
-His licence will be enough if it includes riding a motorbike in Australia. In addition you need a international driving permit which you get from your local motor organizations (you also need the IDP if you are going to drive a car in Indonesia).
In my 5 visits to Bali I'll always have been waved through police controls, but if you don't have the proper cetification and get pulled over you will probably get a fine or be "forced" to pay a bribe.
As with most risks one take in life, things work out until they don't, so personally I would be careful and avoid taking the risk of riding without proper authorization (yes, your son would probably get a bike with no questions asked...), not because of the police, but because you risk real trouble with your insurance company if something happens and you don't have proper permits (imagine a nasty accident with hospitalizing and a medical flight home, for instance - a family can get ruined if the company claims regress).