Small motorcycles ruled in the city traffic. Helmets were required, as was having the license plate number displayed on the front of the motorcycle. Shoes were optional.

The police opted for large displacement motorcycles.

Road conditions varied from smooth super slabs to bombed-out sections that blew out car tires and caused motorcyclists to be wary.

Small roads throughout the countryside and away from the main highways were meant for slower riding.

About the time a motorcyclist felt comfortable at a faster riding pace a wild rider would come screaming around a curve, sometimes assuming the road was all theirs and taking up their side and yours.

About the time a motorcyclist felt comfortable at a faster riding pace a wild rider would come screaming around a curve, sometimes assuming the road was all theirs and taking up their side and yours.

A small motorcycle stands little chance of survival when making contact with a larger vehicle. This one was headed to the wreckers to be used as parts.

Some of the jungle bridges proved to be too much for me. Minutes before a 110 cc motorcycle had been slowly walked across this jungle bridge.

What first appeared to be jungle motorcycle tire art were really supports for cactus to hang over after it grew up the center poles.

Mt. Kinabalu, at 13,435ft above sea level, was the highest point on the island of Borneo. The top of the mountain was seldom seen after early morning due to heavy cloud cover and rain.

The most impressive part of the largest city in Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan (population around 50,000), was the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. Built in 1958, it was the highest structure in the city, and remains so by order of the sultan.

Rain, rain, and more rain. For a country used to rain and flooding it was surprising to see that the locals were still being beaten by Mother Nature, as was noted by the cars and houses under water here.

A canoe served as a water taxi as this town went under water. The canoe owner walked the loaded canoe over the paved road under the water. Motorcycles were left parked outside the town.

McDonalds and Burger King were present in the larger cities. I sometimes grew tired of jungle and Islamic food so vectored into these globalized places when I saw them. Prices were reasonable and I knew exactly what I would get.

German motorcycle adventuress Kerstin Hassmann clowns around with Mickey D after enjoying a Big Mac.

A new motorcycle shop offered a wide range of motorcycles made in Malaysia, Japan, Thailand and China.

Not on the Internet was this small motorcycle rental shop. Even motorcycle travel websites declared no rental motorcycles were available on Borneo. The owner found customers through word-of-mouth and listings in print travel guides like The Lonely Planet.

Riding through the sand tracks and palm trees along the coast of the South China Sea was something the lightweight motorcycle was ideally suited for versus a heavyweight adventure motorcycle.

Riding through the sand tracks and palm trees along the coast of the South China Sea was something the lightweight motorcycle was ideally suited for versus a heavyweight adventure motorcycle.

I was happy to paddle my 120 cc Suzuki through mud like this knowing the adventure would have been a lot uglier on a big adventure motorcycle.

Some rivers had no bridges, but were serviced by regular ferry boats. Often they cost the motorcyclist nothing, other times there was a small fee.

Sibu, Sarawak was where I found this 'big bike' motorcycle sales and service motorcycle shop, Kim Hock Motor Trading. The owner, Mr. Kim Hock, imported many large displacement motorcycles from the USA and Japan. He said I could order what I wanted and he likely could get it in two to three months.

'Adventure Cruising' was not much different from adventure riding. Here I was piloting a Kawasaki Nomad through a major city, the adventure being to survive the errant cars and motorcycles that did not compute that I was on a big motorcycle and not one of the small ones, often leaving me little room in traffic.

A friendly motorcycle shop owner gave me a display of what he would do if he caught someone trying to steal parts or one of his display motorcycles.

These friendly natives laughed when asked if there were any headhunters in the area. They answered, 'Only for tourists.'

While I was sweltering from the heat and humidity, these natives were wearing gloves and head coverings.

In the jungle people were outgoing and friendly, asking me if I needed any help when I would stop and were quick to give advice and directions. Their English was sometimes difficult to understand as I learned was my American.

Orangutans were native only to Borneo and Sumatra, where they survived in the thick rain forests, seldom walking on the ground. Instead they moved quadrupedally along branches and vines. Today few remain outside protected areas.

This motorcycle display was advertising sales and service, but only for small displacement motorcycles.

In a country where small displacement motorcycles rule there was room for customizers to show their little motorcycle stuff, like on this tricked out Vespa. The owner claimed it easily tagged 100 mph!

This photo was not blurred; the blurring was from the steady rainfall. The riders, from Brunei, were touring in the rain, which they said was the rule on Borneo and not the exception.

Harley-Davidson had a dealership on Borneo, in Brunei. This motorcycle rider obviously believed in the axiom of loud pipes saving lives, or was a lost racer. I heard his Harley-Davidson a minute before I saw him on the horizon, plenty of time to unpack my camera and flag him down for this photograph.

This was the proud owner of one of only two 'three wheelers' on the island of Borneo. It had been built around a Honda Gold Wing with imported aftermarket parts from the USA.

This Yamaha V-Max was spotted outside a Burger King restaurant in the city of Kota Kinabalu. The owner, from England, said he thought it was one of two in all of Borneo.

A standard practice was to 'Harleyize' a Japanese imported motorcycle to make it look like a Harley-Davidson. This was due to the higher cost of importing a Harley-Davidson versus a Japanese model like a Honda. The estimate was it cost 50% less to Harleyize the Japanese import.

For the adventure rider needing panniers but not having the money to import expensive foreign ones, an option was to have a local pair made. The owner told me he wanted them open instead of sealed to let the water from the constant rain to run out.

I saw only one of these in Borneo, an India Enfield Bullet. The owner was touring. I noticed that his riding boots (open sandals) allowed for the quick drying of wet feet when it rained.

The owner of this 'big' Chinese manufactured motorcycle loved it but admitted the quality was poor and parts were near to impossible to find.

This was a standard set-up for many motorcycles I saw. He was quite proud of it because it was an imported Yamaha, more expensive than a Malaysian manufactured model and according to him more dependable.

One of the two things that I fear in life is snakes. After seeing this one I decided it was time for my Borneo adventure to end. Some of the bystanders told me it was drugged, and therefore 'safe.' I wanted to be on a motorcycle far away, which was where I went.