Stark Future - VARG | Electric Motocross Bike

Evolution of Dirt Bikes

It's not very often we get excited over a brand new dirt bike entering the world of motocross and it's not very often something comes along that could change the trajectory of the sport! There have been very few game changing bike launches in the past 40 years however one that comes to my mind is the Yamaha YZF400 4 stroke. That particular bike changed our sport and 2 strokes began to be slowly phased out, fast forward to the present day and we only have certain manufacturers still producing 2 strokes. Other key additions that helped evolve the industry include aluminium frames, EFI and other changes that essentially have refined 4-strokes and changed the way we ride and race dirt bikes. Some manufacturers have introduced EFI on 2 strokes and we now have traction control settings and other electronic mechanisms on modern four strokes but in reality, it’s still the same platform and leaves us all wondering what's next?

Wait what... an electric dirt bike?

Introducing the Stark Varg (Varg in Swedish means Wolf), the bike that left the mainstream media puzzled. We were all wondering who was behind this exotic bike with huge claims in horsepower, game changing technology and how long has this been in development? Just like you, we were intrigued by the claims, images and videos that appeared on social media and we couldn't wait to know more! Stark Future started just two and a half years ago when Anton Wass had a dream and vision to get motocross into a position where we could ride like people play golf. You can play golf seven days a week from Sunrise to Sunset at most facilities and you aren’t forced to golf once a week in a three-hour window like some of our motocross tracks are due to noise constraints. Anton assembled a team of industry experts that he knew would look at motocross in a different light and ultimately change the game as we know it. So it begins...

First look:

MXstore's Mike Sleeter was lucky enough to be a test rider for the all new Stark Varg! Immediately after arriving in Barcelona and meeting the team he got the impression that things were different, bike testing is something that Sleeter has been a part of for many years and also lucky enough to be on both sides of the fence as a rider and an OEM representative. It was evident that Stark knew they had something special! 

The Varg’s clean lines, bold red plastics and black rims immediately make a statement. After looking over the bike it was clear they left no stone unturned when developing the chassis. A two-piece design with a Chromoly upper section that is bolted to aluminium which allows the motor to sit low and centred in the chassis. The V designed battery shares technology from the likes of Tesla and BMW and is designed to fit and balance out the weight of the bike. The swingarm and linkage are very thought out, the linkage sits higher compared to current dirt bikes which helps with mud build up and reduces the chance of hitting logs off-road. The swingarm has a one-of-a-kind chain adjustment clicker system which allows rear wheel alignment and chain adjustment a breeze. Starkfuture went above and beyond with attention to detail with in-house product design with components such as brakes, pedals, and even little things like brake line guides, the detail, fit and finish are similar to a factory race bike.

The triple clamps are a billet split design like we see on most factory teams which are designed and manufactured in house by Stark. The hubs and rims are also manufactured and designed in-house at Starkfuture with the Hubs being made from billet and the black rims made from 7071 alloy. The foot pegs caught our eyes right away with a polished finish and some razor-sharp teeth. They are made from stainless alloy and are lighter and stronger than titanium. Stark has also innovated the way you take the foot peg on and off. Instead of the pin and split pin, they have a bolt that comes up from the bottom that with a unique design makes installing pegs safer than ever before. When it comes to the brakes, Brembo’s come fitted on the bike with the traditional pedal and front brake set up, but if you want to run the rear brake on the bar you will need to use a formula master cylinder because Brembo doesn't currently make a master cylinder for the left side of the bar. The key component of any motorcycle is the suspension and the Stark Varg is equipped with industry-leading KYB forks and shock. The platform of the KYB fork and shock is based on the Yamaha suspension packages with technical touch components. With settings and spring rates developed and tested by Starks R&D team. When it comes to the motor it’s completely tuneable with its Stark military-grade phone that is placed in a billet holder where the bar pad would normally be. You can tune the motor down to be as slow as a PW50 and even control the amount of engine brake you have for the faster modes. What makes this great is you can tune the bike for a rider that wants a slower speed and with a quick tune it can be back at full power.

Time to ride the all new Stark VARG

How ironic, Sleeter was testing at an old golf course that was turned into a motocross track which was quickly shut down due to noise. It was time to hit the track for the first four lap session! 

Words from MXstore's Mike Sleeter:
"Let me tell you I was extremely excited. As I applied the throttle my first impression was how smooth the power was, only half a lap in and I was feeling comfortable. Before I hit the track, I was worried about how aggressive the power was going to be and in a situation, if I applied too much power I would want to have a clutch to control the power. There was never a time when I was in need of a clutch with the power delivery being as smooth as it was and when I wanted to get aggressive there was plenty of power. I finished the first four lap session and wanted to start getting the chassis dialled in. I met with my team and debriefed with what I wanted, and it was mainly to get a little more confident on the fork and some movement out of the shock. What we decided to do is get more bite on the front wheel, so the team and I decided to put some more engine braking in the bike to allow the fork to get deeper under braking. My next 4 lap session was up, and I decided to go out on the first lap and make sure that was the right direction I wanted to go. Right away the fork was better under braking but my experience in the motor was slightly compromised. I made it back to the pits and we ended up splitting the difference in engine braking and headed back out. I went back out and splitting the difference was great for engine feel and balance for me when turning. I had two laps left in this session, so I opened up the rebound two clicks to get some more movement in the shock as the stock setting was a little dead. I also added two clicks in high speed for more hold up on the roller sections.

I went back out for the next two laps and those adjustments were what I needed to really feel comfortable. I finished off that session pleased with the balance and feel. The next session for me was to go out on a 2022 GasGas MC450 to reference the Varg. The MC450 is what I ride for my personal bike so I’m very comfortable on this machine. When I pulled onto the track, I was absolutely shocked by how heavy the bike felt. As I was wrapping my head around how bad I was riding a bike that I was so used to and loved I watched other media guys stall their bikes. I could not believe that it was such a change going back to a combustion engine bike and that it was hard to adapt. By the end of the four-lap session, I was getting comfy on the GasGas and I was happy that the Stark Chassis felt similar in character. Once I finished the session on the GasGas I went straight back to the Varg for another four laps, and I couldn’t believe how lite the Varg felt. I was getting more and more comfortable and started to push the bike harder and harder. One key thing that I didn’t expect was how good not having to shift was. The Varg having no gears is amazing because you are always in the right gear and can feed the throttle with ease.

I rode hard for this four-lap session and was able to understand what this bike was capable of. A few key things that I want to note is that you can still hear the motor under you so you can hear RPM, but you do have to be careful of revving the bike up before you land because the wheel speed is extremely fast. Why is that? When you panic on a petrol-powered bike, the wheel will only go as fast as the gear you are in. However, on the Varg, the wheel speed not under load is like having the bike in top gear, so you can actually change the pitch of the bike easy with some throttle. Lastly, the plastics on the media bikes were extremely slippery. I almost had a big crash with my feet sliding off the back. The width and shape aren’t much different than the GasGas or Honda so I’m assuming it’s the finish on the plastic. The sound or lack of sound when landing can give you the allusion it’s harsh so having that reference bike of the GasGas was very important to me in making sure it was a sound and not a feel thing. One key question that I didn’t get a final report on was overall battery life because my sessions were short. From the information I got at a pro-level pace you can make a 35 min moto. The other thing that I didn’t get to feel is the top speed because the fastest I would have gotten the bike would be 3rd gear wide open when compared to the GasGas. In the world of electric heat and wet conditions is a big question mark. Throughout my day on the bike, I put some really hard laps on the bike and the temp reading on the screen never indicated it go hot even at idle for long periods of time. I didn’t submerge the bike in water but watched the team wash the bike with a pressure washer with no unnecessary taping or protection of the battery components."

Is the Stark going to change the game?

So, what’s the verdict? Is the Stark going to change the game? Yes, it will! The bike exceeded expectations, and the overall riding experience was great. The components and technology that went into the chassis with the features and benefits really show the commitment to pressing technology with simple things like foot pegs and chain adjusters. One of the key things that was heavily underestimated was the tuning. To be able to have the bike set up at full power and then with a simple change from the tuning module on the bar you can make the bike as slow as a 110 for other riders. In closing, we are seeing multiple tracks across the globe close due to noise, and other environmental issues which makes it harder and harder to ride the modern-day motorcycle. The Stark Varg will be a major step in re-opening tracks, new tracks to locations we would never have been able to have before. There is great news for us in Australia as Starkfuture has brought on Jeff Leisk as the Director in Australia. Jeff was the man behind KTM’s success in Australia so it won’t take him long to get this brand humming along. We can't wait to see how the industry embraces electric power and fingers crossed we see some of our favourite tracks reopen.