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10/21/2012
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Cypress, TX, USA
Edited Date/Time
12/29/2022 9:59am
The parent company of Royal Enfield is set to invest about $50 million for roughly 10% equity of Stark.
Click on the link below for the details...
https://www.rideapart.com/news/628721/eicher-motors-stark-future-partnership/
“Stark Future has been able to understand and harness the potential of EV technology by dramatically outperforming ICE offerings, without compromising on range, weight, packaging and cost".
That’s a pretty high valuation for a company that has yet to deliver any product.
Interesting when it has less range, more weight and a higher cost, lol
This is good news. However, will Royal Enfield be able to assist/support production, delivery and development? Do they have technical expertise that will help stark move forward? If they had this investment from KTM or Yamaha would that be more valuable?
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What if, in a few years, all that isn't true? Honestly if an e-bike could do more than 2 motos, that would be more than I could do lol I think it's eventually going to catch up with replaceable/swappable batteries.
Then they should make that claim then, until then none of it is true. Heck, they didn't even let any of the media dudes who got to test it ride it until it was out of power, if they are so proud of the range they should let us see what the real range is.
I'm not an electric hater, I'm a fan, but with Stark I'm at the same spot I am with Triumph....I'll believe it when I see it. I got absolutely flamed for saying that about Triumph so I'll expect the same here. Bring on the downvotes....
“And, for that reason, I’m out”
This is the display on the promo bike, if the final version has this much range the wait will be worth it….
(pic stolen from facebook)
Unfortunately replacement batteries will cost at least a couple thousand dollars each with the bikes being significantly more expensive in the first place.
The real world range is not really known yet. If it is the 45 minutes that I have seen them claim , on a MX track with an A level rider, it would be similar to a stock MX bike on a single tank of gas. Top Pros can run a 450 out of fuel in a 30 + 2 moto. So if an electric powered bike can run a 30+2 with a pro level rider , you could expect similar range to what you get on a gas bike with stock tank. The people making the bikes know way more about where battery tech is heading and charging speeds. But I would think that developing a standard , quick change battery would be the best way to go. Local races in NE are 20 minutes plus 2 laps or less. I've only been to local races in New York and New England , so maybe there are longer local motocross style races out there. But if they can make a battery that is quick change, and can go 45 minutes on a sand track . I feel like that will work for most Motocross racing at the local level.
There is so much guessing going on on both sides of the Electric argument. More so on the non electric side . I know that the range will not work for everybody or every type of riding right now. But as far as Motocross goes , its range if the claimed runtime is accurate is on par with the gas bikes. I think that even with a shorter runtime , they still will fill a need and help make it possible for people to ride in places they couldn't.
Price wise , You can say the same thing about a KTM VS a RMZ. Or Factory edition VS standard. How many people are buying factory edition versions because they cost less? There is a market for them , with more brands offering them. People are buying them figuring they are getting a better performing bike. And for many people the Varg will also offer things that Gas bikes can not. I've hear the founder say that the Varg is being built to be the best MX bike . SO maybe they come in and offer another model with less power , or a smaller swappable battery for less money. Or a version that you do not get custom built suspension for you with. Everybody that is buying a Varg is also getting their suspension built to work for them, sprung and valved from the factory. That is worth a grand or 2. Electric bikes have the possibility of costing much less than gas bikes. WHen they are able to produce them in larger runs, and or offer dual sport and street versions to spread the costs of tooling around the prices should be able to come way down. Just like many electronics have in the past. If a new startup is able to build new factory's all new tooling, a new bike from the ground up ,etc. sell it very close to the same price as the Gas bikes and still profit. I think that there is a lot of room for the price to come down as the numbers of sold bikes go up. Think Model T. Maybe stark will be the spark that lights the electric MX fire, and the current gas bike brands will be the fuel needed to really grow it into what could be an amazing time to be riding.
I wonder how the investment will impact Stark as far as what they do in the future. Will the investors want Stark to bring out a street version faster than planned? or who knows?
That is extremely optimistic.
Ha!
- "Uh, Mr. Chad, you are asking for roughly $50 million for 10% of your company. Can you explain how you get to a valuation of $500 million? What are your sales to date?"
- "We have sold 17,000 non-binding reservations at $100 each"
- [pens set down, notebooks close]
When you consider Royal Enfield is selling the same bike it has done since about 1955, and doing well, why develop when you can outsell everyone with 60 year old tech.
That said, they have an R&D place just up the road from me here in the UK , and are working on stuff all the time there.
as long as it will fully recharge for the next moto. still won't get it for off road. cool bike though.
Royal Enfield in and of themselves build and sell more Motorcycles than KTM / Pierer.
They are owned by Eicher Motors Limited. Go look at their history.
Eicher don't f**k around.
For what is, to them, a piddly amount, they get involvement in E tech ( well, they already have a s**tload of involvement in 'E' ) , and Stark now have a Very Big company behind them.
I'd not be surprised if Royal Enfield / Eicher acquire a much higher percentage of ownership of Stark. Much like Bajaj has something like 49 point 'something' percentage ownership of KTM / Pierer.
RE bought Harris - it's a big part of how they have quite fine handling bikes in their relatively humble Himalayan and the 650s. They do more than the old, original REs. With, much more to come.
Good people to do a bit of work for, I've found..........
For fucks sakes learn how to take a photo …🤣🤣🤣🙄
It only has 6kWh! That is nothing...
Wow! This is just as exciting as the time Harley Davidson invested in Alta. That was just the kind of investment Alta needed to expand production! 🙄
We should see electric Himalayans in no time flat.
Pit Row
This.^
The current deal between Stark and RE has an familiar yet unpleasant odor.
I've seen my fair share of Shark Tank. And NO ONE would invest in this company. $500 Million valuation? with zero sales? All you have is pre-orders and nothing delivered.. Sounds like a scam if you look at it on paper. The valuation is far too high for a non-proven product. Its going to be really funny when the "we told you so" crowd was right and they dump the EV fad once and for all. Its NOT the future of motorsports. Its the death of it.
HAHA OMG I read that too. Literally none of that is true with the exception of the HP rating. Which is a farce claim anyways. Because if manufacturers went by HP rating instead of the CC limits made by every motocross sanctioning body, there would be NO single advantage of EV. Since you can't limit EV by cc's, they go by HP rating. And if ICE bikes went by HP ratings, I can guarantee you they can make a 80HP dirt bike. The problem is, who can even tame a bike with that much HP?
ICE bikes have a much longer range, faster tank refill, cheaper price, lighter weight, and bitchin sounds.
Stark loses in EVERY category except power, which I already explained is pointless comparing it to a bike limited by cc's, not HP.
Stats don't lie. These numbers were from MXA. Category Winners in green, Losers in RED.
Don’t listen to the naysayers. Everyone laughed when Harley Davidson fielded a motocross team back in the day, too.
"I've seen my fair share of Shark Tank...."
Well, that makes you totally qualified to appraise the complexities of a $500m transaction of a start-up. Hard assets, technology, sales projections, forecasted margin, upside, etc. Shame that Eicher went with their own due diligence team instead of picking someone off Vital.
Sorry for the rude sarcasm, but there might be some reason(s) they were willing to buy a noncontrolling share at that price. Maybe, right?
BP
I get that you’re against eMX bikes and that you have fun hating against them.. but you have to hit the bong really hard, if you believe that the Stark won’t blow all of the current 450s away in terms of raw speed. In a sport where traction and precise power input is so important an ICE is just inferior to an electric motor.
An 80 HP gas bike VS 80 HP electric, The Electric power delivery can be controlled much more. So an 80hp bike electric can be rideable and fun. The style of electric power is so different. Take a 2 stroke VS 4 stroke, the RPM range the 4 stroke makes its power in are over a wider range than the 2 stroke. Making the 4 stroke easier to ride in many conditions. Now take electric VS 4 stroke, the electric makes its power at any RPM. 0-30K RPM and Your still in the meat of the powerband. Also are those the claimed weights or real , ready to ride full of gas ,oil, etc. ? Very often the claimed weights are off and bikes are heavier than the claimed numbers and or claimed numbers are not full of fuel. Everybody comparing price should also factor in that You get suspension built and valved for you from the factory. Many of the riders that rode a Varg and rode a gas bike that was the same brand and model they normally ride were seconds faster on the Varg . I think that even if you make the max HP equal gas VS Electric , the electric will outperform the gas bike in most conditions you find on a MX or SX track. Other than runtime, I think You would be surprised if you rode one .
On paper your probable correct, no one would do this deal on paper. Pretty sure Eicher did a lot more than just look at paper. I'm sure they have visited the fine folks in Barcelona and have done their due diligence. If YOU did a little research on them you would find that they sold over 600,000 bikes this year. THEY know what they are doing.
For all those of you that think this is similar to the Alta/HD deal. Its not. I was at Alta during that time, and I'm with Stark now. Apples and Oranges. HD was not the downfall of Alta like many reports have pointed too. Alta broke the ice. It was a very good bike, great people but a little early to the game. Its almost 6 years later now and the market is a lot more open to electric and Stark is far advanced in many aspects of where Alta was.
Well yeah its obvious I think the EV bikes are pointless. But I think its funny that I point out WITH FACTS AND DATA that they are lying about outperforming every Gas 450 currently. And you guys just skip right over it. Sounds a lot like the media.. skipping over real information and feeding the sheep BS.
That’s exactly what was going through my mind after reading the subject line. Haha.
I’ve got one of those $100 reservations but am still waiting on real life reviews before committing to the purchase. That turtle neck guy must be a hell of a salesman.
“I’ve seen my fair share of shark tank”
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