Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
How often do you actually hit your frame rails when you case a jump?
Depending on the damage, yes. No different than smashing your linkage or frame rails on a big case.
Does a battery concussion protocol need to be developed?
Serious question. BEV battery fires in enclosed spaces are very serious and frighteningly frequent.
They may not have been bullshitting. It's possible that Anton and Co. completely underestimated the demand for this product and are woefully underprepared to deliver all those units en masse. I call that a mistake, not a sinister plot to defraud. It's not surprising, given the nature of the bike, all the parts they need to source, and the fact that Stark is a startup.
They are, by all accounts, doing their level best to deliver all those bikes as soon as they can. If a year or two goes by and nobody else has received their units, that's when you (and I, by the way,) can start calling bullshit.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
It also looks like the foam is replaceable sepearate from the plate, and only $30.
Is there a monitor function in the controller? It would be pretty cool if the bike could recognize a shorted/bad battery and warn the user before it burns the house down.
It feels like the bikes out in the wild today are somehow on a shorter leash than full production units. And that makes sense to me, regular customers have a way of finding the flaws that snuck through engineering. How many have been seen out in the wild? If it’s just a handful then production couldn’t have ramped up yet. With other bikes you might see one or two, then a month later they’ll be everywhere.
Lets see how many Varg are on the track in August.
Look at all the crap people give Bryan . I don't think that anybody that was not already somewhat in the public eye already would want to put themselves out there and have people saying they were just being paid to say good things about a bike. The more I see posts like most of this thread are full of, the more I see why people would not want to post that they have a bike. If they have one, they will be labeled as paid promoters and their opinions will not be valid. Even though it is not a majority of people that post the annoying stuff , it could be enough to stop somebody from posting until more are out there.
It is not a surprise that somebody who owns an Alta, who is smart with computers found out how to place an order earlier than others. I have done similar things myself. It's not a surprise to me that when Stark saw how Bryan would be a great first customer to highlight , that they did just that. You only have 1 first. And call me crazy, but Bryans lack of knowing how many Varg's are out there would point more towards him NOT being more than a customer.
I'm sure that when gas powered vehicles first came out there were all kinds of accidental fires and crazy accidents. Unfortunately I bet there will be some accidents that will be looked back on as "what were they thinking , that is so obvious" sometime years from now. There are batteries that will vent and prevent a fire from starting that could be used. They can still catch fire, but they are much much less likely to be the cause of a fire. If they get hot enough to be a t risk of a fire they start to vent ( not sure what's venting out of them, looks like white smoke and I think they said its some type of fire retardant ). They might still be able to catch on fire if they are exposed to fire first. So they could also end up being safer than gas. By instead of adding fuel to the fire, they might snuff out a fire and end up stopping damage from happening that would happen with regular batteries or Gas. I'm pretty sure its not good to breath in. But neither is anything from a gas engine.
Dude, you bring this shit upon yourself. I had no idea who you were until I made you an offer on your Kawi and you got all upset, but since then I come to realize you've got quite the reputation at the local tracks.
You come across like the type of person who is super nice to anyone in the industry but a complete prick to regular riders at the track and even your friends apparently.
Not getting too pointy headed but the major part of developing a multicell battery is managing the heat during charge and discharge, and if high performance is the aim, having everything worked out to a very fine line.
We don't know what Stark does but some battery makers test each cell's characteristics individually and design their battery control around the lowest performing cell to minimise the risk. Some batteries also have individual temperature (and other) monitoring that reports to the BCU.
It's not well put about by the BEV people, but not only is metallic lithium highly inflammable in air, water acts as an accelerant. There is very little lithium metal in a Li-ion battery, however the liquid electrolyte that carries the ions is an extremely inflammable, highly explosive, gas producing hydrocarbon, with a relatively low ignition temperature, so there is a serious explosion and fire risk and a fuel supply of lots of hydrocarbon based plastic containers.
Also, while all this is going on, there is also a good risk of high current electrocution. The battery electric rally series, and others, mandate a warning light system to indicate a live vehicle to crash crews.
Yeah, the designer of the system makes sure of that, but if there is a short caused by damage, or salt water, or high resistance because the ultrasonic terminal welds aren't 100%, all bets are off.
I will in all probability never own an electric dirtbike. (maybe an electric mountain bike soon) I like my 350 and 125 just fine. But I enjoy reading about the technology, and find Bryan's detailed documentation entertaining.
All you guys with the 'shill' comments can suck it.
If they really listened to Jody. They'd go up one tooth on the back sprocket.
Admit it, you are a closet Tesla driver aren't you?
The battery I was talking about is designed so that it vents to prevent a fire. I do not know much about how it works. I know there are filters that can be used to keep the flammable particles inside while a battery vents. At sema there was an electric SXS that have a battery issue . The builder put a screw into one of the cells. I do not know when the screw was screwed into the cell. But at one point it started to have a thermal runaway and vented instead of catching fire. They moved it outside and after it finished venting without any fire. The vehicle had 0 damage other than to the battery pack. The vehicle had a stack of 4 batteries and the 1 that was damaged did not damage anything else. It might have been able to have been repaired. I'm not sure . But they removed the screw that put a hole in one of the packs and replaced the battery and the SXS was 100% fine.
My point being that its a known issue that is being worked on and there are options for self extinguishing batteries . I'm not talking about a standard lithium battery venting. Everytime I see one vent they are like a firework. But people carry one around in their pocket all day that is more prone to fire than the cells used in EV's. I do not mean to insult you by saying this, but everytime I read one of you techier posts about batteries , I feel like you are just finding stuff online that you do not really understand, but that You feel supports your argument.
I really wish I was smart enough to get a Stark. When do we think they’ll start shipping them to smart asses? I hope to at least be in that group.
BTW, I have no problem with Bryan at all. His posts are the best info I’ve seen on the Varg, totally appreciate it. Stark just isn’t getting production bikes out fast enough to seem like a viable manufacturer yet, no fault of Bryan..
After reading the latest offering I'm amazed at your trust in salesmen.
My order currently states I’ll get my bike this coming January but I’m not holding my breath. And that’s honestly fine by me because I’m still trying to decide if I actually want one or not. I’m not sure how much fun riding is going to be without clutch and gears. And that’s all I care about nowadays - having fun. I don’t give a shit about going fast anymore.
Pit Row
To be fair, the varg looks hot with a 2 stroke shopped in!
Everybody is selling something, At least I know what they are selling.
I'm not going off of the word of a salesperson when I was talking about the example. Checkout Rich Rebuilds on YOUtube. He built the electric RZR. A one off personal project made only for his personal use and an ebay motors promotion. No reason to lie about anything. He was not selling anything as far as the SXS itself. He only builds stuff for himself and his channel . Like I said I do not know a ton about those batteries other than some of what I read and what is in the videos he has done on it.
The scratches and gouges in my skid plate would indicate that it happens frequently. On top of that, my skid plate is made of aluminum and supported by an aluminum frame, which is what keeps it from deforming when I do case something. I’m no engineer, but I have a hard time believing that a plastic skid plate reinforced by styrofoam would be able to handle the same abuse.
I hit my frame/skidplate multiple times every ride on logs and rocks. Hoping the varg will hold up to it....
There's logs on your motocross track?
You may want to wait until Stark offers an enduro version of the Varg, or an aftermarket company offers an aluminum skid plate!
Tesla had lots of production issues early on, now there are plenty of them on the road and not a single gas powered production car that can accelerate as fast.
Fwiw, tesla and their owners aren't my cup of tea, but I can be objective about their performance
Pretty sad that Bryan is getting ripped for being an early adopter and sharing his experiences.
Agreed… I don’t get it either !
HDPE skid plates are more popular on SXS's than aluminium ones because they do not dent, and they slid over stuff without making as much noise. And still protect everything. A lot of off road guys prefer the plastic Skid plates from Acerbis and Cycra that is just regular plastic. They prefer them because they do not dent, and they flex and return to shape. Some have said they do not run aluminium because of personal experiences with the dented metal plate causing more damage. And stating that they have not had the same problems with plastic. These are customers who have been riding off road for many years. and are AA level or A level Vet racers with many years of riding on the super rocky NE trails.
Polycarbonate or a brand name version of it Lexan is what is used for bulletproof glass . It is a plastic. Helmets are also made with this same plastic and use foam . The foam will give you an idea of if the plastic skid plate has been compressed and rebounded along with helping absorb impacts. I personally would trust a plastic plate more than aluminium for the reasons given to me by customers when buying their skid plates for their own bikes. And those are just regular plastic. There are many ways to still use " plastic" that is reinforced beyond what a front fender is made of or what most people think of as plastic . And its funny how the aluminium cases are not strong enough to protect the battery either. Gas bike you have a skid plate, engine case then Oil. a crack could cause a leak and lock up the engine. Varg has the skid plate, the EPS foam, the aluminium case , then cells inside that case. Maybe some type of layer between the cells and case? A lot more layers of protection.
Even most current gas dirtbikes use a plastic tank to hold their own very flammable fuel and for the most part do not have issues. And again, if You are one of the people who is blowing holes through the cases on Your gas bikes now, maybe think about that before You buy a Varg. Think of all of those times You have smashed your engine, how it happened , and if it would still happen on a Varg. Well its not the right bike for you just yet. I personally love to smoke cigars while fueling my bikes up, And light them with a torch so in my case gas power is not up to my standards of how I want to refuel.
No why wait, I'll be dead soon. I have been using mx bikes for enduro for 20 years, a lot of the enduro bikes have the same frame as the mx version, and neither comes with a skid plate standard......If it dies it dies.
Let the lady friend know I got a B day coming up. I'd fancy a shag and a varg.
Those scratches and gouges are more likely to be from rocks getting kicked up and ruts. You don’t case your frame a bunch and walk away from it.
Post a reply to: Stark Vargs (as in plural)