Stark varg reliability?

wfopete
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wfopete 10/13/2025 8:34am
10/13/2025 8:34am
avidchimp wrote:
As far as chain tension goes, I always do a swing test with the shock out. Find the tight spot in the arc, prop the wheel...

As far as chain tension goes, I always do a swing test with the shock out. Find the tight spot in the arc, prop the wheel up at that point, loosen the adjusters to where it has just a tiny amount of slack, let the wheel back down, then bolt it all back up and measure the slack at full extension. Then you know exactly where it should be without worry. 

Yes, generally I do that too but with Stark having people like Sébastien Tortelli on board I trusted the specs.  Shame on me! 

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avidchimp
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avidchimp 10/13/2025 8:42am
10/13/2025 8:42am
avidchimp wrote:
As far as chain tension goes, I always do a swing test with the shock out. Find the tight spot in the arc, prop the wheel...

As far as chain tension goes, I always do a swing test with the shock out. Find the tight spot in the arc, prop the wheel up at that point, loosen the adjusters to where it has just a tiny amount of slack, let the wheel back down, then bolt it all back up and measure the slack at full extension. Then you know exactly where it should be without worry. 

wfopete wrote:

Yes, generally I do that too but with Stark having people like Sébastien Tortelli on board I trusted the specs.  Shame on me! 

I'm sure they did the work and it's close, but that doesn't account for variances in chain manufacturing, sprocket size variances, and even bearing tolerances to a certain degree. I do this with every new chain and sprocket no matter if it's the same brand or not.

Learned this from Goose a long time ago.

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FGR01
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FGR01 10/13/2025 8:39pm
10/13/2025 8:39pm
scRider89
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scRider89 10/14/2025 4:14am
10/14/2025 4:14am Edited Date/Time 10/14/2025 4:22am
FGR01 wrote:

The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with a new one.

 

There are ICE bikes that have gone up in flames too (especially during crashes)

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MotoDad32
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MotoDad32 10/14/2025 4:34pm
10/14/2025 4:34pm
scRider89 wrote:
The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with...

The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with a new one.

 

There are ICE bikes that have gone up in flames too (especially during crashes)

Haha.  That is incorrect my friend.

429 Sterling
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429 Sterling 10/14/2025 5:00pm
10/14/2025 5:00pm
scRider89 wrote:
The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with...

The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with a new one.

 

There are ICE bikes that have gone up in flames too (especially during crashes)

MotoDad32 wrote:

Haha.  That is incorrect my friend.

Which part?

Titan1
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Titan1 10/14/2025 5:02pm
10/14/2025 5:02pm
wfopete wrote:
18 month in on mine.  I'm on my third battery and second motor plus some connectivity issues.  I've missed some rides and races because of it...

18 month in on mine.  I'm on my third battery and second motor plus some connectivity issues.  I've missed some rides and races because of it. That said, I believe Stark is getting much better with the bike component reliability.  Their support has been very good and parts get to me within a few days.  Still I would not want to have a dealer perform the powertrain swap.  The whole bike needs to come apart (except for the front end) and I don't trust a dealer to take the care in getting the bike back together right.  If the dealer did the work I would go over every nut and bolt on the bike.

Would I get another one?  In a heartbeat!  

Third batter and second motor in 18 months?  Holy Smokes...that's awful...and is a terrible look for Stark...I'd never buy another one...

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scRider89
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scRider89 10/14/2025 5:03pm
10/14/2025 5:03pm
scRider89 wrote:
The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with...

The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with a new one.

 

There are ICE bikes that have gone up in flames too (especially during crashes)

MotoDad32 wrote:

Haha.  That is incorrect my friend.

429 Sterling wrote:

Which part?

I assumed that video was of the bike that caught fire because of the added relay the guy modded the bike with but apparently this was a different case. Not sure why bikes catching fire is funny though?

wfopete
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wfopete 10/14/2025 6:57pm
10/14/2025 6:57pm
wfopete wrote:
18 month in on mine.  I'm on my third battery and second motor plus some connectivity issues.  I've missed some rides and races because of it...

18 month in on mine.  I'm on my third battery and second motor plus some connectivity issues.  I've missed some rides and races because of it. That said, I believe Stark is getting much better with the bike component reliability.  Their support has been very good and parts get to me within a few days.  Still I would not want to have a dealer perform the powertrain swap.  The whole bike needs to come apart (except for the front end) and I don't trust a dealer to take the care in getting the bike back together right.  If the dealer did the work I would go over every nut and bolt on the bike.

Would I get another one?  In a heartbeat!  

Titan1 wrote:

Third batter and second motor in 18 months?  Holy Smokes...that's awful...and is a terrible look for Stark...I'd never buy another one...

Agreed. I thought about bailing on the bike and cutting my losses but after thinking about it I don't believe those issues will be reoccurring.  The good image part would be that everything was covered under warranty and Stark had the parts to me within 3-5 days. 

yak651
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yak651 10/14/2025 7:05pm
10/14/2025 7:05pm Edited Date/Time 10/14/2025 7:06pm
wfopete wrote:
18 month in on mine.  I'm on my third battery and second motor plus some connectivity issues.  I've missed some rides and races because of it...

18 month in on mine.  I'm on my third battery and second motor plus some connectivity issues.  I've missed some rides and races because of it. That said, I believe Stark is getting much better with the bike component reliability.  Their support has been very good and parts get to me within a few days.  Still I would not want to have a dealer perform the powertrain swap.  The whole bike needs to come apart (except for the front end) and I don't trust a dealer to take the care in getting the bike back together right.  If the dealer did the work I would go over every nut and bolt on the bike.

Would I get another one?  In a heartbeat!  

Titan1 wrote:

Third batter and second motor in 18 months?  Holy Smokes...that's awful...and is a terrible look for Stark...I'd never buy another one...

wfopete wrote:
Agreed. I thought about bailing on the bike and cutting my losses but after thinking about it I don't believe those issues will be reoccurring.  The...

Agreed. I thought about bailing on the bike and cutting my losses but after thinking about it I don't believe those issues will be reoccurring.  The good image part would be that everything was covered under warranty and Stark had the parts to me within 3-5 days. 

Plenty of ice bikes have “expired” in 18 months and the OEM response is “too bad so sad”, unless it’s a Bets and then you will get a new crate engine 

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MotoDad32
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MotoDad32 10/15/2025 5:51am
10/15/2025 5:51am
scRider89 wrote:
The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with...

The background to that video is the guy had tried to wire in his own kill switch which caused the fire. Stark replaced his bike with a new one.

 

There are ICE bikes that have gone up in flames too (especially during crashes)

MotoDad32 wrote:

Haha.  That is incorrect my friend.

429 Sterling wrote:

Which part?

Sorry.  The part about rewiring the kill switch.  The other part (Stark replaced the bike) is accurate.

429 Sterling
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429 Sterling 10/16/2025 10:33am
10/16/2025 10:33am
MotoDad32 wrote:

Haha.  That is incorrect my friend.

429 Sterling wrote:

Which part?

MotoDad32 wrote:

Sorry.  The part about rewiring the kill switch.  The other part (Stark replaced the bike) is accurate.

Do they know what caused the fire? That seems like a big deal.

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