It has a really intelligent looking design that embeds the cylindrical cells into each side of the cases for mechanical robustness and good heat dissipation – critical on the passively cooled pack. The all-important battery is a 6kWh pack housed in an extremely cool, form functional magnesium case rated at IP69, so rounding up your cattle through raging torrents should not be a problem. For its intended design brief (super snappy, hard hitting launches off big jumps) it’s extremely impressive. On paper this means the Varg has a power to weight ratio of 1.88 – meaning it has 1kW of power for every 1.88kg of weight versus for example the 2021 KTM 450 at 2.33:1. This is where the Varg is precision focused as a dirt bike with an outstanding power to weight ratio of 0.536 kW/kg (0.326 hp/lb). You can read and configure all the specifications here, but in summary the Varg is a quite astonishing 110kg, 80Hp (59kW) and 938Nm of rear wheel torque electric motocross bike.Īs an (inappropriate but relevant to me) comparison, my much beloved Harley Livewire is 250kg, 100hp (78kW) and 1125Nm of rear wheel torque and a more suitable comparison the 2021 KTM 450 is 111kg and 63Hp. Let’s just say the memories and injuries from a 12 hour enduro race I once did linger this bike would be wasted on me. Now let’s be clear, although in my head I still feel like a 19 year old who could jump a dirt bike meters into the air, or even handle flogging an 80Hp dirt bike senseless and flat out over a bumpy off-road circuit, I am in reality, no longer that young man on the outside. Image: Stark Future Designed for a purpose While launch hype and deposits are very different to successfully taking on the global dirt bike industry with an all-new bike, it certainly looks like the Strong Wolf is off to a good start. I also note that Australia is in its top five markets, as far as interest goes.
#RAD ELECTRIC BIKE FULL#
They were universally impressed and full of adulation for the wolf.ĭigging around, I can also see public claims that Stark Futures recently stated they had pre-sold more than 5,000 bikes by the beginning of February 2022 – which equates to roughly $A95 million of final sales value and $A0.5 million of deposits. “The claims are all true, the bike is not only real, it’s mind blowingly good,” my new friend enthused, citing feedback from his source and explaining he has one on order.Īnd the reason I am sitting here typing is because this morning I woke to find new videos and press releases from that day where no less than fifty journalists and world class motocross riders spent two weeks flogging this unicorn for all it’s worth. However, I happened to meet a fellow electric motorcyclist recently who personally knew a highly respected Australian journalist and motocross rider who attended a recent press launch for the company in Spain. I’ve been following the launch of this bike and company for some time, most notably because their performance, price and specification claims were so incredible I frankly doubted that this unicorn could rise – it was that impressive. Stark is Swedish for strong, and their first bike is called the Varg, which translates as wolf in Swedish.
Wass brought in CTO Paul Soucy and additional Swedish investors (Kichi Invest) and, by all accounts, Stark Future is well funded and almost ready to launch its first bike, the Varg. The company was founded by Anton Wass, who sold his share in a highly successful online motorcycle parts business some years ago and is allegedly the largest investor. Stark Future is a new manufacturer of electric motorcycles founded in 2019 in Sweden and headquartered out of Barcelona. I must be excited about this new bike because it’s 5.30am on a very cold Saturday and I just have to tell you about the Stark Varg.