Former Pro Nick Wey Tries Stark VARG Electric Bike!

We finally got the chance to throw out leg over one of the most talked about dirt bikes across the industry as Kris Keefer welcomed former professional racer Nick Wey out to Glen Helen Raceway to try out the Stark VARG electric dirt bike. Of course, not everyone is into the idea of an electric dirt bike, but this machine offers a lot of unique features unfamiliar to everyday riders. Keefer and Wey go through how the bike feels, what the power deliver is like, compare it to the wealth of knowledge from riding combustion engines, and much more.

Film/edit: Simon Cudby

ANTIGRAVITY BATTERIES

#motocross #motocrossrider #dirtbike

[fen]

Fully adjustable power curve, the ability to run both brakes on the bars, 60+hp, almost jo gyroscopic inertia AND I can ride it almost anywhere means this is an absolute win for me.

[yamahar]

Can’t help thinking I could have a track in my back garden an no one can complain anymore 👍🏻

[ibala]

Imagine how much yelling we could do at each other with no engine noise!

[FredsFullThrottle]

Really loved the commentary and discussion around the pros/cons. The biggest advantage I see with this tech is the lack of noise, and that it may help prevent future closures of tracks. Heck, it may even eventually allow new tracks to open as there wouldn't be an issue with annoying neighbors. I see it as a good thing for the sport, and though I love gas bikes, think how much gas bikes have changed in the last 20 years. All the concerns like battery life will get improved over time, and once the traditional manufacturers start building electric variants of the YZ's/CR's/etc... the race will be on. Also I love the idea of less maintenance: No air filters, no top/bottom end rebuilds, no valve adjustments, etc... Keeping your brakes fresh, and adjusting/lubing your chain may be the extent of much of our wrenching going forward. I do like Nick's comment about the clutch, and think that's a good point. I've heard that the Varg lets you move the brake pedal up to the bars, and move things around, so who knows, maybe they could wire up some sort of physical fail-safe.
One last point on Nick's comment about the bikes making it too easy to go fast: I definitely see there being the potential for a "spec" class, where a grid of all electric bikes could be "locked" into certain power modes/settings, to make for identical riding characteristics for each bike (other than suspension/brakes), which would actually put the racing much more back on rider ability if everyone has essentially the same platform to operate on. Similar to what's done in the car racing world with Balance of Power, to keep different cars competetive.

Really excited to see where the sport goes from here!

[amoore]

That’s a really good idea to have a clutch lever as an emergency shut off. Never even thought about that.

[DJPetrou]

Bringing back the Open class scariness!!!😁

[waynehearst]

Nick's point about having a clutch is a good one, but it harkens us old heads back to the days of power windows in cars. SO MANY people wanted a manual override to roll down electric power windows in case of getting trapped in fire, heat or water. At the end of the day you either trust the technology or you don't. Eventually, "manual" windows were no longer offered as an option and if you wanted a modern car, you had to have power windows. The same thing will happen here.

[michaeljkasnter]

Nick is crazy smart, enjoyed his thoughts!!

[MX-CO]

Good point about it being to easy to go fast! I think even the four strokes were negative in that aspect. They raised the severity of injury. People go faster than they should be going.

[sebharz]

For us people in Europe this is a good addition for riding in more places

[dc_sauce]

I met Nick in the 90's..his personality never changed! Still keeps it real with some level of dumb humor..lol I used to have a crush on his sister...saw her at Mini o's maybe 95? I was like.."who's that girl at the races" my friends were like "it's Nick Wey's sister" I was like "no shit?" Anyways..fast forward you can do nothing but respect Nick, i love watching him ride again as a fan. I never talked to his sister...just figured i would share my Nick Wey story.

[TravisNobles]

Seems like many people don't know this yet, but adding a faux clutch to modulate power input coming from the throttle is very easy. You can do it with a magnet and Hall sensor connected to a lever, through an electric throttle box connected to a regular clutch or brake lever, via potentiometer, etc. All you have to do is modulate the input voltage (typically 4-5v) from the signal line of the throttle to the controller and bam, you have a clutch.

Part of the beauty of these electric bikes is that they are highly and easily customizable.

[nigelrandtoul]

Being able to tune each modes power and engine braking (in an old guy too) effectively gives you 5 bikes in one, which justifies the price to me.

[bwhaskell]

Great review but the battery isnt liquid cooled, its air cooled like the Alta is. The difference between the Stark battery pack and the Alta battery pack is 1) Stark uses 21700 size cells with lower impedance, meaning lower heat generated. 2) Stark pack has the cells oriented horizontally and each cell is thermally connected to the case at equal distances which makes cooling more even and efficient compared to Alta battery cells are oriented vertically stacked and the center cells got hotter than the exterior cells. 3) cooling fins are larger on the Stark pack vs the Alta pack.

[garybillington]

Great training bike, even better for newbies and for the parts of the country with noise issues. it's the future mate.

[DanielDunn]

Nick is awesome and presented some very valid points. And Kris is just top tier. Both killer riders who speak true words.

[johnnymckissick]

80hp is for the timbersled guys!!! i personally cant wait to get a surron and a varg!

[mikedamisch]

I think the "danger aspect" is twofold. On the other hand, electric is easier to ride and less things to think about, which could be less risk. I would say a modern 450 is just as dangerous for a beginner as a Varg because of more things to keep track of and a "powerband" that is harder to manage.

[waynehearst]

Been waiting a long time to see this bike at Glen Helen.

[ralphification]

Once all our kids are riding Electric, I would have thought it will be about who has the better skills. Welcome to the future.