One of the hardest electric vehicle segments to break into in America is electric motorcycles. While buyers have been more than willing to drop piles of dough on the latest Tesla or General Motors electric car, the electric motorcycle market hasn’t been as lucky. Many electric motorcycles command a lot of money for a spec sheet that Americans are largely rejecting. One startup sees itself changing this trajectory. This is the Stark Varg SM, and this little street-legal bugger weighs only 275 pounds, yet punches out up to 80 horsepower. It gets even cooler from there.
I’ve talked about the issues facing electric motorcycles in America before, but the short version is that many electric motorcycles on the American market cost a ton of money for limited returns. I’ll give an example. One of my favorite motorcycle experiences in recent times was the new BRP Can-Am Pulse. It’s so fun to ride, so flickable, and has genuinely innovative engineering behind it. But you’re also paying $13,999 for a motorcycle that, in my experience, has a range of less than 100 miles in the real world, and that’s even in an urban environment. Its other specs don’t really make the price easier to swallow, either.
Conditions in America are rough enough that Zero, one of the world’s leading electric motorcycle producers, is leaving California for Netherlands. This is happening because Europe is Zero’s largest market, even though Zero is an American brand.
Here’s where the Stark Varg SM above comes in. This motorcycle does not have a lot of range, nor is it even super affordable. However, this Supermoto offers something different for the money you pay, and it’s stupid fast. Or, specifically, Stark Future calls it “The World’s Most Powerful Supermoto.” That’s a big claim!
From Spain
Stark Future was founded in Spain in 2020 by Swedish businessman and lifelong motorcyclist Anton Wass. Before starting Stark Future, Wass was a founder of 24MX, Europe’s largest store for enduro and motocross motorcycles. Wass had an ambitious dream with Stark Future, and it was to prove to the world that electric motocross bikes were as good or better than their gasoline counterparts.
In 2022, the company launched its first product, the Varg MX, and surprised the motorcycling world with it. Countless electric motorcycle startups haven’t even produced a single physical product yet, and many have been gobbled up by the tough market. The electric motorcycle market is such a hard one that even household names like Honda have been slow to bring electric bikes to America, while Harley-Davidson spin-off LiveWire has unfortunately burned millions of dollars. Stark Future has been one of a handful of motorcycle startup success stories.
Stark Future started its journey in the off-road segment, and those of us who ride on the road were left out. In an interview with Cycle World, Wass admitted that making a cheap, low-power electric scooter would have been easy. After all, those types of electric bikes are all over Asia. But he wanted to do something different and came out swinging with a high-performance off-road bike. That’s a major reason why I have not covered this company yet. That changes now with the launch of Varg SM, Stark’s first street-legal project.
Electric Supermoto
The Varg SM is based on the architecture that underpins the Varg MX and EX off-road bikes, creating a Supermoto. In case you’re curious, a Supermoto motorcycle typically has the ingredients of an off-road bike, but converted to a road-going form. What you often end up with is a minimal, lightweight motorcycle that does all kinds of wheelies and stunts for days. The basic Supermoto recipe is pretty straightforward, and you get a pair of 17-inch wheels, big brakes, a road-friendly suspension, and often, a nice and short wheelbase.
The Varg SM follows this formula to the letter. The Varg SM starts as a tubular steel frame with a welded aluminum subframe on its back. Mounted to that is a 7.2 kWh battery, which feeds juice to a 360V PMAC electric motor that’s good for 60 HP in the standard version, and 80 HP in the hotter Alpha model. Stark says the bike weighs just 275 pounds. Because of this, Stark claims that the Varg SM has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any Supermoto in the world.
To put that into perspective, a Honda Grom weighs 224 pounds and has a tick under 10 HP. Alright, that one was just for giggles because I love tiny street-legal minibikes. What’s really neat is the Varg SM stacked up against other Supermoto. A Husqvarna 701 Supermoto weighs 324 pounds and makes 74 HP. Meanwhile, a KTM 690 SMC-R has 79 HP and weighs 338 pounds. Basically, the Varg SM makes a touch more power than similar gas bikes with less weight.
Stark continues by saying that the Varg SM makes 673 ft-lb of torque. Now, before you roll your eyes at yet another absurd electric motorcycle torque claim, I will stop you and say that Stark probably isn’t exaggerating. Electric motorcycle companies just use different math. When you look up a gas bike, you’ll find that the manufacturer measures engine torque at the crank. Electric bikes get their torque numbers at the wheel.
The huge difference in numbers is due to gear reduction, which multiplies the torque from the source engine or electric motor. A gas engine will often see a much higher multiplication factor much higher than the multiplication factor of an electric motor. I highly recommend watching RevZilla’s video (above) on this subject because it gives some incredible clarity.
If you don’t have the time, I’ll give you an example. A Yamaha MT-07 that makes 48 lb-ft of torque at the crank makes 682 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel due to this reduction and its wheel radius. So, the Varg SM’s 673 lb-ft of torque sounds crazy, but that’s just because gear reduction is funny like that. Is quoting torque a different way a misleading form of marketing? I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
Still, weird torque figure or not, it’s clear that the Varg SM is a powerful little bike. Stark continues the Supermoto formula with a fully adjustable 48 mm KYB fork, an adjustable KYB shock in the rear, a model-specific triple clamp, and 17-inch wheels. Stark dirt models have 21-inch front wheels and 18-inch rear wheels. Stopping power is handled through a Brembo Stylema four-piston caliper up front and a two-pot caliper in the rear. These munch on a 320mm disc and a 220mm plate, respectively. ABS? Sure, your brain is your ABS.
Other things to note include seat height, which stands tall at 36.8 inches, and wheelbase, which is a nice and short 57.9 inches.
Now we get to the elephant in the room. Stark Future says that the Varg SM is good for between 50.3 to 73 miles of range. There’s no way around it, that’s pretty terrible. However, Stark Future thinks that you won’t care because you’ll either be riding this thing around a city like an absolute hooligan, or you’ll be racing it on a track. At the very least, the bike tries to make up for the lack of range with the silly power.
At the very least, Stark says that, when you use the bike’s off-board 240V charger (above), you get a charging rate of 3.3 kW and can top it up in around two hours. Of course, you’ll need a compatible plug to charge that fast. Also, not having a built-in charger means that you have to carry the external charger around with you if you plan on charging while out and about. You’ll also have to buy a J1772 to Nema adaptor to have any real shot of using a public charger. At the very least, Stark says the charger fits easily into a backpack.
Seems Wheelie Fun, But
So, yeah, this bike clearly has a lot of compromises. This is absolutely not a motorcycle for highway commuting, and I’d argue it’s not even that good for country roads, either. But if your idea of fun is doing wheelies around Chicago or Los Angeles, a Varg SM sounds pretty cool.
Stark says this ride will set you back $12,990 for the standard 60 HP version and $13,900 for the 80 HP Alpha version. That is a ton of cash, no doubt, but at least you get something that should be a ton of fun to ride? Weirdly, the press imagery doesn’t show turn signals or mirrors, but Stark says the Varg SM is street-legal. Upon purchase, you’ll get a Certificate of Conformity as well as a Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin.
There’s other good news, too. Stark sells all sorts of parts, right down to the bike’s frame and its electronics. So, if you wreck this motorcycle, you can rebuild it yourself if you want to. Stark also says that you get to choose from Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV, Dunlop SportsmartTT, Michelin Road 6, and AnlasGrip Plus tires, and the wheels are compatible with tubes if you want to run them. Stark says that if you placed an order now, you’d get your Varg SM in early January 2026.
Some other interesting news is that, if you don’t really like this bike, Stark is working on a new purpose-built roadgoing motorcycle. But that one is coming later.
I think there’s a lot to like here. This bike is super lightweight, pretty tiny, and it sounds like a real ball of fun. On the other hand, the range sucks and there isn’t an onboard charger. Is it worth $13,900? I think it could be for the right buyer. The bigger question, I think, is if Stark’s first road bike be a success. Street-based electric motorcycles have struggled so hard in America. Will the Varg SM be different?
There was some electric scooter, from a Chinese company, maybe NIU, that I thought about buying. But its range was so low that I would have to recharge it from the nearest dealership in Seattle to get to my home in Tacoma. On surface streets, because it could maybe go 40 MPH.
And that company appears to be gone. Trying to look it up now on Google and not finding what I thought I might buy.
Instead, I bought a Honda 160 ADV which can go 200 miles on about 2 gallons of gas. And on flat ground, can do 70 MPH. It’s stable at that speed but doesn’t feel happy. At 70, it’s at the red line on the tach. I try not to punish my vehicles. And speed limits around here on the surface streets are usually 35 or less. So, no problem.
I don’t take it on the freeway. But it is a joy around town and being able to roll it back and park it on the sidewalk is so nice compared to having to park a car blocks away.
Honestly the pricing isn’t that out of line, considering a comparable KTM gas bike is going to cost roughly the same.
Honestly my only complaint if anything is that it’s too much bike, and not enough battery. 80HP is almost too much for something this light on the street. I feel like 40-50HP is probably the sweet spot. I’d rather have a slightly smaller, more efficient motor, a tiny bit more battery, and more range.
clicked on the link expecting to be dissapointed in the range and … well yeah …
I predict this being marketed as a motorcycle won’t keep people from using it like a “really badass e-bike honest officer” and riding it on the street anyway. I’m already seeing people use what are clearly electric motocross bikes as “bicycles” around here. Heck, I’ve seen _kids_ on them. They might be lower powered than this model but sure are a heckuva lot faster and powerful than legal for an e-bicycle…
The kids are getting into the edirt bikes I just wonder if this is what they aspire to get. They seem to be more interested in surron. There is already a new bike from Altis that is about half the cost and extremely similar. Stark may be the KTM to to the many more premium Chinese emoto manufacturers. The dirt bike approach makes sense as it’s not really about range but instant torque is useful and if you have land you are riding on you probably have so way to charge it but might not always a fresh gas on hand.
I bought a new bike this year, my first ever new vehicle.
For £11,000 I got 120bhp, 200 miles of range, no backpack full of charger, ABS, traction control, anti-wheelie and a lovely 15,000rpm engine.
While I’d be tempted by a supermoto, EV or otherwise, 50 miles of range is just garbage, and 50 miles of range with no on board charger is no use to me at all.
I get that range=batteries=weight=less fun, but these things are terrible compared to EV cars or ICE bikes. The battery technology isn’t ready yet.
I like these Vargs and was seriously considering trading in my Husky last year, but the range kills it for me. I can’t take it camping (no, I will not bring a generator just to charge my electric moto), or even on the usual half-day mountain rides from the garage. So disappointed the Alta Redshift was basically killed by Harley Davidson, then buried by BRP. I feel the exchangeable battery is key for the electric MX/DS segment.
The flip side is far reduced maintenance. A Husky FS450 calls for oil changes every freakin’ 10 hours and a complete rebuild at 90 hours.
Gas competitors in this class absolutely have some massive downsides to them, and no, a DRZ is not a competitor to this.
KTM/Husqvarna’s maintenance intervals are only if you’re racing, and only to keep peak performance. KTM puts the same engines (albeit, slightly detuned) in their EXC street legal line, and people put thousands upon thousands of miles on those bikes reliably. They’re very stout and very reliable engines.
They aren’t going to go 50,000 miles reliably like a proper street bike, but not “full rebuild every 90 hours”.
I don’t believe KTM offers two service schedules based on desired performance output… It’s just the damn service interval prescribed in the owners manual when you buy a new EXC-F. A 2026 500 EXC-F calls for oil changes every 621 miles, valve checks every 1,864 miles, and complete engine rebuilds every 3,728 miles. Not exactly a massive improvement over the FS450. Plus, it isn’t a SuMo right off the bat.
Look, I recognize that 50 miles is an extremely short range. I’m simply saying that most comparable SuMos that compete with this, are going to have absolute shit service intervals. Pick your poison; short range with basically zero required servicing, or longer range with short service intervals. Or you can get a far more road oriented offering like a DRZ and give up a lot of performance (and gain a lot of weight) and get longer intervals.
I get what you’re saying, but my owner’s manual (FE350) has the column for “Every 10 hours when used for motorsport” that aligns with the “Every 30 operating hours” for normal riding, essentially tripling the service intervals from what you point out.
The 500 EXC-F didn’t have that. But still, 30 hours for oil changes is still pretty dang short. If we assume you spend 30 hours at 65mph, that’s still 2,000 mile oil changes. Realistically, it’s probably something like 1,500 or even 1,000 mile oil changes if you try to convert hours to miles.
The whole idea that bikes like these even use hours instead of miles for service intervals bolsters my thinking that 50 mile range isn’t that big of a deal.
I’ve contemplated a supermoto conversion for my WR450, but I would most surely die on it. Twice the power would kill me twice as fast.
Pretty much every video I’ve ever seen of a Stark Varg is people hooning the shit out of them or riding them off road. I haven’t seen a bad review yet from riders. It absolutely fits the brief for it’s intended purpose.
Honestly, electric bikes are like electric semi trucks. If you plan to run long distance and at highway speeds, you’re gonna be disappointed.
However, I’m willing to bet that battery gets me all the riding time I could want at the local track/motocross track/trail ride.
I fully see the off road bike market slowly switching electric because they’re good, and they’re quiet. Imagine how much more receptive a neighbourhood would be to a motocross track if the bikes were near silent?
I’ve been riding my 9 year old Zero DSR in Eco mode for a long time because I don’t have occasion to go past 35mph too often but I had a few extra battery percentage I needed to burn before winter storage yesterday so I switched to full power…I almost bucked myself off! 0-35 happens in like 1.5 seconds. Electric motos are truly bonkers.
“Is it worth $13,900? I think it could be for the right buyer.”
“For the right buyer” might be more literal than you intended. Given the price tag, range, and having to carry a freakin’ charger with you (I find the lack of an on-board charger more surprising than the price tag – WTF?), I doubt there will be buyers for this bike.
I don’t mean to be so negative about electric motorcycles written about on this site. I think they have a lot of potential and this bike looks particularly fun. I just don’t think “fun” is enough to generate interest in a small, limited utility electric motorcycle. Given the capabilities of the Varg SM, it seems like it would appeal to buyers of bikes like the Grom. Small bore ICE bikes are big sellers because they are simultaneous fun and cheap. If you take away the cheap, I suspect those bikes would be sales flops as well.
How many people are riding SuMos more than 50 miles straight? That’s not really in the ethos of the segment.
I agree most aren’t riding supermotos more than 50 miles at a time, but I suspect there are plenty that ride more than 50 miles over period of a few hours. This bike can’t do that.
Plus, advertised ranges tend to be optimistic. Its real-world range might be lower. It is also worth remember battery capacity decreases over time – this bike could easily have a 35 – 40 mile maximum range in a few years.
Drive to my buddy’s house 30 minutes away on tight curvy backroads and back is just about 40 miles. If we did any kind of riding around his place, I would easily push 60-70 miles in just a few hours on my SM.
For general/on-road use, I would agree with you that having a separate charger is a bad idea. But for this bike and its intended use, I think it’s fine. If you were going to play in the dirt on a gas bike, you’d bring off-board gas cans, so an off-board charger seems fine here.
weighs 324 pounds and makes 74 HP. Meanwhile, a KTM 690 SMC-R has 79 HP and weighs 338 HP. There is a typo here.
Honestly I disagree. For me motorcycles fit two niches.
1.) Extra mobility in urban environments as well as ease of parking.
2.) Fastest way to travel off road.
50 miles is a long distance in even our largest cities, and is a pretty long distance off road.
That all being said I’d much rather have an Electric Honda Navi. Put batteries where the storage box would normally go, put storage where the gas tank went, and put an electric swingarm setup in it to replace the scooter style engine swingarm setup, and give it regenerative braking. I’d buy one tomorrow if they made it, even if it was double or more the price of an ICE Navi.
See, you’re like me. I usually ride about 100 miles to 150 miles in a day, and generally take a 2-ish-hour break during the ride to go swimming, or more recently, fly a plane. I could make the range work!
But I also know that American motorcycle buyers are like American truck buyers, and they buy the marketing even if they never actually use the capability. There are folks who buy massive touring bikes just to go to the bar and back.
You certainly got me beat for average distance traveled.
That being said you’re certainly right about riders buying way more bike than they need.
I don’t mind putt putting about, so for me a BEV bike would work great!
I put 10-20 miles in a day on my ADV 160. Maybe 80 miles on a weekend. A long weekend.
I did a hard ~200 miles on really curvy roads with a lot of elevation changes from Davis, CA to Fort Bragg on a Suzuki 550 and I was on it. Like Hard! I was surprised to see the MPG on that trip was higher than my usual slog into and back from Sacramento. Lower overall speeds through the curves. I guess wind resistance is a big thing on bikes. But that was a fun ride. And that 550 was a great bike for that ride.
I really don’t think 50 miles is that much at all. I live in a city of about 40,000 people packed in about 8 square miles, and I can put 20-25 miles on my bike just playing around for an hour bombing around. If I actually have destination in mind (like driving around the city reservoir, getting some food, going back), I will easily eclipse 50 miles of riding without really having gone more than 10 miles straight-line distance from my house.
This is so tasty. Supermoto is the answer to everything, electric motorbikes included.
Good lord that looks like a hoot. Range is fine, supermotos are city bikes and distances are short over there. Price and weight are about the same as a KTM 350 EXC.