@@lurtbike They claim 20% more range,different phone and some other things....I have EV cars,Electrci motion trial bike.No way to buy gas bikes anymore!!!
Completely agree. I have usually one day of the week to do what I want, at most. I want to spend it riding not rebuilding my top end, cleaning the air filter, fiddling with the carb, rebuilding the water pump, checking valves. I ride my Stark, bring it home, next weekend all I need to do is load it up and go riding. Haven't even needed to adjust the chain yet....
Makes sense, an aspect of these E bikes is the fast track to riding them, no shifting, no clutch, no kick starter, low maint., etc. Kind of like 'buggie boarders'.....put on some flippers, grab a foam slab and bypass all the things real surfers have to learn to do to be out there....👍
I'm a B vet racer and personally my goal is to win races and the series, so in its current form the Stark wouldnt work for me or the long distance cross country events we have here in california but I love them for trail riding! The AMA has a bunch of legal restrictions and concerns for e-motos. My local district is figuring out how to include these in our races but the primary concern has been fires and safety equipment. The additional requirements mean the clubs will have to invest more into additional safety equipment and that increases cost for all racers. For the time being we are just having an electric class that will line up on its own row and it looks like we could include emotos in our sprint enduro formats as long as the loops start/end back at the pits where the bikes can recharge. Love what Eddie Karlsson is doing going around europe winning local hard enduro events 🤣
Yeah I get that its different but every bike already has a battery, albeit much smaller and now they are usually lithium ion even in the gas bikes. They're also literally carrying 2 gallons of gasoline over a 200 degree chunk of metal. I guess in California where fires are common that's more of a concern. Here on the east coast I haven't heard anyone mention fire as an issue. Everyone mentions sound as the issue, but even that is an easy fix because I have a bluetooth speaker mounted on my bars paired to my stark phone with spotify and I can blast music loud enough to hear it when I'm close. The 2024 AMA rulebook leaves it up to the series to allow e-bikes in the vet classes through supplemental rules, but none of my local series have allowed it yet. We just have the open electric class and it's a non points class which sucks. Hopefully that will change soon as more manufacturers start developing electric bikes. Honestly I think once Honda enters the mix it will all change. I'm just looking forward to being able to ride with all my middle aged c class buddies again (without changing oil and air filters all the time)!
@@TylerN737s no kidding! but just as the ex was announced I heard the AMA now needs prior approval for running e-motos in events, if you dont get approval then you arent covered by their insurance policy. at the same time someone else said that the national forest workers are against them due to fear of fires. its almost comical hearing these arguments when we are riding around with plastic tanks of flammable gas strapped to the top of a bike!
@@bikesbeersbeats Wait until Honda has one and they suddenly change the rules. The AMA is just making excuses until their buddies can get in on the action!
I agree with you that it is the easiest bike to ride. I had two strokes for years before it and i am quicker on Stark that i was on my Gasgas 300. All my bikes had recluse clutches and rear brake lever where clutch lever should be, so rear brake on handlebar was just natural for me. I have never drained battery, but my husband has on the same trail. (We both have Starks) So it differs so much on the riding style and speed you are riding. But for hobbyrider it is the ultimate trail bike. Not many of us can or have stamina to ride more than 1,5 to 2 hrs without rest brake. We have 4KW generator that we can plug two bikes and 15 min gets you another round on the trail. In Finland, our endurotrails are usually 10-20 min rides. You cant ride anywhere else on the woods, but the legal trails. I have "sold" 4 Starks to fellow riders just to let them try the bike on the trail :D All have said the same, it is just so easy to ride.
I like the crawl mode reverse locking the rear, it’s helpful when unloading the bike when the van is pointed down a steep hill being able to use power to unload it and have a auto rear brake is great for me.
@@lurtbike I was weirded out by it at first as well but I love it now in forward too. Where I park my van it's often pointed slightly uphill at home and being able to put it in crawl mode to load is awesome, I run it in and then it just stays there locking the rear with no hands giving me both hands free to put the tie downs on. I haven't used it much outside of loading, unloading and driveway repositioning to wash, garage etc. though. It's pretty quick to hit the power button to go back to 'neutral' if you need it but takes a bit to get used to.
Very cool video. I'm seriously looking at one. I'm in South Africa, and I'm hesitant about support and spares as things break. It's not the cheapest bike. Great lap, it looked tough.
Support has been awesome from Stark so far. I haven’t needed to replace anything that I couldn’t get from a normal dirt bike retailer. They come with a 2 year warranty and Stark is definitely backing it up. I have nothing negative to say about the bike.
My EX is due to arrive March 3rd. I’m a Honda 450x guy that bought a 450L to get a plate. I’m hoping the EX will fill a hole for family rides in the desert. If it’s as good as I think it’ll be, I’ll end up selling the 450L
to bleed breaks, squeeze lever 4-6 times , hold in closed position, open bleeder valve and close it as soon as you see fluid. with any luck you will get a puff of air
Yeah I know how to bleed them. Bleeding a brand new setup from master cylinder to caliper with a new cable is a bear. Lots of air to get out of the system.
Thank you! Suspension is stock and I believe its the 175lb setup. I mostly ride woods and I've backed the compression clickers all the way out and sped up the rebound a little. Same with the shock. I'm pretty happy with how it rides but I've also never had a professionally done suspension setup so I may not know what I'm missing. I took almost all preload off the shock spring and have backed compression out significantly. Front tire is still the stock tire with the red tube and I filled it with like 4 ounces of FlatOut tire sealant. No issues yet (about 50 hours on the bike and 6 races), but I need a new front tire and I'll probably go to nitro mousse plushie with a Dunlop MX-34. Rear tire is a IRC VE-33 tire with a Nitro Mousse standard mousse.
@@lurtbike Protune suspension in Ohio did my Varg suspension and its some of the best suspension I've ridden. A good revalve for the woods completely changes the experience. I highly recommend it. The Varg comes from factory very, very stiff. Even for MX I found it too stiff. Mostly in the valving. Protune kept my springs and revavled for GNCC and its outstanding. I would recommend the investment, especially racing. Get your clickers back!
Yeah that would be really cool but sometimes its tough if you don't know how many laps the race is going to be when you start. Either way, if they could come up with a way to manage the battery without having to change power modes manually it would be cool.
You had mentioned what power level you you set at but what regen percent do you run each mode at? I purchased a Stark and am looking to do GNCC this season with it. Just looking for some ideas on settings
I use 25% regen across all the power modes. I don’t think the regen is actually enough to give you more battery life and I don’t like the extra drag when I let off the throttle. In trying to ride smooth I want to coast more if that makes sense.
I'm only 5' 9" (175cm) and I'm fine on it. The more confident you get the less you need to put your feet down. Worst case you can always get a lowering kit for relatively cheap. It's no taller than any other dirt bike.
I don't have a video of me riding it right now, but it's really no taller than my 300 2 stroke. I did not lower it and I do have the 18" rear wheel. I don't think wheel size makes a difference because the 18" tires are a little taller so.
the idea that electric bikes should not compete with gas bikes cos of whatever advantage is nonsense in my opinion. In the end everyone is trying to get/make the bike as good as possible with usual most obvious upgrade which is suspension - and this really gives an advantage. and nobody is crying about it. this sport is man AND machine. A rider has to prepare himself AND a bike. this is just a part of evolution, so electric or gas - the weakest die and that' it...
I couldnt agree more. People crying "but safety!" when the entire sport is jumping a 250 lb motorcycle through the air or ripping through the woods as fast as you possibly can.
LurtBike, do yourself a favor and get the suspension done! Painful to watch you getting shaken to death over the rocks. That moto valving is giving you shaken baby sendrome.
Hahaha yeah I know. Honestly this was the roughest track I've ever done. I'm not sure any amount of valving would have smoothed this place out, but it's definitely on my to-do list.
@@lurtbike I hear ya. If I had more time, I would launch into the dark arts of the suspension shim shuffle myself. I have ridden some incredible suspension, but mostly just mediocre setups.
I just ordered the EX. Now to sit idlly by until Mar 2025 when it gets delivered! Street legal Enduro!!
I’m jealous. Curious to see how the new battery does and how the road riding experience is.
@@lurtbike They claim 20% more range,different phone and some other things....I have EV cars,Electrci motion trial bike.No way to buy gas bikes anymore!!!
@@Manlixer777 I ordered an EX also waiting until March.
March is going to be fun for sure
Your reasons for buying are exactly why im looking at it too. Kids and life in general. I just wanna ride
100% I want to spend the time riding, not increasing my to-do list.
I've ridden MX on one day and Enduro the next. Just charged it up over night and its good to go. Bike is always ready. Love it
@@japandrz now I just need to charge up my bank account
Completely agree. I have usually one day of the week to do what I want, at most. I want to spend it riding not rebuilding my top end, cleaning the air filter, fiddling with the carb, rebuilding the water pump, checking valves. I ride my Stark, bring it home, next weekend all I need to do is load it up and go riding. Haven't even needed to adjust the chain yet....
as long as we’re on two wheels and it can bring more people to the sport. I’m all for it!
Makes sense, an aspect of these E bikes is the fast track to riding them, no shifting, no clutch, no kick starter, low maint., etc. Kind of like 'buggie boarders'.....put on some flippers, grab a foam slab and bypass all the things real surfers have to learn to do to be out there....👍
Super informative and down to earth description of racing the bike off-road! Thanks!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Great review 🎉.
Track looks rough but you get through it OK 👍
Thank you! It was a rough one for sure
I'm a B vet racer and personally my goal is to win races and the series, so in its current form the Stark wouldnt work for me or the long distance cross country events we have here in california but I love them for trail riding! The AMA has a bunch of legal restrictions and concerns for e-motos. My local district is figuring out how to include these in our races but the primary concern has been fires and safety equipment. The additional requirements mean the clubs will have to invest more into additional safety equipment and that increases cost for all racers. For the time being we are just having an electric class that will line up on its own row and it looks like we could include emotos in our sprint enduro formats as long as the loops start/end back at the pits where the bikes can recharge. Love what Eddie Karlsson is doing going around europe winning local hard enduro events 🤣
Yeah I get that its different but every bike already has a battery, albeit much smaller and now they are usually lithium ion even in the gas bikes. They're also literally carrying 2 gallons of gasoline over a 200 degree chunk of metal. I guess in California where fires are common that's more of a concern. Here on the east coast I haven't heard anyone mention fire as an issue. Everyone mentions sound as the issue, but even that is an easy fix because I have a bluetooth speaker mounted on my bars paired to my stark phone with spotify and I can blast music loud enough to hear it when I'm close. The 2024 AMA rulebook leaves it up to the series to allow e-bikes in the vet classes through supplemental rules, but none of my local series have allowed it yet. We just have the open electric class and it's a non points class which sucks. Hopefully that will change soon as more manufacturers start developing electric bikes. Honestly I think once Honda enters the mix it will all change. I'm just looking forward to being able to ride with all my middle aged c class buddies again (without changing oil and air filters all the time)!
I think your vid came out just before Stark introduced their EX model. Your dreams may be answered. I’m starting to consider one.
@@TylerN737s no kidding! but just as the ex was announced I heard the AMA now needs prior approval for running e-motos in events, if you dont get approval then you arent covered by their insurance policy. at the same time someone else said that the national forest workers are against them due to fear of fires. its almost comical hearing these arguments when we are riding around with plastic tanks of flammable gas strapped to the top of a bike!
@@bikesbeersbeats the very definition of asinine
@@bikesbeersbeats Wait until Honda has one and they suddenly change the rules. The AMA is just making excuses until their buddies can get in on the action!
I agree with you that it is the easiest bike to ride. I had two strokes for years before it and i am quicker on Stark that i was on my Gasgas 300. All my bikes had recluse clutches and rear brake lever where clutch lever should be, so rear brake on handlebar was just natural for me.
I have never drained battery, but my husband has on the same trail. (We both have Starks) So it differs so much on the riding style and speed you are riding. But for hobbyrider it is the ultimate trail bike. Not many of us can or have stamina to ride more than 1,5 to 2 hrs without rest brake. We have 4KW generator that we can plug two bikes and 15 min gets you another round on the trail. In Finland, our endurotrails are usually 10-20 min rides. You cant ride anywhere else on the woods, but the legal trails.
I have "sold" 4 Starks to fellow riders just to let them try the bike on the trail :D All have said the same, it is just so easy to ride.
I like the crawl mode reverse locking the rear, it’s helpful when unloading the bike when the van is pointed down a steep hill being able to use power to unload it and have a auto rear brake is great for me.
Yeah its not as bad in reverse but honestly with a left hand rear brake i don't find it necessary. In forward its awkward as hell to me.
@@lurtbike I was weirded out by it at first as well but I love it now in forward too. Where I park my van it's often pointed slightly uphill at home and being able to put it in crawl mode to load is awesome, I run it in and then it just stays there locking the rear with no hands giving me both hands free to put the tie downs on.
I haven't used it much outside of loading, unloading and driveway repositioning to wash, garage etc. though.
It's pretty quick to hit the power button to go back to 'neutral' if you need it but takes a bit to get used to.
Very cool video. I'm seriously looking at one. I'm in South Africa, and I'm hesitant about support and spares as things break. It's not the cheapest bike. Great lap, it looked tough.
Support has been awesome from Stark so far. I haven’t needed to replace anything that I couldn’t get from a normal dirt bike retailer. They come with a 2 year warranty and Stark is definitely backing it up. I have nothing negative to say about the bike.
My EX is due to arrive March 3rd. I’m a Honda 450x guy that bought a 450L to get a plate. I’m hoping the EX will fill a hole for family rides in the desert. If it’s as good as I think it’ll be, I’ll end up selling the 450L
I’m really curious to see how you like it compared to the 450L!
@ March 3rd can’t come soon enough!
Bleed your rear brake . I had to do that from new with mine and now the lever and brake feels better than the brembo one
It’s on the list of things to do for sure!
@@lurtbikeBleeding it helped a lot for me too, but it could still have a bit more bite
to bleed breaks, squeeze lever 4-6 times , hold in closed position, open bleeder valve and close it as soon as you see fluid. with any luck you will get a puff of air
Yeah I know how to bleed them. Bleeding a brand new setup from master cylinder to caliper with a new cable is a bear. Lots of air to get out of the system.
How many miles do you generally ride during a race?
Typically between 25 and 30.
Great long term review! What is your suspension, tire, pressure, tubes, mousse setup?
Thank you! Suspension is stock and I believe its the 175lb setup. I mostly ride woods and I've backed the compression clickers all the way out and sped up the rebound a little. Same with the shock. I'm pretty happy with how it rides but I've also never had a professionally done suspension setup so I may not know what I'm missing. I took almost all preload off the shock spring and have backed compression out significantly. Front tire is still the stock tire with the red tube and I filled it with like 4 ounces of FlatOut tire sealant. No issues yet (about 50 hours on the bike and 6 races), but I need a new front tire and I'll probably go to nitro mousse plushie with a Dunlop MX-34. Rear tire is a IRC VE-33 tire with a Nitro Mousse standard mousse.
@@lurtbike Protune suspension in Ohio did my Varg suspension and its some of the best suspension I've ridden. A good revalve for the woods completely changes the experience. I highly recommend it. The Varg comes from factory very, very stiff. Even for MX I found it too stiff. Mostly in the valving. Protune kept my springs and revavled for GNCC and its outstanding. I would recommend the investment, especially racing. Get your clickers back!
That'd be great if they could integrate an AI that could automanage the battery according to the track, what's left and some more input you'd feed
Yeah that would be really cool but sometimes its tough if you don't know how many laps the race is going to be when you start. Either way, if they could come up with a way to manage the battery without having to change power modes manually it would be cool.
You had mentioned what power level you you set at but what regen percent do you run each mode at? I purchased a Stark and am looking to do GNCC this season with it. Just looking for some ideas on settings
I use 25% regen across all the power modes. I don’t think the regen is actually enough to give you more battery life and I don’t like the extra drag when I let off the throttle. In trying to ride smooth I want to coast more if that makes sense.
I'm 169cm tall
Can I ride a Starkvarg?
The mountain is high and rough in Korea
I'm only going to ride a hard enduro
I'm only 5' 9" (175cm) and I'm fine on it. The more confident you get the less you need to put your feet down. Worst case you can always get a lowering kit for relatively cheap. It's no taller than any other dirt bike.
@lurtbike Thank you so much I'll do my best
@@lurtbike Can you show me a video of your leg touching it?
Is it rear 18 inches or did you do low link?
I don't have a video of me riding it right now, but it's really no taller than my 300 2 stroke. I did not lower it and I do have the 18" rear wheel. I don't think wheel size makes a difference because the 18" tires are a little taller so.
@@lurtbike Thank you so much for answering
Always ride safely
the idea that electric bikes should not compete with gas bikes cos of whatever advantage is nonsense in my opinion. In the end everyone is trying to get/make the bike as good as possible with usual most obvious upgrade which is suspension - and this really gives an advantage. and nobody is crying about it. this sport is man AND machine. A rider has to prepare himself AND a bike. this is just a part of evolution, so electric or gas - the weakest die and that' it...
I couldnt agree more. People crying "but safety!" when the entire sport is jumping a 250 lb motorcycle through the air or ripping through the woods as fast as you possibly can.
Nice videos! Just wanted to let you know that Rev797 offers budget-friendly, high-quality custom graphic designs.
LurtBike, do yourself a favor and get the suspension done! Painful to watch you getting shaken to death over the rocks. That moto valving is giving you shaken baby sendrome.
Hahaha yeah I know. Honestly this was the roughest track I've ever done. I'm not sure any amount of valving would have smoothed this place out, but it's definitely on my to-do list.
@@lurtbike I hear ya. If I had more time, I would launch into the dark arts of the suspension shim shuffle myself. I have ridden some incredible suspension, but mostly just mediocre setups.