The announcement of Varg (Swedish for “wolf”) sent shockwaves through the EV and MX community this week. The “fastest, most powerful motocross bike in the world” was unleashed by Stark Future founder Anton Wass on December 13. “Stark Future is here to challenge and inspire the motorcycle industry to sustainability. And we will do that by proving electric technology is superior to gas in every single aspect. The bike that we are presenting here today has more power than any other motocrosser on the planet!”
Speaking of power, motovation comes from a proprietary powerplant. Designed in-house, the 360-V carbonfiber sleeve motor weighs 20 lbs. but cranks out 80 horsepower. Peak torque is even more impressive as can be expected of an eBike: 692 lb-ft at the rear wheel! “To put that in context, the most frightening dirt bike I've ever ridden was the KX500, a 500cc Kawasaki 2-stroke that delivered somewhere around 66 horses in a manner I found rude, inconvenient and unlikely to help me live until a ripe old age in the company of all my original limbs,” says Loz Blain in the tech journal New Atlas.
The motor serves as a structural part of the frame, and Stark claims to have addressed the range bugaboos. “The waterproof, air-cooled battery is a 6-kWh pack offering enough capacity to match a full tank of gas on a 450cc 4-stroke. That should be sufficient change to deliver up to 6 hours of easy trail riding or a full moto at MXGP intensity per 1-2 hour charge,” says Wass.
He adds the patent-pending inverter is "the world's smallest inverter for 50-100 kW power ranges," and that the Varg will smash anything else on the market on power-to-weight, gasoline or otherwise. There is an app for that: 100 modes on the phone app can dial in the "exact settings of the power curve, engine braking, traction control and the patent-pending virtual flywheel,” enabling the Varg deliver the power characteristics of anything from 125cc 2-stroke to the latest and greatest 450 4-strokes.
This project looks to be more than the vaporware or GoFundMe hype, with real world R&D by Sebastien Tortelli and Josh Hill. KYB suspension, Brembo brakes and other top bits of kit could make the Varg’s bite work without the bark of a harsh 4-Stroke. Details are still being formulated, but delivery is anticipated by the Fall of 2022. The 60 hp base model will be priced at $11,000, with the Alpha dog 80 hp version of the Varg going for $12,900.
If you have 15 minutes to invest into the future of motocross, check Stark Future's video out:
