Image Credit: Stark Future.
For years, the electric conversation has been about saving the planet, being sensible, and - unfortunately - driving something with all the personality of a toaster. Then a little company out of Barcelona called Stark Future built a dirt bike, the VARG MX, that was so powerful everyone immediately fell in love with it.
There was just one tiny problem. We all collectively cried, "But I can't ride it to the grocery store!" It was an off-road-only monster. Well, Christmas came early, kids, because Stark was listening. They've just rolled out its street-legal sibling, the VARG SM, and it's forgotten to be sensible entirely.
Image Credit: Stark Future.
The top-spec "Alpha" version of this bike makes 80 horsepower. That's a lovely, healthy number for a motorcycle that weighs a feather-light 275 pounds. But that's not the number you're looking for. The one you need is the torque. It delivers - and I am not making this up - 675 foot-pounds of torque at the rear wheel. That's more twist than some heavy-duty pickup trucks, packed into a vehicle you can lift with a friend. It's utter madness.
This is the part where you'd expect me to say it's an uncontrollable monster, a two-wheeled terror. But here's the magic of electric power. Stark has made this ludicrous power completely manageable. Thanks to a clever little Android-based display they call the "Arkenstone" (nerd alert), you can dial everything in. You can have the gentle throttle response of a scooter for your commute, and with a few taps, unleash the full fury for a weekend backroad blast. It's like having a hundred motorcycles in one.
Image Credit: Stark Future.
If you think this is just a dirt bike with some mirrors and a license plate holder, you'd be wonderfully mistaken. The VARG SM is a purpose-built Supermoto. It's been designed from the ground up for pavement. It has tighter geometry, fancy Brembo brakes that could stop a charging rhino, and custom KYB suspension with over 11 inches of travel. It's built to dive into corners with the precision of a surgeon and the glee of a child on a sugar rush.
The VARG SM has a 7.2 kWh battery, which gives it a real-world range of about 50 miles. No, you won't be crossing the country on it, not even a small one. But this bike isn't for droning down the interstate. It's for zipping through the city, carving up a canyon road, or making your daily commute the absolute highlight of your day. It's a shot of pure fun, not a long-haul trucker.
Image Credit: Stark Future.
And when you've used up all your giggles for the day, charging is wonderfully simple. It comes with a portable charger that fits in a backpack and plugs into a normal wall outlet. It'll top up the battery in just one to two hours. That's barely enough time to have lunch and tell everyone you know how you just beat a sports car off the line at a traffic light. Silently, of course.
What I truly appreciate are the thoughtful little touches. The headlight is brighter than my future, throwing out 4,000 lumens to make sure you're seen. The turn signals are integrated into the bodywork and made of a flexible silicone, because Stark knows you're probably going to drop it at some point. There's even a "walk mode" and a reverse gear to help you maneuver it out of a tight parking spot. See? Not so intimidating after all.
Image Credit: Stark Future.
But the most brilliant part is how accessible it is. In some places, you might even be able to ride it on a standard car license. It opens up the world of motorcycling to people who might have been put off by clutches and noisy engines. (Though please, for the love of all that is good, take a proper riding course before you unleash all 675 foot-pounds of fury).
The Stark VARG SM starts at $12,900 for the 60-horsepower version, and $13,900 for the full-fat 80-horsepower Alpha. It's not pocket change, I know, but a bike with this much performance, technology, and joy? It's a compelling argument. It's a serious machine that doesn't take itself too seriously, and quite possibly, it is the most exciting electric thing on two wheels you can get your hands on.
Image Credit: Stark Future.
