Sadly the icon is displayed by the VCU for a generic fault condition, internally they just condsider it a "malfuction indicator lamp". I'm guessing since Stark sent out a new throttle they've narrowed it down to incorrect throttle position readings. Next steps might just be a VCU swap or perhaps a swap of the front connector hub, but either way you'll be at the mercy of Stark support.
Post here your Stark Varg issues (or not!)
- Thread starter Beagle
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taylor.w
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Thank you for the reply. I figured this was going to be the case. Just sad that a brand new bike is non-operational and there is probably a month more of trouble shooting before I can use this paperweight.
drehwurm68
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The EX has an OBDII port which you can access with a reader. It might give you some better information and fault codes can be cleared, but honestly I don't think it will give you more possibilities than the support has. Nevertheless if you want to keep yourself occupied while waiting for responses and learn some about the bike this might be an option.
Your EX should have come with an adapter cable from the small, round, 6pin Higo connector to a red 6pin Euro5 OBDII connector. This will connect to the bike behind the right shroud on the frame. You'll also need one of those OBDII dongles (I use an ELM 327 compatible one) plus software for your phone and a "OBD to Euro5" adapter. Google should have all the info you need.
Michael
taylor.w
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Thank you! That is extremely helpful! This makes me wonder if any aftermarket company like ebmx is working on an aftermarket controller for Varg bikes. I really hope we can have better control over repair and diagnostics in the future.
drehwurm68
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I think we already have good examples from the automotive world or ICE bikes that manufacturers are/have to be very cautious because of liability reasons and so the aftermarket has to step in with all the consequences (broken warranties, broken vehicles ;-) this has. IMO Stark went pretty far already with letting customers change batteries, drive trains and such - seems to have stopped by now though. Nevertheless I agree, Stark should have implemented a better fault management/information system because it is like it is - mistakes and failures do happen!
Michael
Conclusion of the session :So many issues ? Are you serious ?
It's probably the least significant issue I've seen so far, and I believe it is 100% dealer-related.
They can't even install brake switches properly...
I have some news about my red light issue, probably due to a faulty drivetrain.
The asked me to :Varg ex red light
I don't think that's necessarily true. It's a new company with a brand new type of product, I signed up for it knowing there will be growing pains. As long as they can deliver me a correctly working bike, I'm thrilled with it. If not, that's another story, but I'm giving them the benefit of...electricdirtriders.com
I did it, and everything was fine. They asked me to book a troubleshooting session, which is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. local time.
I contacted them several times, and they always answered quickly. They took a bit longer to respond to this issue, but not by much.
First contact on Sunday 17 => Aug 19, 12:25 => I replied on August 20 at 12:38. => Aug 21, 11:57
The Stark tech guy was very nice by the way
I asked him to confirm that Stark is responsible for the labor costs, and he confirmed it.
Slidinsidewayz
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At the moment dealer and stark are supposedly communicating about what I’m not tied to their emails so I can’t see what’s being said and done but stark has commited to paying the labor and obviously cover parts under warranty I I have that in their email sent to me and I sent to dealer so they understand they will be paid for their labor. Now it’s seem it’s just a waiting game to see if they order the parts so we can move forward to get this done. As I was typing dealer called said they ordered the drive train but refuse to order a battery that stark specifically mailed me and them and told them to order. They refuse and said stark won’t let them order a power train and battery at same time and if they need to they will order if needed after powertrain install! Which is nuts I believe the batter may have a bad cell also since this all happened after a full charge and Interrupted update. So dealer is the one playing the games dealer reiterated and said stark wants them to pull a new battery from one of the new bikes in the floor the dealer refused and said they wit be able to sell it if they do that! So dealer is the one playing the games not stark in fact!!!
Slidinsidewayz
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He is the email stark sent me confirming telling me and the dealer to order new battery!
If you want you can play around with my beta iOS app which does display a ton more information from the VCU, and AFAIK shows pretty much everything you can see over the CANBUS/OBD interface but works over Bluetooth. Even then Stark doesn't have a ton of internal diagnostics data when it comes to the 12v system, this also contributes to their difficutly remote diagnosing issues like yours.
Nobody is working on an aftermarket setup, its far too complicated and the inverter/motor are fully integrated. Ideally Stark improves the end-user and dealer tooling in the future, something similar to Tesla's diagnostics support would be really incredible to see.
Border Dave
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My local dealer just told me that Stark is not paying ANY labor costs for warranty work. He also said that no Stark dealerships in Washington State are performing warranty work because of that.Conclusion of the session :
The Stark tech guy was very nice by the way
I asked him to confirm that Stark is responsible for the labor costs, and he confirmed it.
If the bike is under warranty and the job needs to be done by a dealer, it's obvious that Stark will pay for the labor.
I just asked to get the confirmation I expected.
I dropped the bike yesterday and the dealer was not surprised by what I told him after showing him the emails.
Stark told me that so far, only the battery and the powertrain have to be replaced by a dealer.
Border Dave
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Stark says they will pay for it, but then they do not. That’s why none of the Stark dealers in Washington will perform any warranty work.
My dealership is apparently turning owners away now too...they said there is nothing in it for them...I'm having underwhelming support currently on 2 vargs an EX and an MX...last request wasn't answered for over a week, and with that it takes several weeks to work through an issue and then weks waiting on parts...I have been trying to get a rear wheel replaced and a subframe for months....
I finally got my bike back 2 days ago !
The dealer knows how it works with Stark, and it's not the first time they've changed batteries or powertrains.
I find it a bit odd that they should order and pay for the parts, change them and send them back before being refunded and payed for the labour.
I can see why some dealers might not want to work like that.
I called the dealer a few times to check if the new powertrain had arrived, and I emailed Stark to be sure they had shipped it.
The process and communication can definitely be improved to keep the owner informed and to be quicker.
The dealer knows how it works with Stark, and it's not the first time they've changed batteries or powertrains.
I find it a bit odd that they should order and pay for the parts, change them and send them back before being refunded and payed for the labour.
I can see why some dealers might not want to work like that.
I called the dealer a few times to check if the new powertrain had arrived, and I emailed Stark to be sure they had shipped it.
The process and communication can definitely be improved to keep the owner informed and to be quicker.
So your bike stayed for about 3 weeks at the dealer?
It was planned for the 9th because the dealer couldn't do it before, but they only got the powertrain on the 10th.
I don't have their email conversations, so I can't say if the delay is on their side for not ordering the powertrain quickly enough, or on Stark's side for taking some time to ship it.
In my opinion, it's a bit of both.
I don't have their email conversations, so I can't say if the delay is on their side for not ordering the powertrain quickly enough, or on Stark's side for taking some time to ship it.
In my opinion, it's a bit of both.
markhamr
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yawns it is ongoing with stark
need to pull thr head out of thr provereaill(oriface)
need to pull thr head out of thr provereaill(oriface)
Slidinsidewayz
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- Humble,Texas
I completely agree in total! From what I’m getting the legit of texas has a stark future ware house full of stark parts that’s where my dealer is getting them from and they are doing a RO before they do this but they don’t have to. If they just follow up with stark and get the parts from them it will include the labor from what I’m understood. These dealers want labor for just putting eyes on the bike I can imagine stark has probably been taken advantage of by some dealers since these bikes came out and the amount money the company was sponsored. Along with the fact they are electric being sold at primarily gas dealers. I also believe stark bikes need their own labor cost due to less parts and time it takes to do a swap on powertrain or battery. But I can see Starla side and the dealer but what the hell does that have to do with the customer putting the customer in the middle is wild. I have more to add but I will after I get my bike back dealer has had it almost a month trouble shooting. It didn’t follow starks trouble shooting process replace the power train and the battery. They only order a power train see that did not fix the problem them order a battery you see the labor truck now took it all out labor cost put it all back in labor cost take out batter replace new battery labor cost. These dealers are mugging stark. And now we can see how they truly do us when we take our gas bikes to them they smile selling it to you if it wasn’t for a warrant I’d be fucked with my stark and dealer labor.
Took delivery of my EX in June 2025. It worked fine (except for the tubes) for the first 3 rides. Then it refused to take a charge. No falls, drops, water, hard hits.. nothing. Just a simple ride on some gravel roads and a mile of single track in the woods. Stark sent me a new charger to repair the issue after a couple of weeks of discussion. That didn't work. So after numerous emails and weeks of waiting, they finally assumed that the issue is the battery. They have agreed to send me a new battery, but require that I pay for the battery, shipping from the states to the Bahamas, cover the duty and VAT, and pay for returning the old battery to the states, then they'll refund me the purchase price of the battery. All in, that would cost me $4,500+ on top of the $3,000 battery cost that they'll eventually refund. And I'll have to do the repair myself.
Support has been extremely slow to respond, but courteous so far. I'm furious about what they expect me to pay to get this fixed though.
Support has been extremely slow to respond, but courteous so far. I'm furious about what they expect me to pay to get this fixed though.
