Stark Varg: Gearing for optimal range

Johnny Depp said:

Now you are getting what I was saying. With a gas bike like my Beta 480, the rideability goes up with taller gearing. Less wheelspin and clutch and shifting, just cruise and it's got so much torque and flywheel stalling isn't an issue. The optimum spot for me is 15/48 which for most is considered street gearing (I go to 45 on the street). This won't work with a smaller bike with less torque, you need massive torque to pull it off, exactly what the Stark has in spades. The Stark has more torque at the first crack of the rpms than the YZ450 has at any point in any gear. It can absolutely pull the tall gearing, and tuning with the tallest gear the bike can pull has always been my go to.

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I'm actually a guy who likes shorter gearing on most of my bikes. That way it's more predictable over most objects and really doesn't stall or lacks power to do something when i want it. I normally ride 2 strokes though and somehow when riding the EXC500/TE501 etc i always stall them everywhere. I really don't like those big 4 strokes. Never ridden the 480 though and maybe that's less keen to stall.

Back to the Stark. Indeed that can't even stall and torque is endless. However HP is not. HP basicly is Torque x RPM. With very low revs i've found that the Stark actually has a bad time in really deep mud. In 48hp it won't spin itself out of it when stalled. Even 80hp has to work hard. An ICE can drop the clutch and release top hp at 0 km/h, the Stark has to make due with a huge torque number x 0, and a funny thing happens when you multiply by zero.
However, that is something i would need to test, hp should be plenty though.

I have trouble with range a lot.
Looking at peoples data and videos I can see why.
My best 58 minutes 63%
I was riding slow doing some track maintenance.
I have averaged 48 kph a hour with a top speed of 131.9 on this track.
about 1klm of that and a lot of pulls to around 85kph
Some single track / rough logging roads./water bars galore usual rutty woods.
I think 35 minutes is a pretty accurate estimation of true range with the bike pinned.
My worst came back as 32 mins dte 100 to 0
Outdoor mx
My bike has the 13 tooth front sprocket.
Set on 60hp.30 regain
I try to carry the front a lot to improve speed (unweight it)
flameout is a problem on modern enduro 4 strokes(electric start)
I have found deep mud and deep ruts are hard to master on the stark as well.
Stuck in the mud it cannot push the front easily from a stand(it has reverse though)

At those speeds i would say a bigger sprocket up front might would be beneficial.

I do a lott of mud and rut riding and actually find it easy'er on the Stark than on my 300. Might be a personal thing though.

Today was my first time to use my new gearing on the Stark. 14/42 for a 3.0 gear ratio, it required removing 2 links from the chain (112), I chose to run the axle as far back as possible. The steel sprocket was a JT from Amazon for $27. Amazon.com: JT Sprockets JTR460.42 42T Steel Rear Sprocket , black, Medium : Automotive
Super happy with this choice. Surprised that it was even more responsive off the bottom, in a good way. Hit the apex and dial in a turn wheelie and carry it as far as traction and nerve allows. Stronger acceleration for longer. An increased rideability, but accelerating does come faster.
Used 49% of the battery, 22 miles. Trail pace with some fast pace mixed in. This seems like it’s a better range.

Today was my first time to use my new gearing on the Stark. 14/42 for a 3.0 gear ratio, it required removing 2 links from the chain (112), I chose to run the axle as far back as possible. The steel sprocket was a JT from Amazon for $27.
Super happy with this choice. Surprised that it was even more responsive off the bottom, in a good way. Hit the apex and dial in a turn wheelie and carry it as far as traction and nerve allows. Stronger acceleration for longer. An increased rideability, but accelerating does come faster.
Used 49% of the battery, 22 miles. Trail pace with some fast pace mixed in. This seems like it’s a better range.View attachment 14120

I have always run shorter gearing on my( stink engine ) bikes. (yachting term )
But a lot of that was because they came over geared to pass the noise level test.
Smoother is always faster and modifying my technique should eliminate
a lot. I will trying gearing it up.
I do tend to drive a bike off the clutch in deep ruts.
The suspension is starting to feel better no mods just me thinking
and i am getting used to flying it more now.
I cant imagine i am ever going to get over the weight thing
13 pounds/ for want of a nail.

markhamr said:

I have always run shorter gearing on my( stink engine ) bikes. (yachting term )
But a lot of that was because they came over geared to pass the noise level test.
Smoother is always faster and modifying my technique should eliminate
a lot. I will trying gearing it up.
I do tend to drive a bike off the clutch in deep ruts.
The suspension is starting to feel better no mods just me thinking
and i am getting used to flying it more now.
I cant imagine i am ever going to get over the weight thing
13 pounds/ for want of a nail.

Click to expand...

Same for me, i love 1 or 2 tooth less up front on ICE's.
Smoother sure is always faster. That's why we saw a big update a few months into 2024. They actually reduces throttle response. That way people actually became faster and somehow real world testing (by me and local riders) pointed out around 10% more range.
Quite interesting how much difference that softwaretuning can do.

The suspension is really different than WP's that i think you're used to. I come from Beta's wich run KYB's or Sachs. With my small YT channel and having a bike (Stark) that people love to try i get the chance to ride a lott of different bikes. I'm not a pro of any kind, but i think i could blindfolded pick out the WP's from the rest.
I don't think between KYB or WP one is @#$% compared to the other. They are just very different and give a very different feel.
Generally people comming of a Yamaha YZ have a very easy time getting used to the Stark and i think those are more like the Stark than any other bike.