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130 hours, 2xxx VIN, mostly riding hard enduro in dank NZ forest or shingle banks at the coast. I thrash this bike - if I don't drop it five times in a ride then I feel like I'm not trying hard enough. The bike's been entirely reliable. I've cracked the gear cover by dropping it on a rock...

Ok, can I have yours for free? Seeing as you don't want it any more.

Yup, I have bashed and cracked the gear cover on the right side. Here's the ongoing thread listing all the options - a few people now have the Racetorx machined aluminium covers. These are expensive but should be strong.

Counterpoint: I've bashed the shit out of this bike for 125 hours so far. I ride hard enduro and the bike has spent plenty of time underwater, upside down, and stuck in trees. It's been fine. The question is not "is the Stark perfect?". It's "is the Stark more reliable than a petrol bike?"...

Barkbuster Ego handguards fit just fine. As you can see, I've bashed the crap out of mine and they're still holding up.

Yes, it can be sold as offroad only in NZ, just like the Varg MX. But if it has ABS and can be road legal then that's going to be more desirable in NZ coz we have very much less choice of enduro bikes, or electric bikes, or electric enduro bikes.

I haven't seen any mention of ABS, so let's just clarify my statement that "if it's NZ road legal then it must have ABS". All road-legal motorcycles in NZ must have ABS, meaning there's a heap of European enduro models that don't get imported and our choice of enduro/dual sport models is...

Ok, that'll be using the Molicell P50B cells - 5.0 Ah per cell instead of the P45B at 4.5 Ah that's in the current Varg. If they are saying road-legal in NZ then it must have ABS. I don't see a switch for that, so maybe that's controllable through the app? Damn, might finally have to get a...

Sure, the chain tension affects the rear suspension, as does a rear brake that are fixed to the swing-arm - call it anti-rise, brake jacking, or stiffening. That's why floating rear brakes have been tried, many times, but they haven't caught on. Rear ends work well enough under braking. As with...

I'm happy to start this rumour - 2025 Starks will come with no rear brake. They will just have an electronic brake using the motor and controllable levels of regen. I have no evidence for this, other than it just makes sense. The rear lever will control the amount of regen. The motor gives you...

The best exercise for me to learn lofting the front has been to try on loose & slippery ground. If the grip is so poor you then can't just throttle it up. You have to use weight transfer from front to back... which is what you should be doing anyway.

I was talking about this component with a company that CNCs bike parts. They do the design in NZ and the manufacture in China, so pretty competitive on cost. For the complex shape, two-sided setup, and low numbers, they were thinking this part would be about that price to manufacture and sell...

As expected, Racetorx are now on to it with a CNC'd aluminium replacement for the right side motor cover. Looks beefy, costs HOLY CRAP two hundred and twenty quid. Err, I think I'm just going to try to not hit rocks.

Wait, what? What's a dealer markup? I'm in NZ and the price is the price. I can order direct for NZ$17,900 or go to the dealer and pay $17,900. How can it be different?

Batteries are getting cheaper every year. Electric vehicles are getting cheaper every year. This is a good thing.

I have added haul straps - just from rope and webbing that I had to hand. And next is a gripper seat, coz when the stock seat is covered in mud then it gets pretty slick.

What we want is something more impact resistant than the current design. Thicker stronger metal is going to be more impact resistant. More resiliant materials like rubber or HDPE are also going to be more impact resistant. Move coverage over the gasket line or motor housing is going to provide...

Definitely. The cover is an easy replacement. The housing isn't. If the cover had a lip that projected forward then that would do a reasonable job of protecting the gasket from impacts. If the cover had an overlap that wrapped around the housing then that would be even better as it would...

Well spotted. Hard to tell from the video but that looks like a stuck-on plastic scratch cover.

Tyre choice depends so much on what terrain you're riding and how long you want it to last. Round here I'm riding enduro in dank slippery forest. Everyone uses the Mitas XT754 soft gummy with Tubliss at 3 psi. That's unbeatable for our ground but it'll last maybe five minutes on a hard MX track.