Are you faster on the Varg

[OpaTsupa]

Question is for those who measure lap times and have reference to or still ride petrol bikes:
Are you faster on the Varg compared to a petrol bike?

Share your impressions where and how you ride the Varg differently and whether that is an advantage or disadvantage for a fast lap.
If you are a data hoarder share if you see differences in average speed, peak speed, heart rate etc.

If you are not a slave to the stopwatch than tell us how it feels with some degree of accuracy.

 

[Theo]

I've never measured laptimes but I have the feeling that I'm faster especially because I ride it more.
My theory is this: motocross is a time and money consuming activity and that's why I, like many people, don't ride as much as I'd like to; in my case, not even half as much as I'd like to.
According to my estimation, in the long run the Varg is roughly as money consuming as a gas bike but it's way less time consuming thanks to the less maintenance and therefore I ride it way more often. I do feel that I've improved significantly since I started using it and I doubt that I would have achieved the same with a gas bike.
Besides, since I don't have to use foot operated controls, I've eventually gotten used to keeping my forefeet on the footpegs, I feel that I can apply technique better because I don't need to manage as many controls and problems like stalling and therefore I think and I feel that I ride better.

 

[Erwin P]

I am faster on the Stark than the Beta RR 300 Racing yes

On a local sand MX track i'm at roughly 2:30 with the Stark wich is about 5-10 seconds faster.

On a Local hardpack i did 1:54 on 42hp and 1:57 on 16hp. While it took me 2:00 on my Girffriends Beta RR 200.

In Cross Country 2hrs endurance with laps of about 10 minutes i'm about 30-45 seconds faster on the Stark. But that's not completely fair since i only do 2 laps on the 300 and i'm used to the Stark by then.

 

[Suva]

I think I'm faster on the stark on some courses but one I race that I think I'm faster on the gas bike is relatively slow and develops large holes, on my old 300xcw I could float over them better due to the extra weight on the Stark.

 

[SteveBaum]

I FEEL faster on the Stark Varg EX then my KTM 300.

 

[Toom38]

I'm 2 seconds faster per lap on the Varg than my ICE bike. ('21 Husky 450 fc) But the important thing to me is I feel much safer on the Varg for the same reasons Theo touched on. Less distractions with shifting, clutch and stalling. More time to be aware of body position on the bike, line selection, braking points, ect. At my age, 66, that's more important than lap times.

 

[markhamr]

I am slower on the stark
And it’s not just me the stark is just slower than a well ridden 450
I thought it was actually faster until I did some back to back testing(it feels fast)
The results left me dumbfounded
The 450 embarrassed the stark with its lap times

 

[Beckern]

A pal tested a std MX1.0 normally riding a KTM 300 EXC. Lately I was slowly pulling away or easily keeping up with him. On the Varg he was immediately faster than me. Took hom less than 5 min and he started pulling away. That how fast you get faster on the Varg-

 

[Moto 17]

I have a 10 mile woods track…pretty technical. I am faster on my electric ktm…but it has had the shock revalved and has WP cone valve forks on it( they cost more than the bike almost). I am getting the stark dialed in still….probably need suspension work. I have a ktm xcf 2023 that’s new with 15 hours and full ohlins suspension on it so it’s pretty good…but not as fast as the electrics…I also have a full race ktm Xc 300…really a SX it’s very modded and has cone valve forks and trax shock…that’s fast but still a second or two off. I am probably more used to that as I have won a lot of races on the 300 two strokes. The ktm electric was only built because my riding buddies said it could not beat a 300 on this track….well it does now. Looking forward to doing some motocross comparisons this summer.

 

[Anders]

For what it's worth...

I have so far only ridden my Varg for EX 5-6 hours in winter conditions with snow. Some of it quite loose snow / powder. On my ICE Gasgas I feel that the front wheel wanders about under such conditions, and I generally feel unsafe. On the Varg, I feel that the front wheel is much more calm, and the bike goes where I want to a bigger degree.
As this is quite a new bike, my mates are very keen on trying it out. Yesterday, two of my mates, normally riding KTM and Gasgas twostrokes (250/300), borrowed it for a 4-minute lap in our local single track through snowy forest. Both came back and stated that the Varg is easier to ride in these conditions, and that they felt faster. No lap times were compared, though.

 

[fe501tired]

I don't race but I sure can rip on this bike with ease and feel my gas bikes are heavier and harder to turn when in reality the gas bikes are much lighter, just my 2 cents .

 

[OpaTsupa]

Playing with the Claude.Ai
If you feed it good data it can do anything you wish.

Varg EX vs Beta 300 2T.
Left image is climbing and right image is descending the hill.

My interpretation of the visuals matches the general feeling on the bikes:
Beta climbs faster and exits corners faster. Puts down power and drives faster.
Varg is faster and more stable on the fast sections. Carries more speed in flatter, less choppy sections.

 

[Erwin P]

Stark has the issue climbing that their gear is unlimited tall. Once it breaks traction it spins to the moon. The Beta 300 has a gear with limited speed.

My next Hard Enduro trip to Spain i will use the 3 months free pro subscription. I will make a hillclimb map that drops torque after somthing like 50 km/h (will experiment at what speed exactly). Same for rock crawling but maybe even at 25 km/h. That way it should stop spinning to the moon but still have all the torque in the world to rocket off into whatever i want it to.

 

[HITNRUN]

Question is for those who measure lap times and have reference to or still ride petrol bikes:
Are you faster on the Varg compared to a petrol bike?

Share your impressions where and how you ride the Varg differently and whether that is an advantage or disadvantage for a fast lap.
If you are a data hoarder share if you see differences in average speed, peak speed, heart rate etc.

If you are not a slave to the stopwatch than tell us how it feels with some degree of accuracy.

I originally saw this post but wanted to wait until I felt qualified to answer. I’ve spent a life on ICE. Started riding at 5yo. Now I’m 59 but still ride 2-3 days a week.

I was the least likely person to ever adopt to or even be interested in trying something this new! I have very well sorted KTM’s (250 & 300). I mostly ride single track from fast and flowey to gnarly mountains. I have a life perfecting clutch modulation. When I first read about the Stark, I thought it will never make sense for me!!
So fast forward…..

I purchased an almost new used MX last summer.I was offered a deal of all deals so reluctantly decided to go for it but expected to then just sell without loosing cash.

I now have about 80 hrs on it. I can say without a doubt that it took me about 20 hours before it really fully clicked. I’m now willing to bet that many of the haters just simply don’t have enough time on them in all sorts of riding conditions. Again of all the people, I was not the one you would have expected to flip. But now it’s to the point that I’m such a fan that I’ve now purchased a EX also to be sure I have a spare. Then to add……

Other than on long all day distance rides like gnarly mountain 40-60 miles rides, my 2-Ts are mostly sitting since last summer. To the point I’m worried about the fuel and other things sitting too long.

So what’s the real difference…… Why the Stark over the other bikes???

See below

 

[HITNRUN]

With the Stark, it’s all about the perfect body positioning that it allows once you acclimate to LHRB and fully embrace riding (mostly standing up) on ball’s of feet in a hinged attack position with elbows out and trigger fingers on each lever at all times. It’s magic!

I won’t bother beyond the above because I’m just hoping others on here that have put in the time get what I’m saying. When on gas bikes, you simply must shift fairly often to keep the rear settled plus in the correct power range and then add using rear brake for that same reason. I even have LHRB’s on both of my KTMs to help with this but it’s so hard to multitask both clutch and brake together without a Rekluse. I could have chose to install Clake pro’s but still, it’s a lot!

Anyways I was just fine with my well sorted ICE bikes and did not need to try the Stark last summer but now that I have, my God…. I can’t put that genie back in the bottle!! I’m fully gut hooked now!

Starks are just so planted, feel light despite being super heavy and always in the correct gear. Also they cost way less for me because first I didn’t have to spend $$$$$$$ just to get them dialed in for my use cases and now I’m also seeing they are super easy on wearables. I mean 75 hrs on a chain and sprockets and these are non o-ring aluminum and front steel. That’s nuts!! One rocker bearing, one set of grips, some tires. That all!

No drama for me luckily on either Stark! Just great times ride after ride.

I have a generator I bring with me and (fast charge) at lunch. I suppose I could also bring two bikes but so far the idea of washing two bikes prevents that for me.

Note that I’m over 100 hrs combined on Starks. I can say without any doubt that I personally have improved since riding Starks. I am faster on them period!

I also now believe that once range and weight is further addressed (say 30% better) , this will be the future despite how much I love my ICE 2-T bikes for the sound, for the clutch control. for the the gears and most of all for the years of amazing memories!! I do not plan to sell them but I’m definitely ready to admit the shift in my opinions relating to this post.

Cheers