Received my email from Stark “ready for production”

[Bionicman]

Quoted as 6-8 weeks until first zapp. Should I proceed with payment?
Going through stealership so Uncle Sam gets $1200 bucks over 13k purchase price

Is their estimate wrong?
Should I pass?
Reliability is concern.

 

[F451]

Quoted as 6-8 weeks until first zapp. Should I proceed with payment?
Going through stealership so Uncle Sam gets $1200 bucks over 13k purchase price

Is their estimate wrong?
Should I pass?
Reliability is concern.

Got mine yesterday too. Decided a while ago that I was cancelling my order when I learned the bike ballooned to 265 lbs. Then the whole sending bikes to dealer first bs, now all the USA bikes are going through dealers (not being delivered directly to our homes). Then teething problems with the bikes being reported by owners.

What a cluster. I'd like my $100 back.

 

[Bionicman]

Got mine yesterday too. Decided a while ago that I was cancelling my order when I learned the bike ballooned to 265 lbs. Then the whole sending bikes to dealer first bs, now all the USA bikes are going through dealers (not being delivered directly to our homes). Then teething problems with the bikes being reported by owners.

What a cluster. I'd like my $100 back.

Completely agree - thinking ill wait

 

[Ethos]

Same for me. I delayed it as it would arrive in the dead of winter with snow cover and below freezing temperatures. Not good conditions for an electric bike.

I have to admit that the talaria dragon is tempting me. Half the price, 220 lbs, full size bike, wheels, suspension.
It isn't 80hp but the battery is removable and at the lower weight it might be plenty for me. I own a talaria sting and I like it for trails. The dragon would be even better at that task.

 

[Bionicman]

Don’t forget about the taxes now everything going to dealerships! Think I’m gonna pass

 

[Swank171]

What states are forcing the dealership business?? Or is it every order now??

If I recall there have been household deliveries here in CA…..I’d that over now??

I can’t keep up with the changes and stark isn’t exactly staying up to date on newsletters….

 

[Bionicman]

It’s All US orders go through stealerships now

 

[Swank171]

It’s All US orders go through stealerships now

Stark has soiled the bed. Didn’t Brian take direct delivery? Not too long before my scheduled delivery date too….now over a year later I gotta go through the dealership that already told me they will charge me a 400$ setup fee if they take delivery for me…??

 

[fsfs]

Stark has soiled the bed. Didn’t Brian take direct delivery? Not too long before my scheduled delivery date too….now over a year later I gotta go through the dealership that already told me they will charge me a 400$ setup fee if they take delivery for me…??

Stark or the USofA / states? Comes direct to door in other countries.

 

[Swank171]

Stark. Plenty of USA orders came to door previously. Something had changed and it would be an oversight in starks part, not something that’s changed here.

Not to mention, the “stark” dealers are clueless. Stark hasn’t clued them in at all.

My dealer is telling me if I choose to get it shipped to my house I can but if it goes to them they charge me 400$ setup. I just got an email back today from sales management cause I was telling them pretty sure they have to take my order and I don’t want them to build it and they said I’m wrong and stark has said nothing to them about that.

Some muddy waters here. This is in stark as a company, not a country. Not saying it’s not a lot for them to deal with but it’s their product and their logistics. 100% their responsibility.

 

[rayivers]

My dealer is telling me if I choose to get it shipped to my house I can but if it goes to them they charge me 400$ setup.

I got a ready-for-production email too, and my designated dealer told me it was no problem having my Stark sent to my house - they'd check it out first at the dealer, then deliver it with their truck. It strikes me that the dealers I've contacted recently seem to be treating Stark preorders like any other bike sale (with markups / fees etc), and when I ask them directly what Stark's policy is about this and that, they really don't seem to know. I've got one more guy to contact tomorrow who's been a real straight-shooter so far, hopefully he can clarify things at least a little.

 

[Swank171]

I got a ready-for-production email too, and my designated dealer told me it was no problem having my Stark sent to my house - they'd check it out first at the dealer, then deliver it with their truck. It strikes me that the dealers I've contacted recently seem to be treating Stark preorders like any other bike sale (with markups / fees etc), and when I ask them directly what Stark's policy is about this and that, they really don't seem to know. I've got one more guy to contact tomorrow who's been a real straight-shooter so far, hopefully he can clarify things at least a little.

Good stuff!! Keep us posted!

 

[Chadx]

Going through stealership so Uncle Sam gets $1200 bucks over 13k purchase price

You would have paid the exact same sales tax online even even if your Varg shipped direct to your door. When you check out on the website, it would have charged you the appropriate State sales tax. Varg being delivered through a dealership has no impact on the State sales tax you will pay.

 

[Swank171]

You would have paid the exact same sales tax online even even if your Varg shipped direct to your door. When you check out on the website, it would have charged you the appropriate State sales tax. Varg being delivered through a dealership has no impact on the State sales tax you will pay.

This is true….although there is a difference. I have another residence it could have been delivered to in MT and I could have had a friend bring it down when he heads back to ca. I even spoke to stark about this.

TAX is charged based on SHIPPING zip code, NOT your home address. So in this odd case I could have saved on taxes. The bummer here is the freedom to move within this system is now gone along with the added markups/fees these dealerships are going to hold our bikes ransom with in areas of SO CAL where they feel they can.

 

[Chadx]

This is true….although there is a difference. I have another residence it could have been delivered to in MT and I could have had a friend bring it down when he heads back to ca. I even spoke to stark about this.

TAX is charged based on SHIPPING zip code, NOT your home address. So in this odd case I could have saved on taxes. The bummer here is the freedom to move within this system is now gone along with the added markups/fees these dealerships are going to hold our bikes ransom with in areas of SO CAL where they feel they can.

If you had your address set to MT address in Stark's order system, I would have expected them to assign a MT dealership to you. Curious if you had CA or MT in their online system? They were not verifying State of legal residency or shipping addresses that I know of. You might still be able to change it to MT and so a MT dealership. Have you had a chance to ask about that since they changed to dealership model?

My MT dealership reached out within a week of me getting the email notice from Stark to talk through payment timing, build and shipping timing, etc. Per this dealership, this was initial touchpoint to answer questions, make sure I still wanted it, etc. They will reach out in a couple weeks at which time I would pay the dealership. Then the bike would be built and shipped. They are being told 4 to 6 weeks. I asked about doc fees, assembly fees, etc. and this dealership doesn't charge any of that. They don't charge any of that on their ICE bikes either, so that is not unique to the Varg at this dealership. My price is identical to what I would have paid if the bike was shipped to my house. Only difference is they will put it together (I imagine they would let me take it in the crate if that was my preference). And, I have to drive 2 hours one-way to pick it up. I just need to decide what to do with this order. I have a couple Varg on order and now only need one. So will cancel or re-sell one of the orders. Outdoor temperatures have been in the teens these last few mornings and I won't ride any of my dirtbikes until at least April or May of 2024. The gates, to the mountain trails, don't open to wheeled traffic until the middle of June which is when my real riding season begins. No reason for me to receive a bike until May or June of next year so I'll likely delay it as Stark has confirmed is an option.

 

[Swank171]

If you had your address set to MT address in Stark's order system, I would have expected them to assign a MT dealership to you. Curious if you had CA or MT in their online system? They were not verifying State of legal residency or shipping addresses that I know of. You might still be able to change it to MT and so a MT dealership. Have you had a chance to ask about that since they changed to dealership model?

My MT dealership reached out within a week of me getting the email notice from Stark to talk through payment timing, build and shipping timing, etc. Per this dealership, this was initial touchpoint to answer questions, make sure I still wanted it, etc. They will reach out in a couple weeks at which time I would pay the dealership. Then the bike would be built and shipped. They are being told 4 to 6 weeks. I asked about doc fees, assembly fees, etc. and this dealership doesn't charge any of that. They don't charge any of that on their ICE bikes either, so that is not unique to the Varg at this dealership. My price is identical to what I would have paid if the bike was shipped to my house. Only difference is they will put it together (I imagine they would let me take it in the crate if that was my preference). And, I have to drive 2 hours one-way to pick it up. I just need to decide what to do with this order. I have a couple Varg on order and now only need one. So will cancel or re-sell one of the orders. Outdoor temperatures have been in the teens these last few mornings and I won't ride any of my dirtbikes until at least April or May of 2024. The gates, to the mountain trails, don't open to wheeled traffic until the middle of June which is when my real riding season begins. No reason for me to receive a bike until May or June of next year so I'll likely delay it as Stark has confirmed is an option.

I have my account to CA and was just changing my shipping destination and stark was fine with that….I haven’t asked about switching dealers since they changed the model.

What part of MT are you in and what dealership did you decide to take delivery to?

All good info! Thank you!

 

[Chadx]

I'm in southwest MT and Hi-Tech Motorsports in Billings is the closest dealership. I didn't get to choose the dealership. Stark assigns the dealership based on your address in their system. They assign the closest dealership to that. I suspect it's a "change your address it changes the assigned dealership" type situation, but Stark is the only one that can confirm. Once you work with the dealer to pay, your online order will show "Canceled" because that order has been transferred to a dealership. If you haven't reached that point, maybe just change your address, in your online account, to your MT address?

MT, and surrounding, dealerships are as follows:
Hi-Tech motorsports - Billings, MT
Big Sky motorsports - Missoula, MT
Ron's Tire and motorsports - Idaho Falls, ID
Adventure motorsports - Twin Falls, ID

Dealerships map here:

Stark Future Dealers | Stark Future

The powerful Stark VARG electric motocross bike is available to purchase from Stark Future dealers around the world.

starkfuture.com

 

[F451]

In the USA, I'm guessing that Stark is dealing with the same issue that Tesla dealt with, and has been battling since day 1, whether or not they can do direct to consumer sales/deliveries and by-pass the long established and legally entrenched local dealerships, or whether they would be forced to sell through dealerships.

It varies by state, but one of the ways Tesla got around this was by opening up retail "stores" in malls (or wherever they could) so they could claim they were going through their local dealerships and skirt the local state laws and regulations that would have required them to sell through the long established dealership networks.

The auto dealership lobby is very powerful at the state level as well as nationally and have been fighting Tesla every step of the way for years now. So I was a little surprised that Stark was planning on doing direct to consumer sales via the web, and not going through local motorcycle dealerships, at least initially.

I assumed they had done their homework and understood the laws and regulations for selling a large volume of motorcycles in the United States, and were ready to navigate the patchwork of laws/regs in each state.

I'm guessing the local dealerships began flooding their local whoevers with complaints and threats to sue Stark and are forcing Stark to change their sales/delivery model here in the states (basically Stark is deciding its not worth it to go through lawsuits in up to 50 different states).

Clearly, they did not do their homework on the direct to consumer sales/shipping option, and they are now putting together this knee jerk reaction process of delivering the bikes through local dealerships, who don't seem to understand Stark customer expectations.

What a cluster.

 

[F451]

Just the other day I saw a post on Facebook in one of my local riding FB groups asking if anyone had completed their Stark order through a local dealership here in WA State. The post was put up by the sales person in the local dealership (actually about an hour away from me) that is supposed to be contacting me about my order.

I'm wondering if this dealership is seeing multiple cancellations on Varg orders and this sales guy was trying to get some feedback on what is going on. At the time no one had responded to his FB post. I tried to get a screenshot of his post just now, but can't find it, thinking it must have been deleted for whatever reason.

I'd be curious to know how many orders are being cancelled and how much cash is being gifted to Stark from those non-refundable deposits.

 

[Swank171]

I'm in southwest MT and Hi-Tech Motorsports in Billings is the closest dealership. I didn't get to choose the dealership. Stark assigns the dealership based on your address in their system. They assign the closest dealership to that. I suspect it's a "change your address it changes the assigned dealership" type situation, but Stark is the only one that can confirm. Once you work with the dealer to pay, your online order will show "Canceled" because that order has been transferred to a dealership. If you haven't reached that point, maybe just change your address, in your online account, to your MT address?

MT, and surrounding, dealerships are as follows:
Hi-Tech motorsports - Billings, MT
Big Sky motorsports - Missoula, MT
Ron's Tire and motorsports - Idaho Falls, ID
Adventure motorsports - Twin Falls, ID

Dealerships map here:

Stark Future Dealers | Stark Future

The powerful Stark VARG electric motocross bike is available to purchase from Stark Future dealers around the world.

starkfuture.com

I live and work in CA. I was just going to have it shipped there and a friend sign and bring it to me. None of this was really something I had to consider when it was getting shipped to door.