Stark varg support is the worst

[drehwurm68]

How about first sending an email without and explain in text?

That's what I did, then they wanted the video. Seems like no e-mail with a video attached is received as I'm only getting replies (24-48 hours) to text only mails. Nevertheless I only get an error msg when the attachment is larger than 25Mb, everything else seems to go through AFAICT from my side.

Michael

 

[Erwin P]

That's what I did, then they wanted the video. Seems like no e-mail with a video attached is received as I'm only getting replies (24-48 hours) to text only mails. Nevertheless I only get an error msg when the attachment is larger than 25Mb, everything else seems to go through AFAICT from my side.

Michael

What if you uploaded the video somewhere and send them the link?

 

[drehwurm68]

What if you uploaded the video somewhere and send them the link?

Already did that using Google Drive - waiting for the results!

Michael

 

[Erwin P]

And to put the whole worst helpdesk taking forever thing into perspective.

We once had a warranty case with a rear shock on a Kawasaki streetbike. We had to contact a dealer. Make an appointment with said dealer (and those are busy). They had yo examen the thing. Report to Kawasaki importer. Send it to Kawasaki importer. They had to examine it. Send a new one to the dealer wich whom we could make an appointment.
Everything was smooth sailing and went by the book. Still it took almost a month to get the bike riding again.

That is a big OEM.

 

[drehwurm68]

On the other hand you have dealers that will take parts of off new bikes to get yours running so I guess it can go either way. But what do you do if you start going in circles as they want a video which when it is sent never gets to its destination and then you send a mail without a video where in reply they want you to send a video that ....

Michael

 

[Chaconne]

On the other hand you have dealers that will take parts of off new bikes to get yours running so I guess it can go either way. But what do you do if you start going in circles as they want a video which when it is sent never gets to its destination and then you send a mail without a video where in reply they want you to send a video that ....

Michael

How about they pony up for a dropbox where customers can drop off necessary information like videos. If they are going to try to do customer service they need basic business tools. Its like 1985 all over again.

 

[Erwin P]

On the other hand you have dealers that will take parts of off new bikes to get yours running so I guess it can go either way. But what do you do if you start going in circles as they want a video which when it is sent never gets to its destination and then you send a mail without a video where in reply they want you to send a video that ....

Michael

Well i got my new battery of a showroom Stark so i could race that weekend.
There are dealers. Just not as much as the big street OEM's.

 

[Chaconne]

Well i got my new battery of a showroom Stark so i could race that weekend.
There are dealers. Just not as much as the big street OEM's.

This is so true.

Plus, there are good dealerships with guys who actually ride and sell Starks and treat their customers good and are ambassadors for the brand, and then there are others just looking to be stealerships.

Here in the Northeast USA I do business with MotorbikesPlus in New Hampshire. I bought my KTMs there previously and waited to buy my Starks until they carried them. Ya they are really busy, but I know if I need something they will get it done and treat me and my Stark no different than me and my KTMs or other brands they carry.

 

[drehwurm68]

Good news. Today I've got an e-mail from Stark support saying that the could review the videos from the Google Drive links provided and that they will send me replacement parts with no further questions asked

Unfortunately no mentioning of a reason why the e-mails with appended videos just vanished. Naturally I did check from my side that everything works with sending the e-mails in question from different accounts and providers to myself - worked as supposed. I assume others must have been successful in e-mailing videos to Stark support, but maybe there have been other failures as well. Is there a FAQ or sticky somewhere on this site where a warning and the alternate way with proving links to the files could be posted?

Michael

 

[seedubb]

Adding my experience as a Varg EX owner, US, delivered late 2025.

The video evidence issue resonates. I submitted 7 unlisted YouTube videos documenting a connectivity issue and explicitly asked Stark to confirm they'd reviewed the playlist. YouTube provides view analytics on unlisted videos. Six were never watched at all. One was partially watched once — and that exchange still produced the same boilerplate troubleshooting steps I'd already completed and documented. Sending a YouTube link instead of an attachment doesn't help if nobody clicks it.

That was issue number two. I've had seven in four months on an EX.

The one I'm currently fighting: a periodic drivetrain vibration every 3 seconds at all speeds above 45 mph, metallic debris on the magnetic drain plug, and grey oil on the last change. I have an engineering background so I wrote a Python optical flow analysis script and applied it to 38 minutes of ride footage. 198 distinct vibration peaks at a consistent 3-second interval regardless of speed or road surface. Speed-independent periodicity rules out tyres and suspension by definition.

Stark's response after reviewing the analysis: knobby tyres on tarmac.

Tyres don't put metal in gear oil. And a 3-second cycle that doesn't change with speed is not a tyre characteristic. A previous written response from Stark explicitly stated bearing damage from proper maintenance would be covered under warranty. That position has now been quietly reversed.

I've requested a video call with their engineering team. The ownership experience so far has been less "premium ownership journey" and more "self-guided adversity training." The bike is extraordinary. The support is not.

Video of the vibration:

Happy to share the Python analysis script with anyone dealing with a similar issue.

 

[Erwin P]

As for the vibration. I've had simular effect of that from rimlocks on multiple bikes. Wheels that are very off balance can have weird effects that don't seem to correspond with wheel speed.
Might want to give balancing a shot. Isn't that expensive and makes running it on the street a better allround experience. I do it with weights you screw to the spokes.

That doesn't explain metal in the fluid, but it doesn't have to be related.

 

[Chaconne]

As for the vibration. I've had simular effect of that from rimlocks on multiple bikes. Wheels that are very off balance can have weird effects that don't seem to correspond with wheel speed.
Might want to give balancing a shot. Isn't that expensive and makes running it on the street a better allround experience. I do it with weights you screw to the spokes.

That doesn't explain metal in the fluid, but it doesn't have to be related.

Agreed.

Also @seedubb how much metal? Generally there is almost always some particulate on the magnet with oil changes with both Vargs I have owned. Also, there are spots where water and potentially other contaminants can enter that oil enclosure. And water (milky white) and graying near the plug have both been previously reported. Also can you detect any change when you spool your bike up on the stand with the vibration? Say abnormal shuttering or highly increased vibration on the stand at the mph points you indicated? Maybe your python script does that?

Not sure if this is possible in your case but one thing I might try is a clean oil change and then spool the bike on the stand for a while (at least a ride's worth) and then re-examine the oil. I like @Erwin P 's idea of maybe separating the issues (oil and vibration) at least to debug not saying they aren't related but maybe you could solve one at a time.

If it is a rolling issue this will be hard for online help to troubleshoot and sending youtube vids probably won't cut it. They are better at logging into the bike and debugging. Rolling issues seem way outside of online capabilities. Did you buy your bike from a dealer? If so, can you bring it back? A decent tech might be able to troubleshoot a rolling issue if that is one of the problems. HTH and sorry to year of your experience.

 

[Theo]

Not sure if this is possible in your case but one thing I might try is a clean oil change and then spool the bike on the stand for a while (at least a ride's worth) and then re-examine the oil.

If someone wants to do that, I suggest blowing some air with a powerful fan on the bike and not doing it if the environmental temparture is high because of the risk of overheating.

 

[Erwin P]

I wouldn't be too concerned about overheating. There is a fan and no load is hardly any heat.

 

[seedubb]

Agreed.

Also @seedubb how much metal? Generally there is almost always some particulate on the magnet with oil changes with both Vargs I have owned. Also, there are spots where water and potentially other contaminants can enter that oil enclosure. And water (milky white) and graying near the plug have both been previously reported. Also can you detect any change when you spool your bike up on the stand with the vibration? Say abnormal shuttering or highly increased vibration on the stand at the mph points you indicated? Maybe your python script does that?

Not sure if this is possible in your case but one thing I might try is a clean oil change and then spool the bike on the stand for a while (at least a ride's worth) and then re-examine the oil. I like @Erwin P 's idea of maybe separating the issues (oil and vibration) at least to debug not saying they aren't related but maybe you could solve one at a time.

If it is a rolling issue this will be hard for online help to troubleshoot and sending youtube vids probably won't cut it. They are better at logging into the bike and debugging. Rolling issues seem way outside of online capabilities. Did you buy your bike from a dealer? If so, can you bring it back? A decent tech might be able to troubleshoot a rolling issue if that is one of the problems. HTH and sorry to year of your experience.

Some good things to try.

 

[Theo]

I wouldn't be too concerned about overheating. There is a fan and no load is hardly any heat.

That's true and now that I read your comment it also occurs to me that with (almost) no load the probability to have shavings in the oil decreases, too.

 

[arkngl]

I have no problem with the support, they send to me update kick stand, the update charger port and the main light because were water inside. In my opinion perfect service!!