The "lock bike" feature isn't reliable

[AbnormalWrench]

I may be a bit neurotic about this, but the fact that I know when I park my bike in any kind of public environment, that anyone that has any idea what the bike is (thankfully, that doesn't seem to be very common) could literally walk up and fire the bike up and leave in 5 seconds really gives me anxiety. So even though I find the process painful, I have been locking it in the app whenever I stop. But much like most things involving the dumb phone, it isn't very dependable or predictable. Sometimes it says it is locked, but when I come back to it and try to unlock it, it shows it is already unlocked. And vise-versa, sometimes I lock it and when I come back to unlock it, it refuses to unlock, until I completely reset the bike and the phone. All of this seems unbelievably unnecessary. I'm curious if others are using this "feature" and having similar results?

At the very least, I think they should reprogram it so that you should be able to lock it just using buttons, there is no reason to involve the phone when locking it. And it should give you an LED response making it clear it is locked so there is no guess work there. Unlocking, i would like an option to allow unlocking using buttons if the phone is connected via bluetooth. But even if you still had to go into the phone, that would be better than the current setup. And once again, there should be a visual indication when it is locked and not locked.

These are pretty basic issues solved with a small update.

 

[AbnormalWrench]

If my bike ever is stolen after I "locked" it using the app, and it turns out the app failed to lock and that is why it was stolen, I hope my insurance company sues the living crap out of Stark

 

[drehwurm68]

And vise-versa, sometimes I lock it and when I come back to unlock it, it refuses to unlock, until I completely reset the bike and the phone. All of this seems unbelievably unnecessary. I'm curious if others are using this "feature" and having similar results?

That is my experience as well. You lock the bike, go for lunch for example and take the phone with you so the Bluetooth connection is lost. When trying to unlock the bike afterwards it won't work and the whole group of riders has to wait until the procedure of multiple shutdowns of the phone and bike is successful and a stable Bluetooth connection has been reestablished. Took me almost 10 minutes in the worst case. Just imagine you are stranded with the bike not because of an empty battery but because you can't unlock it

Also I've had the situation that a deep-shutdown of the bike would clear the lock condition, so it's reliability seems questionable as well.

While I really love my EX and can deal with the range issue, the software has proved to be the biggest downfall so far.

Michael

 

[AbnormalWrench]

That is my experience as well. You lock the bike, go for lunch for example and take the phone with you so the Bluetooth connection is lost. When trying to unlock the bike afterwards it won't work and the whole group of riders has to wait until the procedure of multiple shutdowns of the phone and bike is successful and a stable Bluetooth connection has been reestablished. Took me almost 10 minutes in the worst case. Just imagine you are stranded with the bike not because of an empty battery but because you can't unlock it

The phone not pairing was a constant issue when I first got the bike but it seems to have been becoming less of a problem, even though there haven't been any updates. Not sure if that is just because of how I'm using it or what. But I pretty much always had success by forcing the app to stop (in app info) and then holding both buttons down on the bike until you get the white LED flash. Still annoying.

 

[AL_V]

The phone not pairing was a constant issue when I first got the bike but it seems to have been becoming less of a problem, even though there haven't been any updates. Not sure if that is just because of how I'm using it or what. But I pretty much always had success by forcing the app to stop (in app info) and then holding both buttons down on the bike until you get the white LED flash. Still annoying.

I think the Bluetooth connection between bike and phone(on MX) got better with each app update.
It is much more stable than it was originally.
Now, 2 taps on the “blank screen” button usually reconnects it.

 

[drehwurm68]

Now, 2 taps on the “blank screen” button usually reconnects it.

What is the "blank screen" button?

In my attempts to reconnect the Bluetooth connection on the EX I was actually asked for a BT password a few times but none of the known ones like "0000" or "000000" worked. Seems like you just have to use the right sequence of shutdowns and then hope for the best ...

Michael

 

[AL_V]

What is the "blank screen" button?

In my attempts to reconnect the Bluetooth connection on the EX I was actually asked for a BT password a few times but none of the known ones like "0000" or "000000" worked. Seems like you just have to use the right sequence of shutdowns and then hope for the best ...

Michael

I am referring to the single button on the side of the MX Stark phone, near the volume "rocker" switch.
For the docking station to charge your MX Stark phone it must be loaded with the buttons on the forward (left) side of the docking station.
When the phone screen is on, pushing this button blanks the screen, another push "unblanks" it, and that is normally all I need to do to reestablish the phone/bike BT connection.
I don't remember ever being asked for a BT password (MX bike, BV6300 Pro phone).

 

[FreddyFugazi]

The thing you're describing is the power button on the Arkenstone. "Blank screen button" gave me a good chuckle. You "blanking the screen" puts the phone into sleep and "unblanking" it is waking it back up which effectively activates the bluetooth if it was not currently active due to being in a sleep state. I have the same issues with phone-as-a-key on my Rivian. Its very annoying sometimes.

I don't trust the lock feature either. I won't be leaving my bike anywhere without relying on other security mechanisms. The entire Arkenstone experience feels like we're still part of a beta test. It needs a lot of work, across all features. Certainly the weakest part of the ownership experience by far. This doesn't really surprised me given how new the company and products are but I can understand the frustration given the price point of these bikes.

 

[FreddyFugazi]

What is the "blank screen" button?

In my attempts to reconnect the Bluetooth connection on the EX I was actually asked for a BT password a few times but none of the known ones like "0000" or "000000" worked. Seems like you just have to use the right sequence of shutdowns and then hope for the best ...

Michael

If you need to reconnect the phone to the bike don't attempt to do it manually just restart the phone. I dont think its possible to connect like youre pairing a headset or something. You have to let the app do it on start up.

 

[Chaconne]

If my bike ever is stolen after I "locked" it using the app, and it turns out the app failed to lock and that is why it was stolen, I hope my insurance company sues the living crap out of Stark

Your insurance company will just pay out the $10k or so. It is small to them. My bike was stolen from my garage and the thieves just carried it to a waiting truck.

It would be rare IMHO for most thieves to ride away on an unfamiliar platform. The number of people who even know how to turn a Stark on or what the buttons do is small.

Locking the bike to something with a heavy duty lock is the best way to deter the ride/roll away thieves and it can cause some delay to the typically more prepared truck thieves.

My mistake was not locking my bike to something in my garage. Two or three guys got into my garage and carried the bike off the stand and put it in a truck, they never even rolled the bike.

I wouldn't depend solely on the app for protection in public. 3 guys in a truck can get your bike loaded in seconds, they are usually looking for street bikes like crotch rockets but they will take an easy mark Stark if they can just grab it.

Slowing them down is the best defense and raises the chance that you or somebody else will detect them, even bolt cutters or other cutting tools take time and make things more difficult and attract unwanted attention.

Fortunately my insurance company covered a complete replacement but I don't want to go through that again.

 

[Raindog]

Your insurance company will just pay out the $10k or so. It is small to them. My bike was stolen from my garage and the thieves just carried it to a waiting truck.

It would be rare IMHO for most thieves to ride away on an unfamiliar platform. The number of people who even know how to turn a Stark on or what the buttons do is small.

Locking the bike to something with a heavy duty lock is the best way to deter the ride/roll away thieves and it can cause some delay to the typically more prepared truck thieves.

My mistake was not locking my bike to something in my garage. Two or three guys got into my garage and carried the bike off the stand and put it in a truck, they never even rolled the bike.

I wouldn't depend solely on the app for protection in public. 3 guys in a truck can get your bike loaded in seconds, they are usually looking for street bikes like crotch rockets but they will take an easy mark Stark if they can just grab it.

Slowing them down is the best defense and raises the chance that you or somebody else will detect them, even bolt cutters or other cutting tools take time and make things more difficult and attract unwanted attention.

Fortunately my insurance company covered a complete replacement but I don't want to go through that again.

I really don't get why anyone would steal a Varg, it would be like stealing a tesla... it's going to be bricked within a day or two and completely useless.

 

[AbnormalWrench]

I really don't get why anyone would steal a Varg, it would be like stealing a tesla... it's going to be bricked within a day or two and completely useless.

You're assuming thieves think beyond the moment, or have any real goal. I learned a long time ago from doing stolen recovery estimates - these aren't the brightest people

 

[Chaconne]

I really don't get why anyone would steal a Varg, it would be like stealing a tesla... it's going to be bricked within a day or two and completely useless.

The jackasses knew it was electric but didn't know how it worked so they stole all my DeWalt and Mikata tool chargers and some batteries but not the tools. They also left the Stark phone which was sitting right next to the DeWalt charger. The bike is bricked by Stark and they can't get a phone for it. I have the title and all the paperwork. So the best they could do is either try to hack it (which doubt they have the skills for) or part it out which will mostly be a waste of time. They would have been better off stealing my 2015 Honda Civic but they were too stupid to realize that.

 

[AL_V]

The thing you're describing is the power button on the Arkenstone. "Blank screen button" gave me a good chuckle. You "blanking the screen" puts the phone into sleep and "unblanking" it is waking it back up which effectively activates the bluetooth if it was not currently active due to being in a sleep state. I have the same issues with phone-as-a-key on my Rivian. Its very annoying sometimes.

I don't trust the lock feature either. I won't be leaving my bike anywhere without relying on other security mechanisms. The entire Arkenstone experience feels like we're still part of a beta test. It needs a lot of work, across all features. Certainly the weakest part of the ownership experience by far. This doesn't really surprised me given how new the company and products are but I can understand the frustration given the price point of these bikes.

Ok, yeah, it is the power button if you hold it long enough, but if you just tap it, it blanks the screen, tap again and screen comes back on, and 99% of the time reconnects with the bike. Bluetooth was already active and connected to the bike, but it looses the connection. For example I might be riding for an hour, then I notice no change to the speed, (frozen) hit that button twice, and it reconnects, and then stays connected (for a while).
And again, I don’t have an Arkenstone phone. I have an MX bike with a BV6300 pro phone.
The ONLY advantage to using the phone as a display is that you always have a camera with you.
Fugazi by Marillion?

 

[AL_V]

If you need to reconnect the phone to the bike don't attempt to do it manually just restart the phone. I dont think it’s possible to connect like youre pairing a headset or something. You have to let the app do it on start up.

It’s a lot faster to tap that “power“ button twice then restart the phone.

 

[FreddyFugazi]

It’s a lot faster to tap that “power“ button twice then restart the phone.

There are two different issues that can happen with different remedies:

1) The phone is still paired but won't connect because it is asleep. The power button tap will wake up the phones bluetooth for that issue.
2) The phone becomes unpaired from the bike completely. If this happens the power button won't help and you will not succeed trying to pair the bike to the phone through the bluetooth menu like you would with a headset either. Restarting the phone will make the app re-pair with the bike automatically.

This has been my experience with the Arkenstone anyway. I didn't realize there was another device.

Fugazi, but I like your guess too!

 

[AL_V]

There are two different issues that can happen with different remedies:

1) The phone is still paired but won't connect because it is asleep. The power button tap will wake up the phones bluetooth for that issue.
2) The phone becomes unpaired from the bike completely. If this happens the power button won't help and you will not succeed trying to pair the bike to the phone through the bluetooth menu like you would with a headset either. Restarting the phone will make the app re-pair with the bike automatically.

This has been my experience with the Arkenstone anyway. I didn't realize there was another device.

Fugazi, but I like your guess too!

The original Stark bikes, which were designed for MX, but some of us (most?) ride hard enduro style have this Blackview BV6300 pro phone as their display:
And I have a street legal license plate on mine. The MCO I got with the bike just said "Motorcycle," and did NOT state "Off Road Only."
The phone is not great.

 

[Jake]

If my bike ever is stolen after I "locked" it using the app, and it turns out the app failed to lock and that is why it was stolen, I hope my insurance company sues the living crap out of Stark

Yes, let’s sue them right out of business! Oh, wait…

 

[AbnormalWrench]

Yes, let’s sue them right out of business! Oh, wait…

The point is, they can fix this glaring issue easily.

 

[Jake]

The point is, they can fix this glaring issue easily.

We agree