Update Gen 2 fail and now motorcycle is dead

[Starkvarg547]

I bought a Stark Varg Alpha motorcycle from Kaplan and received it in great shape, assembled and charged and ran for one hour on Saturday without incident or issue and everything worked as it should before storing it for the night.

On the next morning the motorcycle was charged about 70% and working properly with total run time of 1 hour and 15 minutes. I looked at Stark website and saw there was an update with crawl mode and that it was available so I followed the directions and started the motorcycle and held the top and then bottom control buttons until the lights flashed in multiple colors as listed on the instructions. This lasted a minute or so and then the light turned solid red and the motorcycle fan for cooling the water. This light stayed on for many minutes I think over 10 -15 and I ended up shutting down the motorcycle as it seemed to be locked in the red light without any progress.

When I restarted the motorcycle now it will act like it is in gear but when you operate the throttle it does not work and the wheel does not turn at all. I tried restarts over 20 times without success and the Varg is doing the same and not functioning. I also noticed that the motorcycle fan is always on now where before it was not. I tried to charge it and the charging station fan did not work like it did when I charged before.

As far as the phone it has the app version 1.0.181 updated.
The motorcycle indicates VARG v.1.0.181 (398)
The firmware listed is 1.0.110

From what I have read online looks like motorcycle firmware or update cancelled or reversed because in pursuit of the crawl mode now I have a motorcycle that does not work and I do not need crawl mode (I wanted it for loading into the trailer ramp).

I sent a request to stark via their website and email to include all details. They asked me for video which I sent and then no response for two days. I tried to send another support request but their website doesn’t even take requests anymore and says it is not able to try later.

If anybody experienced this fail when updating can you let me know what is the process here. I hope to have stark fix the motorcycle remotely and uninstall this update and leave the bike as it was when I received it. The motorcycle appears as if it tried to update because the modes all changed to 40 go and 70 regen but the firmware is still listed as 110.

I regret making this update and now having a non working motorcycle that I was planning to ride but it does not operate because of the firmware, hardware or software. The bike was working perfectly before I tried to update it and I am highly concerned about this purchase and the future reliability of the machine when it fails like this and has poor support or ability to do something about it other than sending emails and waiting.

I need to figure out what to do with the unit that does not work and I am unable to fix. Any advice welcomed!

 

[Swank171]

Support is lagging. Not sure if something is wrong or what’s up. Usually they are on support tickets in a day, I currently have been waiting on a part and have and have sent 2 tickets in….its been over a week. Very unlike stark up to this point. For me they have been on point at every turn.

I’m not too worried, ill Give them a little more time since they have been so good usually. It’s uncharacteristic. The world is a crazy place right now…..

 

[fsfs]

I bought a Stark Varg Alpha motorcycle from Kaplan and received it in great shape, assembled and charged and ran for one hour on Saturday without incident or issue and everything worked as it should before storing it for the night.

On the next morning the motorcycle was charged about 70% and working properly with total run time of 1 hour and 15 minutes. I looked at Stark website and saw there was an update with crawl mode and that it was available so I followed the directions and started the motorcycle and held the top and then bottom control buttons until the lights flashed in multiple colors as listed on the instructions. This lasted a minute or so and then the light turned solid red and the motorcycle fan for cooling the water. This light stayed on for many minutes I think over 10 -15 and I ended up shutting down the motorcycle as it seemed to be locked in the red light without any progress.

When I restarted the motorcycle now it will act like it is in gear but when you operate the throttle it does not work and the wheel does not turn at all. I tried restarts over 20 times without success and the Varg is doing the same and not functioning. I also noticed that the motorcycle fan is always on now where before it was not. I tried to charge it and the charging station fan did not work like it did when I charged before.

As far as the phone it has the app version 1.0.181 updated.
The motorcycle indicates VARG v.1.0.181 (398)
The firmware listed is 1.0.110

From what I have read online looks like motorcycle firmware or update cancelled or reversed because in pursuit of the crawl mode now I have a motorcycle that does not work and I do not need crawl mode (I wanted it for loading into the trailer ramp).

I sent a request to stark via their website and email to include all details. They asked me for video which I sent and then no response for two days. I tried to send another support request but their website doesn’t even take requests anymore and says it is not able to try later.

If anybody experienced this fail when updating can you let me know what is the process here. I hope to have stark fix the motorcycle remotely and uninstall this update and leave the bike as it was when I received it. The motorcycle appears as if it tried to update because the modes all changed to 40 go and 70 regen but the firmware is still listed as 110.

I regret making this update and now having a non working motorcycle that I was planning to ride but it does not operate because of the firmware, hardware or software. The bike was working perfectly before I tried to update it and I am highly concerned about this purchase and the future reliability of the machine when it fails like this and has poor support or ability to do something about it other than sending emails and waiting.

I need to figure out what to do with the unit that does not work and I am unable to fix. Any advice welcomed!

My best guess is this:

It froze in the middle of inverter update. The inverter is now not running -- nor sending coolant temperature to the VCU over CAN bus. Because of this the VCU assumes the coolant temperature is high and runs the fan.

If the inverter stays inside the boot loader (doesn't try to execute the application code) you might be able to fix it by re-doing the update process. If the bike is now flashing yellow (before it was flashing magenta) try re-doing the update the same way you did when it was flashing magenta. You probably have a 50 50 chance of fixing it. You won't do more harm by trying.

Edit: The code as it originally was would only try to update a device (such as the inverter) if the device broadcast it presence on CAN bus. I suspect that your inverter is not doing that. In that case a technician must log into the bike and "force" an inverter update. I think in the phone software there is a screen which shows the firmware revision in each device (VCU, inverter, BMS, etc). If you go into this screen and you see a revision number for everything except the inverter (will be all zeros).

They may have changed this behavior though... So no harm in trying. If your find some kind of "force update / update all" feature in the phone app then use that instead of the button press/hold.

 

[Starkvarg547]

I appreciate the information and what you say about the machine thinking it is overheated makes sense. I have a call with them and will post the results afterwards.

 

[Starkvarg547]

Stark technician had a video call with me and was able to remote into the motorcycle and force the firmware update. He confirmed your inverter update theory and the update freezing during transmission.
I had to take the motorcycle outside to get better 4g signal and allow them to properly remote and communicate with the motorcycle.
conducted the update attempt inside my garage and all additional efforts from inside the garage also (I have solid 5g signal where I live) so I would think perhaps if I did the update outside it would have been ok.

I have to give props to Kenny Jr. from Kaplan Cycles who made some calls to move me up in the Q and get my bike running again next day after contacting him about the problem.

 

[fsfs]

Stark technician had a video call with me and was able to remote into the motorcycle and force the firmware update. He confirmed your inverter update theory and the update freezing during transmission.
I had to take the motorcycle outside to get better 4g signal and allow them to properly remote and communicate with the motorcycle.
conducted the update attempt inside my garage and all additional efforts from inside the garage also (I have solid 5g signal where I live) so I would think perhaps if I did the update outside it would have been ok.

I have to give props to Kenny Jr. from Kaplan Cycles who made some calls to move me up in the Q and get my bike running again next day after contacting him about the problem.

When the bike is flashing magenta is has already downloaded the new firmware via 4G connection (and stored it in flash memory dedicated for that). When you press the buttons to start the update process 4G connection is no longer required because everything needed is in local flash memory. However, you do need a relatively good 4G connection for the technician to log into the bike.

 

[Chaconne]

My best guess is this:

It froze in the middle of inverter update. The inverter is now not running -- nor sending coolant temperature to the VCU over CAN bus. Because of this the VCU assumes the coolant temperature is high and runs the fan.

If the inverter stays inside the boot loader (doesn't try to execute the application code) you might be able to fix it by re-doing the update process. If the bike is now flashing yellow (before it was flashing magenta) try re-doing the update the same way you did when it was flashing magenta. You probably have a 50 50 chance of fixing it. You won't do more harm by trying.

Edit: The code as it originally was would only try to update a device (such as the inverter) if the device broadcast it presence on CAN bus. I suspect that your inverter is not doing that. In that case a technician must log into the bike and "force" an inverter update. I think in the phone software there is a screen which shows the firmware revision in each device (VCU, inverter, BMS, etc). If you go into this screen and you see a revision number for everything except the inverter (will be all zeros).

They may have changed this behavior though... So no harm in trying. If your find some kind of "force update / update all" feature in the phone app then use that instead of the button press/hold.

Exactly right.

On your last point I wish they would update documentation with software/firmware behavior changes associated with updates and fixes. It hard to find this stuff. And YouTube or TikTok videos are not enough for a top grade platform.

Almost all software companies have release notes which document changes in behavior and potential error cases. I love all the software/firmware options the platform can provide but following best practices with transparency and clear documentation is the best policy.

 

[AgileMike]

Glad support got you taken care off. They have been super responsive to any issues I have had. The fact that they can remotely log into your bike and "see" everything that is going on. Combine that ability with a video conference call and their support is so much better than all other OEMs.