Swedish innovator Stark Future unveiled a world-first electric motocross bike online this month and within 24 hours took 1000 orders worth US$9 million – and briefly crashed its website.
The company, which shifted its base to the fringes of Barcelona to make the most of Catalunya’s reputation as one of Europe’s off-road riding hotspots, is developing what it describes as “next-generation electric motorcycles”.
The two-year-old company has established a team of passionate experts from the motorcycle and power electronics industries. The first model is the Stark VARG, with 80hp of power using proprietary patent-pending battery and drive-train technology, an ultra-light chassis and components designed for the rigours of motocross.
Stark Future has created a modern factory near Barcelona, where robotic assembly lines will produce the VARG and subsequent models.
The company says it wants to “challenge the norm to improve how things are done, search for the limit, adapt and set clear, smart and inspiring goals and, finally, deliver outstanding results”.
CEO Anton Wass says the specifications, aesthetics and ecological benefits of the bike have captured the attention of off-road motorcyclists on a vast international scale.
“It feels absolutely fantastic. I have never heard of any company that reached such sales on the first day from being completely new to the market.”
He says the company is determined to outstrip the performance figures of combustion-engine rivals and “take a forceful step towards better sustainability”.
Adding to the appeal of the Stark bikes is that off-road motorcycling has been under attack during recent years over environmental issues, especially noise and emissions. Run entirely on electricity, the Stark VARG has neither. The brand hopes to attract a whole new fanbase by offering clean, green motorcycling fun.
The first bike features the versatility of 100 programmable ride modes allowing it to produce the output of a small capacity two-stroke engine or a large-bore four-stroke.
Former FIM Motocross World Champion Sebastien Tortelli is heading the testing crew at Stark Future, and former AMA Supercross race winner Josh Hill has also ridden the Stark VARG, offering high praise.
The launch of the Stark VARG comes weeks after an Australian company launched an electric offroad bike, Vallkree designed in a retro 1920s board-track racer style.
