80bhp Enduro Could be Ridden Without a Bike Licence!
Stark Varg has made its battery-powered dirt bike road legal, and in some cases, it can be ridden on a car licence
Stark has created a road-legal version of its Varg dirt bike, and it's still just as bonkers as the track-only version, generating around 80bhp and a huge 691lb ft of peak torque.
The bike has already been taking big scalps on the hard enduro and motocross circuits, slaying traditional 450cc four-stroke bikes thanks to the insanely high output and perfectly linear spread of torque. All that performance will now be available in road-legal form, and compared to the track-only version, not a lot has changed.
Save for the addition of lights, indicators, and a number plate, the new bike is basically the same as the existing motocross machine. You do get a bit more battery capacity in the form of a 7.2-kWh pack (20% more than the existing bike) and Stark has played with the riding modes to allow the rider to tailor the delivery to their experience and needs.
And that final point is an important one because in many regions across Europe, this firebreathing 80bhp rocket ship can be ridden on an A1 licence. Even more surprising is the news that in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, the new Varg can be ridden on a car licence, with no need for the user to have dedicated motorcycle entitlement.
The reason for this seemingly lax licence requirement is due to the way European regulators measure the output of an electric motor in a vehicle. Instead of going by the peak power as the defining number, most European countries instead look at the continuous power output, which is much lower than the peak number. Because of this regulatory quirk, in many places, the Varg would basically fall into the same category as a conventional 125cc four-stroke bike, while being obviously much more difficult to handle given its extreme performance.
The road-legal version of the bike is called the Varg EX, and it’ll be heading into the hands of owners from March 2025. It’s priced at £10,900 and more information can be found on the official website.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
