After a summer of terrorising my commute, the Stark Varg SM has returned from whence it came. But before I surrendered its Arkenstone dash (there’s no physical key) – I made a change that brought this electric hooligan a teeny bit closer to speaking my language.
Out went the sporty-road OE Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV and on went Continental’s supermoto orientated ContiAttack SM2s (£392.29 per pair). The difference was transformative, and suddenly, my ’leccy super-commuter’ had a reassuring sensation of rubber gnawing into tarmac.
That might sound odd given how much fun I’ve had on the Varg, but entertainment and confidence aren’t necessarily the same thing. The OE Pirellis felt weirdly plasticky. I wasn’t experiencing a shortage of outright grip; I simply couldn’t feel much of it.
The Stark’s competition breeding doesn’t help, as its suspension is stiff, and at everyday road speeds it can feel as though you’re not working it hard enough to get a conversation going. I’d already fitted the optional lighter springs in both the forks and shock to help me load the bike more readily, but that elusive neural-mechanical connection remained distant.
I also wonder whether some of that disconnection is the electric experience itself. Without the symphony of engine note and vibration, plus the rotational inertia from a petrol engine’s multitude of oil-bathed parts working under load, a layer of information seems absent. That’s my impression rather than a diagnosis, but it’s something I’ve never quite stopped noticing.
The Contis immediately gave me more to work with. There was an overwhelming sense of grip; the Varg SM felt pointier and keener to turn, and familiar roundabouts became something to enjoy with greater confidence. Rather than merely trusting that the tyres were doing their job, I could sense rubber molecules forcing their way into the tarmac’s micro-craters.
The Conti’s Traction Skin finish was a nice bonus: the moulding process needs no release agent, leaving a surface that looks almost pre-scrubbed.
Have the Conti SMs fixed everything? No, they’ve made an improvement, but the Varg SM still doesn’t offer the richness of feedback I’d like. With the bike now returned, my search for that missing feel ends without a definitive answer… other than perhaps I needed to ride it harder!
After the Stark got damaged on an early MCN group test, I needed to replace a few plastics as well as the swingarm. Fortunately, thanks to Stark’s comprehensive YouTube channel full of well-produced video how-to guides (and plenty of Stark-related entertainment too), this was very straightforward. OE parts are reasonably priced too (e.g. £22 for a brake lever; £120 for full bodywork), and delivery is fast.
Resident two-stroke nut and fully trained journalist, Emma’s passion for motorcycling has seen her work across many of the UK’s best-loved motorcycling titles over the past 19 years, before becoming Deputy Editor on the world’s number one biking weekly in 2020 and then Editor in 2024. A consumer journalist at heart, she’s dedicated to cutting through marketing waffle and putting manufacturers’ claims to the test in order to get to the truth. Passionate about all levels of road racing, and a former club racer herself, she’s still very much a paddock regular through her support of partner, Bruce Dunn’s racing exploits – so if you see her at a circuit, feel free to say hello.
Resident…