Stark Varg EX vs Varg MX 1.2 (2026): Same Powertrain, $1,050, One Decision

The short answer

These are the same motorcycle with different paperwork and different tyres, and $1,050 between them.

• Buy the Varg EX ($13,040, Score 97) if you need road legality. It ships as the road-legal variant with factory lighting and dual-sport tyres.
• Buy the Varg MX 1.2 ($11,990, Score 95) if you ride closed-course and never need a plate. Identical powertrain, knobbies, $1,050 less.

Do not agonise over performance. Same 60 kW, same 7.2 kWh, same 360V, same five modes, same two-hour charge, same 21-inch front wheel. The decision is legality, and legality is the one thing you cannot bolt on afterwards.

What is actually identical

This is unusual enough to state plainly. Across the two bikes:

• Peak power — 60,000 W (80 hp) each. Both app-adjustable from 10 hp upward.
• Battery — 7,200 Wh each, on a 360V system.
• Charge time — about 2 hours each.
• Power modes — five each.
• Front wheel — 21 in on both, the full-size dirt-bike standard.
• Brakes — dual hydraulic, drivetrain — chain, suspension — full, on both.
• Skill level — expert. Neither is a bike to learn on, and 80 hp is 80 hp regardless of the badge.

When two bikes share this much, the spec sheet stops being the interesting document and the intended use starts being the whole story.

The core matchup

Head-to-head, factor by factor

Legality → EX, and this is the entire comparison. The EX is built as the road-legal variant with factory lighting. The MX is not, and no amount of money turns a closed-course bike into a registered one without a conversion and a state that permits it. If you want to ride to the trail instead of trailering to it, this is the $1,050.

Tyres → depends on where you ride. Dual-sport rubber on the EX is the honest match for a bike that sees pavement; the MX's knobbies are the honest match for a track. This one is cheap to change and should not drive the decision.

Torque → EX, slightly. 1,036 N·m at the rear wheel against 978 — about 6% more, from the same motor, which tells you the two are geared differently. Stark's own page states the EX's figure as 764 ft-lb; we convert to N·m for consistency across our catalog.

Weight and stature → MX, marginally. 260 lb against 264, and 37.8 inches of seat against 38.0. Four pounds and two tenths of an inch are not a reason to choose either bike, but the direction makes sense: the EX carries road equipment.

Spec-sheet completeness → MX, decisively, and it is the strangest thing here. The cheaper bike publishes a continuous power figure (20,000 W), a top speed (68 mph), and a claimed range (50 miles) — and we hold a real-world 35 miles for it. On the EX, all three are blank. We verified this against Stark's own product page rather than taking it second-hand: the EX's table lists no top speed, and gives riding time — "up to 6 hours" — instead of a distance.

That gap matters more than it looks. A continuous figure is what tells you the power a bike can hold rather than flash; without one, the 60 kW headline has nothing to measure it against (why peak and continuous differ →). It is the more expensive bike that asks you to take more on trust.

A note on the numbers you will find elsewhere. Several sites quote the EX at a mode-limited 60 mph, or at 129 km/h. Those trace to the Factory Edition and Alpha variants, not the $13,040 bike this page compares. Stark sells several EX configurations under closely related names, and the specs do not transfer between them — so we leave the field blank rather than borrow a number from a bike you might not be buying.

Value → MX. $1,050 less for the same powertrain. Stark charges $399 US shipping on both, so the gap survives delivery intact: the EX is $13,040 (~$13,439 delivered) against the MX's $11,990 (~$12,389 delivered). If legality is genuinely irrelevant to your riding, there is no performance argument for the EX.

Which should you buy?

• You need a plate → Stark Varg EX ($13,040, Score 97). The road-legal variant is the only version of this machine you can register, and that is worth the gap on its own.
• You ride closed-course only → Stark Varg MX 1.2 ($11,990, Score 95). Same bike, knobbies, and it will actually tell you how fast it goes and how far.
• This is more money than your riding justifies → Sur-Ron Storm Bee ($8,999, Score 96), which gives up power and gains the deepest support network in the class. (Varg EX vs Storm Bee →)
• You want the sensible middle → Sur-Ron Ultra Bee ($6,499, Score 94), which is most riders and no insult.

Not sure which fits your size and riding? Run the Find Your Ride configurator.

The honest bottom line

Buy the paperwork, not the performance. There is no version of this comparison where one bike out-rides the other in a way you would feel — they are the same 60 kW, the same 7.2 kWh, and the same chassis architecture. The $1,050 buys factory lighting and a registration path, and that is either worth everything to you or worth nothing.

What we would flag before you spend either amount: the more expensive bike has the emptier spec sheet. Stark will tell you the MX's continuous power, top speed and range, and tells you none of the three for the EX. That is not a reason to avoid it — it is a superb motorcycle and it earns our highest Score — but it is a reason to buy it on legality and reputation rather than on paper, and to confirm the exact variant in writing before you pay.

And confirm your state first. Road-legal from the factory is a starting point, not a guarantee — see our state-by-state legality guide.

VoltRipper is independent — we don't sell Stark or any bike, and our Score is based on verified specs, not who pays us. Specs on this page were checked against Stark Future's own product pages on 2026-08-17. Affiliate disclosure is included on monetized pages, and we're spec-verified/data-driven rather than hands-on until first-hand testing exists. Nothing here is legal advice: confirm street-legal status with your own state before riding on public roads.