How the VARG Phone Went From Confusing to the First Thing I Touch

The VARG phone sat on my bars for weeks before I really used it.

I knew it was the dashboard. I knew the Stark App did a lot. I just didn't want to poke at settings and ruin a good ride.

So for a good while I docked it, rode, and left everything alone.

Now it's the first thing I touch in the morning and the last thing I check before the trailer.

In this story

1. The first time I docked it, I didn't touch a thing
2. Then I changed one thing, and it clicked
3. The first wet ride answered my durability question
4. Out on the trail, there was no signal, and it didn't matter
5. If you're ordering one, the fit and region take two minutes
6. What I loved, plus a few easy tweaks
7. Now it's the first thing I reach for

The first time I docked it, I didn't touch a thing

The setup part was the easy bit. The phone slides into the dock on the bike and the Stark App opens by itself.

No pairing dance, no hunting for an icon. Dock it and there's your dashboard.

What slowed me down was everything behind that first screen.

There's a lot you can change on this bike, and on day one that felt like a lot of ways to get it wrong.

So I rode it as it came, and the bike felt great anyway.

Looking back, that was the right call. I got to know how the bike behaved before I started changing it.

0:58

Then I changed one thing, and it clicked

Then came a loose climb I kept blowing. A friend told me to soften how the power came on and try again.

One change on the screen, one lap around, and I cleaned the climb.

That was the moment the phone turned into a tool for me.

From there I made a rule for myself. One setting at a time, and ride the same loop after each change.

Loose and rocky got a softer setup. Hardpack and open ground got more bite.

On a regular bike, those changes mean sprockets, springs and an afternoon in the garage.

Here it took a minute at the trailer, with my gloves still on.

A handful of rides later, I had a rough idea of what I wanted for each place I ride.

Not perfect, and I'm still fiddling, but a lot closer than stock.

6:47

The first wet ride answered my durability question

Riding around Sisters can go from dust to rain in an afternoon, and one Saturday it did.

The phone stayed on the bars through all of it, then through the wash when I got home.

It's built with a military-grade waterproof and shockproof case, and it's meant to live out there.

The only habit I picked up was wiping the dock and the contacts after muddy rides.

That's the same thing you'd do with any bar-mounted electronics, and it takes about ten seconds.

A season of that later, the screen still looks clean and the dock still holds it tight.

Out on the trail, there was no signal, and it didn't matter

Plenty of the riding I do has no bars on a normal phone, let alone data.

The dashboard doesn't care. It works without a signal, and everything I wanted to change was right there.

It does take a SIM if you want connectivity, but SIM cards are sold separately and I never felt like I needed one.

That also sorted out the thing I'd wondered about before buying.

It's a piece of the bike that happens to run Android.

Once I stopped expecting it to act like my pocket phone, it made a lot more sense.

If you're ordering one, the fit and region take two minutes

The phone fits the VARG MX 1.0, MX 1.2 and EX, so most riders are covered.

There are two versions, Rest of World and EU, and you pick the one that matches where you ride and charge.

It's the same device either way. If you're not sure which one you need, a quick call to the shop settles it.

I went with the genuine unit through Sisters Moto, which meant OEM warranty and no guessing about compatibility.

What I loved, plus a few easy tweaks

Now it's the first thing I reach for

Now I dock the phone before I even put my gloves on.

I check the setup, think about where I'm riding, and change something if the ground calls for it.

It took a stretch of leaving it alone, then a long run of small changes, to get there.

The bike I ride now is set up nothing like the one I picked up, and I never opened a toolbox to do it.

That's the part that still gets me. Every change I made came from a screen on the handlebars.

So, would I recommend it? On a VARG, it's not really optional, and I'd rather have the genuine one with the warranty behind it.

This rider story brings together owner experiences with the Stark VARG phone and is told in first person for easier reading. Product details are from Stark Future and Sisters Moto.