X Games Bans Electric Motocross Bikes In Bid To Become Even Less Relevant [Update]

X Games competitors Patrick Evans, Pat Bowden, and Colby Raha made history in 2024 as the first athletes to participate in Motocross events on electric bikes at the Ventura event, with all three running in different disciplines aboard the all-electric Stark VARG. Evans won gold in Moto X Best Whip, and Raha took the silver in Moto X Quarterpipe High Air, marking a big win for the tiny five-year-old motorcycle manufacturer from Spain. With three Summer X Games events to be held this year, starting in Osaka, Japan this June, as well as Salt Lake City and Sacramento to follow, competitors were recently sent the 2025 rulebook, and it included a pretty big surprise; an electric motorcycle ban. 

Updated Wednesday March 13, 2025 2:55 p.m EST – X Games released the following statement statement regarding the EV ban: 

At X Games, we are committed to preserving the core of action sports while continuously evaluating new technologies. Our current competition formats are designed around the performance and characteristics of traditional gas-powered bikes, which remain the global standard for elite competition. While we recognize the advancements in electric bike technology, our focus is on maintaining a level playing field and delivering the best experience for both our athletes and fans. We'll continue to monitor the evolution of the sport and assess how new innovations fit within X Games competitions.

"We are incredibly proud to support Patrick Evans, Pat Bowden, and Colby Raha at X Games," said Anton Wass, CEO of Stark Future ahead of X Games Ventura 2024. "Their participation on the Stark VARG not only highlights the bike's exceptional capabilities but also underscores our commitment to pushing the boundaries in even the extremest of sports."

The Stark riders were shocked to see that their bikes had been wholesale banned from 2025 events without much in the way of warning. It seems like a pretty big deal to ban a bike that won a gold medal the previous year, but according to Stark Future, the X Games officials didn't even reach out to discuss the ban. Instead, the rulebook was sent out with the first technical rule updated in bold. The message reads pretty clear to me: too bad, so sad, get out. 

X Games

This ban seems all the more ridiculous when you consider that the motorcycle events in Osaka will be held indoors, and electric motorcycles are far better for spectators as they aren't spitting noxious fumes in your face. It seems to me that the X Games should have embraced electric tech, particularly for its indoor Moto X events, but after seeing a single electric win a single event it has torched the bridge and run in the other direction. That isn't very extreme of you, X Games.

The pretty obvious takeaway here is that the gasoline-powered competition from big-name manufacturers like Yamaha, Honda, and KTM took some hits for being beaten by Stark and complained to the sanctioning body in an effort to get electrics banned. Instead of stepping up to the competition and maybe making an electric dirtbike of their own (KTM does make an electric dirtbike, but chooses not to compete with it), they prefer to stifle the advancing tech of the sport. Smokey oil-burning two-strokes are allowed, but silent and emission-free electrics are banned. Someone make it make sense. 

The Stark VARG MX is the not-street-legal competition version of its electric VARG dirtbike. This machine weighs a competitive 260 pounds, throws down 80 horsepower of electric propulsion, and a full battery provides enough juice for six hours of hard charging. The instant-torque advantage of an electric motorcycle allows riders to build speed quicker and make micro-adjustments on throttle input smoother and easier than on a gas bike. There are disadvantages, however, as the reciprocation of the gasoline engine provides a bit of mid-air throttle stability and can be used to get a bike to turn or right itself with a gyroscopic effect. I'm not talented enough to perfect these tricks in the first place, but I'm told it is an advantage. So why shouldn't riders be given the opportunity to ride whichever propulsion system works best for their trick style, their riding comfort, and their desire to improve? 

I have reached out to the X Games for comment on the reasoning behind the ban, though have not yet received response. I will provide an update when I hear from the sanctioning body.