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Post by Admin on Dec 23, 2007 0:28:34 GMT -5
Dawgs & Dawgetts..... I know I've been absent for a while but I've been active behind the scenes and I'm here to report on one thing I've been working on. It's a review of the Vento Phanterra 150. This review will appear here as well as in Scooter World Magazine.
Some of you may know that the Vento Yahoo Forum has gone into some sort of dissaray because the moderator of the forum suddenly decided that all Chinese scooters are crap. That's after he sold them on the internet for years.
The bottom line is that Vento, once THE major player in importing scooters and motorcycles from China has a major public relations problem (that's not the only reason). So, they hired a public relations firm. This firm has asked me to review a Vento, which I agreed to do. They are flying me to Southern CA headquarters since the weather here isn't really good at all. They pretty much made it clear that they aren't wineing and dining me but they are paying my airfare and hotel. This will be happening on the 17th-18th of January.
I'm going to get to spend some time with Big Wigs from Vento so if any of you have questions you want answered...give 'em to me now.
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Post by Aaron on Dec 23, 2007 0:35:32 GMT -5
Oh I've got one Lee. What do they have in the works??? I mean seriously good or bad the Vento line is a bit.. shall we say dated to say the least. They seem a bit behind the competition in new models, liquid cooling, a 250 scoot, you get the idea.
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Post by swampsniper on Dec 23, 2007 2:20:59 GMT -5
It will be hard to evaluate the scooter until It has several thousand miles on the speedo. Tell them to ship one to Florida, I'll see how it holds up.
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Post by Dennis D on Dec 23, 2007 8:58:08 GMT -5
So do you go to a showroom where you pick one, or will they have one all prepared for you to test? I'd at least ask them to let me pick one off a showroom floor so either they'd have to specially prepare a whole room full of them, or there may be a chance that you''ll be getting the same scooter to test that anyone might get when they buy one.
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Post by kitcarguy on Dec 23, 2007 11:53:32 GMT -5
Am I wrong or does vento have a Florida Location?
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Post by swampsniper on Dec 23, 2007 12:30:49 GMT -5
Am I wrong or does vento have a Florida Location? Got a bunch of them, www.vento.com/web/pub/usa/distribuidores_all.asp?zone=euaI've found that some of them consider scooters as a sideline, don't stock a full line, and don't stock many parts. Some dealers take on a line just to keep their competition from doing it, and have no intention of actually marketing the products. |
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Post by kitcarguy on Dec 23, 2007 13:30:45 GMT -5
No No . when I said location I meant they have a sales or distribution office for Vento USA in Florida. After looking at their site they do in fact have a location in Melbourne . There Headquarters is in Cali and there sales and support is in Melbourne Fl.
VENTO NORTH AMERICA HQ
6190 CORNERSTONE CT.
SAN DIEGO CA. 92121
PHONE 858-427-1450
FAX 858-546-0711
E-MAIL: info@vento.com
VENTO NORTH AMERICA
SALES & SUPPORT CENTER
1600 SARNO ROAD #108
MELBOURNE, FL. 32935
PHONE 321 751 2100
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Post by Admin on Dec 23, 2007 23:21:05 GMT -5
OK, best question was from ACD. Swamp, you know I love and adore you but c'mon, how many reviews do you read in the major car and cycle mags let the reviewers keep the vehicle for thousands of miles? I fight for it every time but the only ones that have obliged are QLINK and Strada.
ACD, Yep, Vento doesn't seem to have much new. They wanted me to do the Phantom and I flat out refused. The Phanterra is the newest but it's still apparently a GY6, which isn't a bad thing. Mostly, I'm going to look at Vento now as compared to the days when they screwed up and imported a bunch of 125cc's labled as 150's. I'm gonna do this one with brutal honesty.
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Post by earlwb on Dec 24, 2007 8:48:11 GMT -5
I'd say a question about whether they have parts support or not would be good.
Can one gets parts for these things or not?
Or do they simply import complete scooters and leave you to fend for yourself like most all the other importers do.
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Post by bob on Dec 24, 2007 9:36:31 GMT -5
I'd say a question about whether they have parts support or not would be good. Can one gets parts for these things or not? Or do they simply import complete scooters and leave you to fend for yourself like most all the other importers do. Earl, They have a great parts web page vento.com/ . I have a Bandit DC150z which is a clone of the 2004 Phantom R4i. I have ordered parts from Vento and they are usually here within a week. They have really improved the air intake hose, it is now molded instead of the flex hose. Bob |
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Post by Admin on Dec 24, 2007 22:58:58 GMT -5
I will talk to them about parts..... and I'll be at their headquarters to see it. They are good with parts, I've ordered from them. They had a little problem a few years ago when machines they were selling as 150's turned out to be 125's. I'm guessing that they weren't watching their suppliers well at the time..I'll ask them about that and they prob don't know that I know about it. They put on a big production every year at the Expo in Indy. I mean BIG. They used to be widely available on the net and on eBay but now they only have two or three net dealers and the rest is brick & mortar.
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Post by natefromogden on Dec 25, 2007 12:26:33 GMT -5
Lee, I did some homework back when I got my 04 Phantom that was 125cc. I don't believe that Vento was unaware at all of the discrepancy. In fact, their online parts catalog listed the exact same part numbers for the cylinder, piston and head gasket for the R3 and the R4. I probably still have the screen captures to prove it. I think Vento took us for suckers and decided to use up a contracted purchase of 125cc motors, hoping we the purchasers wouldn't notice. You can see what I wrote about the subject here: http://wasted_electrons.blogspot.com/2004/10/vento-phantom-r4i-scooters-are-125cc_24.html
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Post by earlwb on Dec 25, 2007 17:18:55 GMT -5
hey Bob, Roketa also has a great parts website and online store, except it is all fake. It'll take your money, and you'll never get the parts nor a refund. The actual odds of talking to a human who doesn't give you a runaround is nil.
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Post by bob on Dec 26, 2007 1:03:45 GMT -5
Earl,
Vento's parts web is for real. They also answer their phones and help you. I have never had a problem with them.
Bob
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Post by medman1952 on Dec 26, 2007 2:27:16 GMT -5
How about finding out if they are all CARB approved, and why not if they are not. Does the bike come shipped with a cert of orig, or better yet already registered, or the ability to get it so. At least are they doing anything to make it easy on owners to get it registered. Do they intend toor have they done any new engineering, develop their own technology, build scooters that are not just photo copies of others? Can they promise that the plastic panels on their product does not easily break when the owner takes a panel off to replace a light bulb? Quality issues...... will the fuel gauge be accurate and work, does the speedometer reflect an accurate speed and odometer reading, if it is calibrated to kilometers Why is it not in miles. Can the scooter keep up with demand on the charging system so the battery does not get drained, is the battery a good one? AS somebody else said, are there replacement parts for everything. Is the owner/service manual written in real English?  |
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Post by bob on Dec 26, 2007 12:55:46 GMT -5
Lee, I did some homework back when I got my 04 Phantom that was 125cc. I don't believe that Vento was unaware at all of the discrepancy. In fact, their online parts catalog listed the exact same part numbers for the cylinder, piston and head gasket for the R3 and the R4. I probably still have the screen captures to prove it. I think Vento took us for suckers and decided to use up a contracted purchase of 125cc motors, hoping we the purchasers wouldn't notice. You can see what I wrote about the subject here: http://wasted_electrons.blogspot.com/2004/10/vento-phantom-r4i-scooters-are-125cc_24.html Nate, Read your article. Did you take it apart and measure it? What happened with your lawsuit? Bob |
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Post by natefromogden on Dec 26, 2007 14:27:43 GMT -5
I did take it apart and measure it and on my 'puter @ home I have the pictures that support the article. Some of the pictures linked in the original article may have been lost and I need to check to see if the links still work. I was in school during the entire time so did not pursue any lawsuit on my own. I always expected that I would find one online that somebody else more capable was pursuing.
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Post by wireburn on Dec 27, 2007 10:24:48 GMT -5
Man, those Phanteras are ugly. I've got one in my garage that I can't seem to get running right. Been fighting it for quite awhile now. It won't go much over 35 and wants to hesitate and lurch. I've replaced EVERYTHING including the motor with known good parts. At least now I've narrowed it down to the only thing that remains: the air intake.
Better luck with yours. Looking forward to the review.
-Mike
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Post by dudel on Dec 28, 2007 17:36:37 GMT -5
I'm going to get to spend some time with Big Wigs from Vento so if any of you have questions you want answered...give 'em to me now. Reportedly, Vento is building an inline 3-cylinder 400cc engine based on the Rebel-250 but with an additional cylinder. The engine parts will be manufactured in China but the engine will be assembled in the USA to ensure quality control. This new engine will be used for a new ATV and a manual-transmission motorcycle. BUSINESS PLAN: Vento should stop importing pre-manufactured Chinese scooters and become a USA manufacturer. The plan for the I3-400 engine sounds great. What they need to do is have this I3-400 engine and also a high quality 49cc engine and build several bikes here in the USA around each engine. The 49cc models would be for those without MC-endorsements and the 400cc models for those with endorsement (the USA doesn't have graduated licensing requirements and thus less of a demand for the 100/125/150 and 250 sizes). Vento should target the AMERICAN market by building small automatic motorcycles not scooters. That is to say, small lightweight naked motorcycles with no tupperware and no built-in storage but with an automatic transmission (i.e., city bikes). The engines need to be forward and firmly affixed to the frame; not on a swingarm. It needs to have a superior transmission than currently being offered in scooters. Dump the belt-pulley transmission and go with something like a Fallbrook NuVinci or Toroidal CVT and use a final chain drive - this will set Vento apart. Finally, I can't stress this enough; in both the 400cc and 49cc build small automatic motorcycles for guys... naked bikes like the Madass and Ruckus... but get rid of the step-through and add a proper fuel tank and make it look like a proper motorcycle. Ever notice the difference between a guys bicycle and a girls bicycle? The girl's bicycle is a step-through. There is a huge market for small automatic motorcycles but it's not being met because most Americans will never get over the "college girl" stigma associated with the scooter (i.e., step through design). PRINT THIS OUT AND GIVE IT TO THE VENTO GUYS |
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Post by powerride on Dec 28, 2007 21:26:41 GMT -5
Vento's are junk-Dont go..
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Post by Dennis D on Dec 29, 2007 0:22:57 GMT -5
I know that I was not impressed with Vento after the all the hoopla over the Powersports Expo cleared last year. It turned out that their booth(such as it was)... ended up being mostly smoke and mirrors. Their scooter exhibit was walled off in a small private area where they took potential dealers in and high pressured them, judging from the mood and the tension in the room during the time when I was in there as a member of the press, looking over their new and not so new 2007 scooter models.
Some of the new features and models displayed turn out to be "vapor-ware". The most memorable part of their whole exhibit was the scantily clad girls... something most other distributors didn't seem to feel was necessary to build interest in their products.
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Post by Admin on Dec 29, 2007 2:25:53 GMT -5
That's a lot of good stuff to check into. I'm not walking into a showroom, I'm walking into headquarters. I'm sure they will have one prepped, which is fine with me. Often, problems arise because of improper prepping and I have no problem with them prepping it and making sure its good to go. I know for a fact that there have been changes made since the 125cc fiasco.
Dennis, I don't have a clue why you would object to scantily clad women. I rather enjoy them. ;D
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Post by scooterollie on Dec 29, 2007 8:10:27 GMT -5
Powerride; Vento's are junk-Dont go.. This kind of response doesn't get us anywhere. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but statements such as yours don't really contribute anything to the forum. If you truly believe what you said, back it up with facts, otherwise it means nothing. |
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Post by ccsami4x4 on Dec 29, 2007 10:12:22 GMT -5
First, I must say that I absolutely loved my 04 Vento Triton R4. Had it not been stolen I'd still be riding that one today. Great power for a stock 50cc, and looked good too. When it was stolen I wanted to replace it, but was very disappointed that Vento was not selling them anymore (yes, they're selling them now, but for a while they were not). I like knowing that my scoot manufacturer will be around for a while...Vento needs to get that across in their advertising.
I'll second the memo dudel posted earlier. There seems to be a definite spot in the market for a motorcycle-styled scooter, but not many manufacturers are stepping up to the plate. Something along the lines of the CPI GTR, but with better acceleration and top speed would be great. Don't get me wrong, scooters are great and I love them...but I'd buy a sportbike-type scooter in a heartbeat if someone made one that looked good and performed well (seems to be one or the other these days, but rarely both).
Hope your trip goes well. Definitely looking forward to your review as always.
My .02
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Post by Dennis D on Dec 29, 2007 10:18:23 GMT -5
Dennis, I don't have a clue why you would object to scantily clad women. I rather enjoy them. ;D That's what made them the most memorable part of the Vento exhibit!!  But if all the distributors had taken that approach, who'd have been looking at scooters? ;D |
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Post by powerride on Dec 30, 2007 19:51:05 GMT -5
Don't go-ventos are junk..
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Post by powerride on Dec 30, 2007 19:53:12 GMT -5
Just say NO..
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Post by powerride on Dec 30, 2007 20:04:07 GMT -5
Scooterollie said something without mentioning THE Bali - WOW
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Post by Enviromoto on Dec 30, 2007 20:58:36 GMT -5
Powerride; Vento's are junk-Dont go.. This kind of response doesn't get us anywhere. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but statements such as yours don't really contribute anything to the forum. If you truly believe what you said, back it up with facts, otherwise it means nothing. Why would anyone that cares about this industry not go? |
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Post by powerride on Dec 30, 2007 22:14:29 GMT -5
Vento is not THE industry - JUST a wannabe. And not a very good one. Why do dealers drop vento, because of a THING called quality & the big deception of selling 125cc as 150s.. The best thing they could do is change their name- AND 2 NOT STRADA !!
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But if all the distributors had taken that approach, who'd have been looking at scooters? ;D
