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Subject: "The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Nov-12-05, 10:35 PM (EDT) |
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"The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
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I would like, if I may, to tell the lengthy and strange story of my first scooter. All through college I had been hanging out in scooter shops, eyeing the merchandise with envy. I would become infatuated with one model after another, but being student-broke, I could never afford any. After a year of grad school I had managed to skim a little off my stipend. That's when I ran across ScootsUSA.com and the Veneto. I liked what I saw in the slim Honda Wave clone, and after a couple email discussions with Mark Welton, the proprietor of ScootsUSA, I bought a Veneto online for $1000.
It seems the scooter was at such a steep discount (they currently retail around $1500) because there weren't any in stock. Heck, there probably weren't any in the United States, as this was August of 2004. I checked with Mr. Welton every week for the next several months. One thing after another was holding up the Veneto shipment. Eventually he offered me a refund, but I gave him one more month. I was only seven days from getting my money back when my scooter suddenly arrived on our shores. It then proceeded to cover thousands of miles--in the original shipping crate (which is, by the way, a cardboard box and a protective "cage" made out of compressed rust). It spent the winter at my parents' house, then moved with me to California in April when I got a new job.
I proceeded to uncrate the Verucci and immediately ran into a problem. The Veneto comes "disassembled" in the sense that the front wheel is off. I could have had it assembled in seconds, IF I had had the front axle. Somehow it was lost in the shipping shuffle. No big deal, except Qingqi Motors (who make Veruccis) took TWO MONTHS to get a replacement part. Meanwhile I was trying to identify and head off any other problems by comparing my scooter to the manual. The manual provided by Verucci does NOT correspond to the American-spec version. It was written for the manual-shift version sold in other countries, so half the information in it is worthless. The other half is comically mistranslated, with helpful advice like, "So you should attetion: Avoid to glom road" and, "because fuel is flammable,sometimes it canburst.In the air way is a plus." I basically had to figure out how the scooter worked from previous small-engine experience.
When I finally got the front axle and got the bike assembled, I tried to start it for the first time. All I got was a dull "thunk." The remedy involved some "replacement parts" that Mr. Welton had sent me free of charge several months before. When I opened that package, I cringed: a set of gaskets, a cylinder block, and a piston head. Those are rather important parts to require replacing! The new block was stamped "48 cc" so I opted to buy a 70cc upgrade kit from Mr. Welton. What the hey, I would have to take the engine apart anyway! Actually, I ordered two as the first was lost in the mail for a month but eventually recovered. With the original engine off the bike, I now realized that I had three and a half identical engines! The "48cc" block in fact had the bore of the 72cc size, as did the original engine--except for the head gasket. I had been given a motorscooter whose head gasket was TOO SMALL for the PISTON! That alone was proof that NO TESTING could possibly have been done to assure parts fit before the scooter left the factory. I sent the unnecessary engine upgrades back to Mr. Welton for a full refund. They were unusable anyway, as the block castings were full of obvious defects and already developing rust.
Now I had the scooter running, but it was the most skull-bustingly loud machine I have ever encountered outside an airshow, and its performance was horribly asthmatic. I suspected the valves required adjustment, and was shocked to find that the locknuts on the valve stems HAD NOT BEEN TIGHTENED. One of them was even missing! This was neither the first nor the last time Home Depot provided parts for my scooter. There were plenty of nuts and bolts that were either loose or pre-stripped at the factory. After a few tries, I got the valve clearances in the right place and had a usable scooter.
Exactly one year after I first bought my Veneto, I started using it to commute to work and back on the busy streets of Silicon Valley. I christened it "Baka," which if you know any Japanese pretty neatly sums up how I felt about it and about myself for buying it. The Veneto is terrifyingly slow from a standstill. I would be gritting my teeth and urging it through first and second gears with all my psychic abilities until third gear caught around 30 mph. From there it was zoooooooom to 40 mph, which left me wondering why the other gears couldn't be like that. At speed the Veneto was nimble and well-mannered. The narrow body helped me lean waaay over in turns (which was probably not a good idea as the tires were of questionable quality). The rear brake was a totally worthless, undersized drum, but let up on the throttle above thirty miles an hour and you're hit with a wallop of engine braking. The engine note was more amusing than inspiring. Imagine throwing some gravel into a coffee can and strapping it in an industrial paint shaker. The headlights had two settings. Not "high" and "low" like a normal vehicle, but "high" and "Bat Signal." The headlight alignment screw was conveniently stripped.
The big kicker, though, was the fuel gauge. It would register full if the tank was full, but god only knows what it was measuring the rest of the time. I took to carrying a dry-erase marker under the seat. Every time I filled the tank I'd write the odometer reading over the fuel gauge window. Everyone I met asked me "How fast does it go?" Most of the time the answer was 50 mph on the flat with a light rider, no more than 55 mph downhill. Several times, however, the answer was "About as fast as I can push it." You see, the Veneto uses a gravity fuel feed, but is undersupplied with gravity. Sixty miles after refueling, at about half a tank, the engine would quit without warning and no amount of kicking or high-octane expletives would get it going one more inch. I was getting over 100mpg, but in half-gallon increments.
My scooter's consistently limited range became the butt of office jokes. I had friends begging me to sell it, scrap it, abandon it, anything. It was dangerous, defective, a rolling traffic hazard, and incredibly fun. Baka was the sort of scooter you love to hate. Ah, "was." After two months of using Baka for my daily commute, it became my main means of transportation for a week when my car developed a massive unscheduled coolant leak (thank you GM!). I decided to use the Veneto for a weekend trip to Santa Cruz. I took back roads and started early in the morning to avoid the traffic. Despite some close calls on steep stretches, Baka surprised me by making it up and over. Then it surprised me again by utterly and completely dying on the way back. Three miles outside the town of Pescadero, California (which boasts an entire stoplight!) Baka gave a clunk and a whizzz and rolled to a stop at the side of the road. I suspect the clutch on the lousy automatic transmission fried. The Veneto uses gears like a car's automatic, and Baka could never seem to find the right one for climbing hills. All I know is that when I checked the oil, smoke wafted out of the crankcase. I left Baka on the side of the road and didn't look back.
Four days later I finally convinced a coworker with a truck to make the two hour trek to Pescadero, but my bike was gone without a trace. Sure it was insured, but its value was less than my deductable. Somebody got my busted, POS scooter, and I got squat. Effectively, we both got squat. Crime doesn't even break even.
So, if you're looking at the Verucci Veneto as I was and thinking, "what a neat scooter!" let this story be a warning to you. Your time and money is better spent lobbying Honda to import their Wave and fill a need for an ultralight but fast commuter scooter in the U.S. If you're also mechanically adept and suitably foolhardy, and committed to buying a Verucci whatever the consequences, go try Mark Welton at ScootsUSA.com. He's an honest man trying to peddle crap so he can use all the help he can get. The Veneto is a good scooter for those who like d.i.y. repairs, never venture far from a gas station, and are looking for a convenient excuse to hide their Tourette's Syndrome from society.
Oh yes, and if you're the person who stole my Veneto (the blue one with 458 miles on the clock, numerous little bits missing, and parked on the road three miles from Pescadero), please abandon it in some publicly visible place, preferably somewhere the CHP might notice it. I'm sure you're even more disappointed with it than I was. |
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- RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto,
SE
 , Nov-13-05, 10:30 AM, (1)
- RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto,
zippybing , Dec-09-05, 04:05 PM, (6)
- RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto,
GenWaylaid, Dec-15-05, 09:57 PM, (11)
- RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto,
John , Jan-26-06, 10:13 PM, (13)
- RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto,
george bishop , Apr-22-06, 10:16 PM, (16)
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SE
unregistered user
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Nov-13-05, 10:30 AM (EDT) |
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1. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #0
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The veneto that I have been given for testing by Verucci is also a serious pile of ....
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Nov-15-05, 00:44 AM (EDT) |
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2. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #1
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Yes, SE, your review was what prompted me to share my experience. There just isn't that much information on the Veneto out there. It seems to be something of a "black sheep" of the Verucci line. There are plenty of places selling the Verucci Nitro or Avispa (same engines as the Veneto, but different transmissions) but the Veneto is hard to find. Even the place I bought mine stopped selling them.
I could rattle off over a dozen basic design and construction improvements that would rectify the Veneto's most glaring faults, but since QingQi is in the business of making cheap knockoff clones I doubt they'd want to hear them.
Incidentally, everyone, sorry about the length of the story but I really had to get all that off my chest. |
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Nov-18-05, 00:34 AM (EDT) |
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4. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #3
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I'll say. The Veneto looks so fast standing still, it's almost tragic when you twist the throttle and the illusion is shattered. Just don't park it next to full-size motorcycles or it'll get eaten. |
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Kev
unregistered user
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Dec-12-05, 10:01 PM (EDT) |
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7. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #4
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Mr. GenWayLaid, I have been wanting to retrofit a Veneto 'fully automatic' engine to
an older trail bike I have. If you still have any of the veneto engines please let me know. Even if they are missing the cylinder and/ or Head and would like
to buy it. Please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks, Kevin Include your tel# and I'll give you a call. I'm in georgia. email- kevin.j.casto@lmco.com
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Dec-13-05, 10:38 PM (EDT) |
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8. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #7
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Kev, All I have left is a 72cc cylinder and piston, with some gaskets and rings. I also have a few of the parts that fell/broke off of the scooter in two months of riding. I sent both of the unnecessary upgrade kits back to ScootsUSA for a full refund (nice guys), but they never had a transmission included anyway. For ten bucks (shipping cost) you can have everything I've got.
I don't think it will do you much good, though. If you're talking about using the CVT engine that Verucci uses, my parts won't fit. The "semi-automatic" or "geared automatic" engine in the Veneto is a Honda clone with some kind of automatic selector akin to a car's automatic transmission. My scooter was stolen before I got a chance to crack it open and find out how it works.
What I have that might interest you, though, are full parts lists for the Verucci CVT engine in pdf format. The guy at ScootsUSA sent them to me to help me with repairs, but of course they're the wrong engine. If you like I can email them to you. |
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Dec-13-05, 10:43 PM (EDT) |
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9. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #4
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P.S. Verucci is hardly the only company selling scoots with cloned Honda engines, according to a recent article in "Scoot! Quarterly." You may be able to find another source. If all else fails, you could approach Mark Welton at ScootsUSA or another Verucci dealer about making a special order or go to the Verucci website and pretend to be a Verucci owner in need of parts. |
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Nov-18-05, 00:38 AM (EDT) |
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5. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #3
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Like I've said, the basic design is sound and very appealing, but Verucci completely lacks the basic manufacturing ability to make it work. Since it appears the Veneto is nothing more than a Honda Wave clone, I really wish Honda would start selling the real deal in the U.S. I wonder if Honda puts any effort into their mid-size scooter lines. The Reflex is about twenty years overdue for a styling update. |
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zippybing
unregistered user
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Dec-09-05, 04:05 PM (EDT) |
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6. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #0
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Man, I'm glad I read your review. I've been looking seriously at getting at Verucci Veneto. I loved the body and style of it, and the price was pretty damn good (found it on a website for 1200 with free shipping). After reading your story, I think I'll look elsewhere. Thanks for sharing. |
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Dec-13-05, 10:52 PM (EDT) |
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10. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #6
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Zippybing, No problem. One of the most exasperating problems with many Chinese scooters is the lack of real-world information. I just wanted to put as much info out on the Veneto as I could.
Like I've said, I don't think it's a bad scooter in concept, just a good scooter badly made. |
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Dec-15-05, 09:57 PM (EDT) |
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11. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #0
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An update on the story of my scooter:
The county sheriff found my Veneto dumped by the roadside yesterday about sixty miles from where it was stolen (I guess the thieves didn't get any more range out of it than I did). I spent all morning getting release forms from both the CHP and the sheriff. The CHP officer thought this was as stupid as I did. "Why do they make us do this? Why does he need two releases for a vehicle that doesn't even have a hold on it?"
My scooter was being held in the dingy garage of a towing company way out in the sticks. The thieves had busted the locks, pulled off all the body panels, removed the battery, and given up. Add that to the fact that the transmission was busted, and I decided to junk it. I signed it over to the towers and paid $230 for their unrequested "services."
Towing companies piss me off. They all have cozy deals with the police so they can grab your vehicle and hold it for ransom. You have to pay them--even if you've never heard of them before--or they send a collection agency after you. This must be what it's like in Russia. |
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GenWaylaid
Member since Nov-12-05
156 posts |
Dec-17-05, 02:33 AM (EDT) |
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12. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #11
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I think the most eloquent testament to the quality of the Verucci Veneto is the condition my bike was recovered in. The thieves took the license plate, the battery, even a hairbrush I had under the seat. They had removed all the body panels, but every single part of the motorscooter was returned, even the screws to hold the body panels on. |
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stevemulholland3@aol.com
unregistered user
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Mar-15-06, 11:19 PM (EDT) |
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14. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #12
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hey if you still have that parts list please e-mail me this item,I unfortunatly bought one of these verucci's and it is turning into a nightmare.
love the handling and look of the scoot,but just cant keep the darn thing running.
p.s. if you still have the parts forementioned i could really use them,will gladly pay the shipping.jkust let me know how we should go about it.
thanx
steven t. mulholland
stevemulholland3@aol.com |
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John
unregistered user
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Jan-26-06, 10:13 PM (EDT) |
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13. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #0
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Thank you ever so much for the story! I have been looking for a reliable yet inexpensive moped and just stumbled across Verucci and ScootUSA, I'm extremely grateful that I was saved from the hassle! |
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Mario
unregistered user
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Mar-19-06, 09:07 AM (EDT) |
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15. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #13
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Hey, i had a veneto since summer of 2005 and runs great and never had a problem except the throttle cable broke and replaced with a quality cable but yeah i mean i never had a real problem i ride like evry day. I think this moped is super duper great i bought neon lights for it and cool accesories for it and now im ganna upgrade it to a 70cc wit he wider cylinder. I live in VA and the veneto i have is lucky that it found a right owner.The veneto has pretty good horse power and i weigh like 140 lb. The seat is so long and comfortable that i rode 3 people on it like all the time and hot girls man they like to ride on my scooter.Yo im telling you all people this scooter is great its just that guy got a bad one that can happen to any model ever out there.i have like past 2,000 miles on it and still it runs like i just got it. Just remember to maintain and it will all pay. |
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george bishop
unregistered user
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Apr-22-06, 10:16 PM (EDT) |
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16. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #0
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And I thought I was the only one who was "taken" by the Verucci Veneto. Sad to say it is comforting to know (in a sick sort of way). My bike lasted (sort of) almost a month and a half then stopped------$200.00 and four mechanics later it still sits in in back yard. Very still. Everything on the bike has been replaced EXCEPT! the electrical stuff (I'm no mechanic) Not enough spark to fire says the last two mechanics, but don't know enough about it to work on it. I'm trying Verucci but not much luck there. SO. You're not alone. best, george bishop bishoplace@hotmail.com |
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Mario
unregistered user
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Apr-29-06, 07:57 AM (EDT) |
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17. "RE: The Dysfunctional Romance of the Verucci Veneto"
In response to message #16
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Man im a master mechanic if i can see the moped ill be able to fix that shit,the reason why it lasted you like a month is because you were maintaining it WRONG! If you set up everything properly good then the veneto will last you forever,man i still got my moped and now the best of ALL im going to get a 110cc , 4 gear , mad horse power engine,i checked all measurements and its all very possible 100%,im wasting like 700$ in doing this but it worth it,okay take care every one that has a broken down veneto except me because i take care of it properly......
sincerely, Mario |
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, Nov-15-05, 09:15 AM, (3)
