Originally Posted by Jetson40

Everyone that owns a Venom 450, take notice of your surroundings
BEWARE OF DOGS!! Dogs like to go after the bikes. I would just keep your eyes open.
Jerry

should just hit the dog with your frame pump or squirt with water out of the waterbottle that's what i do to scare away dogs that chase me when I'm riding my bike.

well mate rocked up at 10 all batterys charged we had two chargers going all day he left here at 4 oclock and we had a ball. two off us going at it all day .damage i hit his bike and tore his new riders head off .mine tore the arm off bit off glue and all is good my fender saver is rooted but thats all .the chains are worn as far as they go we cant get chains in austraila on back order .my mate got his front brake on it works well im getting one .top job chris these things are orsom we were laughing all day

Originally Posted by madbadger

that's great fun alex.....but it looks like it acts like my VMX, wheelies and flips so easily breaking the rear fender off. Trust me mate, it will end up tearing the rear wheelie bar and body work off eventually.....

Is this how it suppose to run Nick? looks like the slipper is to tight? but if you run it loose, you end up burning them out, I'm on my 3rd now.....

i think some sort of spring loaded or indestructible wheelie bar needs to be invented by someone.....

Hi madbadger, yup, i broke the rear fender, but is nice to see it wheelies..
i still running with the original spur gear, until now, i still don't have any problem for my spur. only thing is my pinion is going to loose. i need to change it. Also i'm still using the plastic gyro gear

Has anyone compiled a summary list of:

- tips & tricks (steering dampener oil, etc.)
- off-road & on-road set ups
- maintenance items (chain, gyro, etc.)
- must have v2 upgrades (steel gyro gears, etc.)
- must have hop-ups

With well over 100 pages, it would be helpful to have this info compiled & stickied

Duplicate

Originally Posted by marksp

Has anyone compiled a summary list of:

- tips & tricks (steering dampener oil, etc.)
- off-road & on-road set ups
- maintenance items (chain, gyro, etc.)
- must have v2 upgrades (steel gyro gears, etc.)
- must have hop-ups

With well over 100 pages, it would be helpful to have this info compiled & stickied

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1390355
This what your looking for?

Finally got one. Had to order it in the UK. Not available in the Netherlands (yet) for some odd reason.
I got the recent release with the steel gears, different battery-compartiment, and all those other fixes.

On the bike: after reading all posts(yup, all of them), i had the clarity of thought to open-up the rear wheel assembly to check the gyro, and sure enough, the factory had cranked the gyro-compartment so tight, it would hardly spin. They even succeeded in pulling part of the thread out. grrr..They should rev-down the electric screwdrivers they use. Net result of a first test before the disassembling was a very hot axle, bearing, and axle-screw.. Not good!

Shoulder-screws on the spinning-cog-wheel-thingymajigg were nicely lock-tighted though.

Thanks to the good peeps on this forum, i knew what to do: add small 3mm washers from a tamiya-kit ( i got oodles of those, comes with owning about 25 tamiya buggies.. )to all screws. It only made the gyro-housing a teensy wider.
Tested it by sticking an allen-wrench through the axle, and giving the wheel a push. Yup..nice humming noise when stopping the wheel, and listening close. Problem solved.
Next was filling the servo-saver with 700wt. I like a bit more direct control, and wobbly, swinging RC bikes irritate me.


Now, before describing my first experience with driving the Venom, i have to add that i owned one of those Graupner honda750's with that ingenious system of using the battery on the underside, to shift the weight by an amazingly complex pendulum-system.

It worked pretty well, but had a bit of a steep learning-curve, especially because the anemic 380sh wasn't powerfull enough to quickly correct when things went pear-shaped, plus there were no ballbearings anywhere.

Suffice to say, i broke quite a few parts from simply falling- over. :lol:

Now, on to the VMX:
Opening box: Ah, great, no styrofoam, but cardboard. love it! Doesn't completely clog-up my grey container, and environmentally smart. Shame the transmitter still comes packaged in styrofoam.
-second reaction : holy crap! Thing' s huge..
-third reaction: ooh.. Nice details
-fourth reaction: "Guy" is a bit too skinny..girly even.... waittaminute! IDEA!! (goes off to search for those barbie-braids, saved from another cutom-figure job)
-fifth reaction: darn! Thing's bloody heavy. That's not exactly gonna be a rocket with all that heft...

Oh, how wrong can one be...

After re-assembling the rear-wheel, and testing transmitter an' such, i blipped the throttle a couple of times and heard a rather peculiar howling coming from the innards of the rear-wheel, with an ever increasing pitch...cool..gyro' spins free and bloody fast..

On to the outside world. Spin-up wheel, put bike down, SLAM throttle...eeeehhhrmm..oops, full backflip on the spot...holy-overpowered Batman! Power isn't as much a problem as I feared. Back inside, setting slipper 1/4 turn loose (luckily it wasn't stuck like a lot of people experienced)

Our little cul-the-sac was far too small for testing something I wasn't too familiar with, so, after a spill or 10-12 i decided to go to the nearest soccer field and see what it could do in the wide-open.

Bummer! 14 cm high grass. Well, just give it a try. I spun up the rear-wheel until it had that nice hummingbird-from-hell sound, gave it a gentle push, and off it went......off, like a rat on fire, like there was no tall grass whatsoever!

This contraption hauls a55 I was pretty shocked by the speed. After a bit of hit'n miss, i got in the flow. Key to controlling this beast is utter UTTER smooooooth throttle control. It will wheely on command, even with the slipper fairly loose. So, heavy-finger-bashers be aware!
What a joy to ride! After a bit of getting-used-to the speed, i was running smooth 8's, circles, zig-zags. Waaay more controllable than that odd graupner ever was, with great speed to boot, and all of that on a wet, badly-maintained, weed and tall grass-overgrown soccer-field!

This is quite the revolutionary little toy. It is about as revolutionary as the moment tamiya decided to ditch all that expensive cast aluminium and glass fiber of it's early buggies like the sand scorcher, and went on to perfect the use of plastics to ease the price-tag, and simplify production.

The VMX is an exellent example of using the right plastics on the right parts, with aluminium thrown-in for some important parts. It offers about the same performance as the ARX at a far far lower price-point, and surpasses ( imho) the anderson, sold here in europe under a plethora of different brand - names.

I'll alert my LHS on the good quality of the VMX. He does sell the venom gp, so this wouldn't be too much of a risk for him.

I have to admit, i only ran 1 battery through it. I got to about 12 minutes on a 70c 4000, and put about 3amp in it after the run, so, even in high grass it is quite frugal with energy. I guess my consistently " smooth" throttle-finger has something to do with it. I would have liked to test some more, but we are in a constant spell of thunderstorms overhere, and I am no particular fan of standing in a barren field, whipping out high-frequency signals, while nearby the lightning slams into the ground..

All in all, it is one of the most fun toys i have driven in ages, and i have driven quite a few odd, fun cars, karts, atv's, MX-bikes( real ones and rc's)

Oh, by the by, those that want to re-paint the driver: tamiya PC-colours for brush applying, work like a charm. It is imperative though, that you let the paint dry for at least 12 hours, 24 preferably. I'll say it again: TAMIYA PC-paint must dry 12 TO 24 HOURS before it's tru strength and flexability is reached!!!!!
It is flexible, sticks very, very good to the paint used on the foam, provided you cleaned the guy with some denatured alcohol, or tamiya spray-paint thinner ( fenol-based i believe)

Oh, forgot one other small niggle: the factory dudes/ladies had tightened the front wheel wrong. It had serious side-play, it bound the front forks badly. I simply loosened the bolts in the bottom, below the wheel-axle, and the torsion of the spread fork slid the axle-clamps right to the correct place:the sides of the wheel-bearings. No more sticky front-shocks. Something else to check for new owners.

QC, QC.....the bane of Chinese contractors.

I must to sell my VMX. If someone is interested please PM me. Shipping worldwide.
Price: 350$ RTR, with battery LIPO 5000, some parts and few upgrades.

Sorry for OT

This has to be the best write up i have seen in a long time. And goes to show you if you read a few hours of these forums... your first run after the simple fixes will be a delite. Great story and thanks for showing some other folks what it is about. This forum has made so many things so much easier. These R/C motorcycle guys are by far the most educated bunch i have come across!!!

Originally Posted by diakrite

Finally got one. Had to order it in the UK. Not available in the Netherlands (yet) for some odd reason.
I got the recent release with the steel gears, different battery-compartiment, and all those other fixes.

On the bike: after reading all posts(yup, all of them), i had the clarity of thought to open-up the rear wheel assembly to check the gyro, and sure enough, the factory had cranked the gyro-compartment so tight, it would hardly spin. They even succeeded in pulling part of the thread out. grrr..They should rev-down the electric screwdrivers they use.

Shoulder-screws on the spinning-cog-wheel-thingymajigg were nicely lock-tighted though.

Thanks to the good peeps on this forum, i knew what to do: add small 3mm washers from a tamiya-kit ( i got oodles of those, comes with owning about 25 tamiya buggies.. )to all screws. It only made the gyro-housing a teensy wider.
Tested it by sticking an allen-wrench through the axle, and giving the wheel a push. Yup..nice humming noise when stopping the wheel, and listening close. Problem solved.
Next was filling the servo-saver with 700wt. I like a bit more direct control, and wobbly, swinging RC bikes irritate me.


Now, before describing my first experience with driving the Venom, i have to add that i owned one of those Graupner honda750's with that ingenious system of using the battery on the underside, to shift the weight by an amazingly complex pendulum-system.

It worked pretty well, but had a bit of a steep learning-curve, especially because the anemic 380sh wasn't powerfull enough to quickly correct when things went pear-shaped, plus there were no ballbearings anywhere.

Suffice to say, i broke quite a few parts from simply falling- over. :lol:

Now, on to the VMX:
Opening box: Ah, great, no styrofoam, but cardboard. love it! Doesn't completely clog-up my grey container, and environmentally smart. Shame the transmitter still comes packaged in styrofoam.
-second reaction : holy crap! Thing' s huge..
-third reaction: ooh.. Nice details
-fourth reaction: "Guy" is a bit too skinny..girly even.... waittaminute! IDEA!! (goes off to search for those barbie-braids, saved from another cutom-figure job)
-fifth reaction: darn! Thing's bloody heavy. That's not exactly gonna be a rocket with all that heft...

Oh, how wrong can one be...

After re-assembling the rear-wheel, and testing transmitter an' such, i blipped the throttle a couple of times and heard a rather peculiar howling coming from the innards of the rear-wheel, with an ever increasing pitch...cool..gyro' spins free and bloody fast..

On to the outside world. Spin-up wheel, put bike down, SLAM throttle...eeeehhhrmm..oops, full backflip on the spot...holy-overpowered Batman! Power isn't as much a problem as I feared. Back inside, setting slipper 1/4 turn loose (luckily it wasn't stuck like a lot of people experienced)

Our little cul-the-sac was far too small for testing something I wasn't too familiar with, so, after a spill or 10-12 i decided to go to the nearest soccer field and see what it could do in the wide-open.

Bummer! 14 cm high grass. Well, just give it a try. I spun up the rear-wheel until it had that nice hummingbird-from-hell sound, gave it a gentle push, and off it went......off, like a rat on fire, like there was no tall grass whatsoever!

This contraption hauls a55 I was pretty shocked by the speed. After a bit of hit'n miss, i got in the flow. Key to controlling this beast is utter UTTER smooooooth throttle control. It will wheely on command, even with the slipper fairly loose. So, heavy-finger-bashers be aware!
What a joy to ride! After a bit of getting-used-to the speed, i was running smooth 8's, circles, zig-zags. Waaay more controllable than that odd graupner ever was, with great speed to boot, and all of that on a wet, badly-maintained, weed and tall grass-overgrown soccer-field!

This is quite the revolutionary little toy. It is about as revolutionary as the moment tamiya decided to ditch all that expensive cast aluminium and glass fiber of it's early buggies like the sand scorcher, and went on to perfect the use of plastics to ease the price-tag, and simplify production.

The VMX is an exellent example of using the right plastics on the right parts, with aluminium thrown-in for some important parts. It offers about the same performance as the ARX at a far far lower price-point, and surpasses ( imho) the anderson, sold here in europe under a plethora of different brand - names.

I'll alert my LHS on the good quality of the VMX. He does sell the venom gp, so this wouldn't be too much of a risk for him.

I have to admit, i only ran 1 battery through it. I got to about 12 minutes on a 70c 4000, and put about 3amp in it after the run, so, even in high grass it is quite frugal with energy. I guess my consistently " smooth" throttle-finger has something to do with it. I would have liked to test some more, but we are in a constant spell of thunderstorms overhere, and I am no particular fan of standing in a barren field, whipping out high-frequency signals, while nearby the lightning slams into the ground..

All in all, it is one of the most fun toys i have driven in ages, and i have driven quite a few odd, fun cars, karts, atv's, MX-bikes( real ones and rc's)

Oh, by the by, those that want to re-paint the driver: tamiya PC-colours for brush applying, work like a charm. It is imperative though, that you let the paint dry for at least 12 hours, 24 preferably. I'll say it again: TAMIYA PC-paint must dry 12 TO 24 HOURS before it's tru strength and flexability is reached!!!!!
It is flexible, sticks very, very good to the paint used on the foam, provided you cleaned the guy with some denatured alcohol, or tamiya spray-paint thinner ( fenol-based i believe)

Oh, forgot one other small niggle: the factory dudes/ladies had tightened the front wheel wrong. It had serious side-play, it bound the front forks badly. I simply loosened the bolts in the bottom, below the wheel-axle, and the torsion of the spread fork slid the axle-clamps right to the correct place:the sides of the wheel-bearings. No more sticky front-shocks. Something else to check for new owners.

QC, QC.....the bane of Chinese contractors.

Thanx! . But i owe all You guys that took the plunge earlier, and worked-out the niggles. I am just one of those odd guys that
A: reads manuals
B: does extensive background research when I am about to hand-over my cash for a new toy, and decide for myself if the toy is worth the extra bit of work.
It saved me many a bad buy.
C:knows that RTR actually means "Ready To Rebuild"
D: only reviews and comments stuff he actually owns, or has tried seriously.

Thanks again, and I hope it will pull a couple of doubters over the line to go for the VMX.

Small tip for curing severe cases of rear-wobble and tank slapping: back off the throttle. Simple as that. The bike will start tracking straight again after that.
Remember that this bike reacts like a real motorcycle. When on loose underground, the back-end has a tendency to start wagging it's tail. If one keeps on jamming the throttle, alltewhile trying to correct ,4wd-buggy-style,by steering and powering, it will crash.
I found out on wet pavement. It doesn't particularly like it, but it can be done with some judicious use of th throttle, and keeping your hands from counter steering.

I firmly believe that those that ride real bikes ( like me) are at an advantage here.

Still waiting for parts Chris........parts stock have been put back twice now.....any idea when parts will be coming in, my VMX hasn't run for 3 months now.

Originally Posted by madbadger

Still waiting for parts Chris........parts stock have been put back twice now.....any idea when parts will be coming in, my VMX hasn't run for 3 months now.

Can you PM me with your part #'s and info and I'll follow up on this. Im not sure why you dont have parts by now.

Chris

Originally Posted by uire

I must to sell my VMX. If someone is interested please PM me. Shipping worldwide.
Price: 350$ RTR, with battery LIPO 5000, some parts and few upgrades.
Sorry for OT

UIRE, from the videos you posted it looked like you had fun. Why you selling?

@Chris Nicastro:
To start :Thanks for your tips and input!
I have a small question.
-will you peeps start producing a lighting-set? The ESC has a nice connector for lights ready to go. Only thing needed would be some kind of vac-vorm housing for front and rear lights.

I'll try to make myself one with some parts laying around, but a copy of, say, a Acerbis fly-eye would be uber-cool ( hint, hint )
Oh, and how about some flexible hand-guards, to make the ultimate street-legal super-moto?

I already ordered about every option-part in The States, because in Europe, i could only find the bike itself, and none of the hop-ups

Have run 4packs without a hitch by now, even on a field with 3cm of water. It is water-resistant, no doubt there. Water only makes the bike use more power. No biggie, was to be expected. Let it dry thoroughly and relubed the chain and bearings, and is good to go again.

I found out that using Tamiya AW grease is perfect for the pressure-bearing in the clutch. It sticks like glue, and will even lube under pressure.

The bronze bushings were filled with ceramic-grease before reassembling the gyro. It seems to be the way to go, because the gyro has been very consistent for an hour of running by now, plus I have NO heating-up of the rear axle.

I akso have to say that I really like the tiny design-details like that smart captured shock-hinge pin in the rear fork, genius in it' simplicity.

Thanks Im glad your enjoying the bike, thats awesome!

The light set is in the works but no details right now.

Post some videos or photos of your bike and where you run it!