justin_92_92

My Feedback: (2)

LOL some folks are a little harsh.

Ive had tons of RC stuff that had plastic parts that always broke and Ive had to buy metal replacements to fix it. Its nothing new at all, but It really says a lot about a company when they see this and say, "hey, were going to do something about that!" Props to Venom for that!

My gears broke. I chalked it up to my own neglect as I was a bit rough with it. I will be buying metal to replace them and will also try to post some videos for everyone.

I wont be sending my parts in though. Its quicker to just order for me and Clint gave me mine as a Christmas present! Thanks again Clint!

whipnet

Absolutely right. Customer service goes a looooooooooooooong way!

*

Chris Nicastro

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks guys and yes we agree that customer service is A#1.

The plastic gears are actually very tough and in testing they have broken and or worn out steel and aluminum parts much to my surprise at times. They are pretty beefy but do require being assembled in the right way. The main thing is that shoulder bolt their bearings ride on is tightened firmly into the gear support with thread lock. If this is not done then the bolt will loosen and change the gear alignment leading to eventual failure.
The next concern in how you drive the bike. If you are hard on the brakes from full power and back and forth then eventually you will ruin the gears. There is a lot of mass and inertia in the rear wheel and mechanics so this leads to the next setting. The gyro clutch can be set according to how you drive the bike. If you set the clutch gap tighter then it will be easier on the gears because the clutch will stall sooner. Use a 2.5mm gap in this case. If you drive the bike slower and brake less often then use a gap of 2.7-3.0mm.
The slipper clutch can also be set to soften the power delivery which helps out a bit as well.

In any case if you plan to tinker with the bike and make adjustments then there is no reason not to buy one now. On the other hand if you just want to drive it and occaisionally work on it as needed then maybe you should wait for the steel gears.

The updated VMX box will have some sort of clear call out and we will make the announcement so you will know. Even if you have a first run bike you will have the option to contact us and recieve the steel gears for free. So it doesnt really matter if you wait or not the gears are coming and each bike has a set ear marked.

Chris

mc4798

My Feedback: (8)

Thaks Chris.

I have found no matter what you buy it is possible to break it.

Venom is going out of their way by giving everyone the steel gears and by making a running change in production of the bike,Veryexpensive and something that most RC companies could learn a thing or two from. Big Kudos .</p>

Chris Nicastro

My Feedback: (3)

Thats right MC but in this day and age a lot is expected of new products and companies. We are commited to providing the best products and value for dollar we can bring to the market.
Unfortunately you only hear about the problems products have but for every one person with a problem we have sold many VMX's w/o any. The goal is always zero but that is very hard to reach.

revster

Thanks  Chris
 With any new product there can be a few bugs, but  If Venom stands behind,  I don't think it is a big deal.

pwaicon

Chris,
Any ideal of when the kit version will be available?

kochj

awsome product guys....

Terra Nova R/C

I can see that this thread has been dead for a while now, but I need some help. I bought a VMX 450 to test out for myself. One of my Team Racers and I had a lot of fun with the bike. One thing I did learn is check your slipper. We just used it for a while right out of the box and the slipper was quite tight. My Pinion and Spur are almost worn out and there are some other signs of torque related stress.
I have taken everything apart and rebuilt it. Now I have 2 red bushings (One a little bigger than the other) and I don't know which one goes in the rear wheel and which one goes on the shaft beside the drive sprocket. I have tried both options and nothing seems to fit. The smaller red bushing does seem to work by the sprocket, but the bigger one does not seem to work in the rear wheel. The 2 red spacers are pictured here.

JohnnyMacDad

Ive actually never had them out the same time but the smaller red one looks like it belongs in the rear wheel.

Terra Nova R/C

Hey there's an idea, just take 1 thing apart at a time. I can't even take 1 vehicle apart at a time. The smaller red one does fit inside the rear wheel, but the bigger red one is too big to fit beside the sprocket eher I am sure 1 of them go. I just need 2 smaller ones and it would be fine.

JohnnyMacDad

Its impossible that it was together correctly but now the parts dont fit. The bigger one goes left of the front sprocket so if its not fitting now, you positioned the sprocket before you made sure the spacer had the room. Since your not explaining exactly how it doesnt fit, thats about all I can guess from my side, sorry. </p>

Terra Nova R/C

Thank you, that is a help to me. I will have to try to move the sprocket over a bit and see if I can make room for the spacer. It seems to be the only possibility for it.

JohnnyMacDad

ATTENTION VMX 450 OWNERS: If you want Venom to make tires specific for tracks (small pin) then you need to show an interest. They have them designed but are waiting for us to say something. If you have facebook, I made a post so you can give a shout out there, otherwise, send an email, or something. Do something!

Terra Nova R/C

I haven't learned to control mine enough yet to run it on a track. I think I still need some more setup changes. I would defiantly want to see some small pin tires when I can control it on a track. Sometimes mine turns, sometimes it doesn't. Other times it turns great, just when I didn't want to turn.

revster

 This thread has been so quite lately, just wondered whats up, have not heard much about the VMX, are they not selling well or are there more issues.                                         thanks

Wicked!!

My Feedback: (5)

Hey i just picked one of these up tonight. Super excited to get it.

Never had a bike before so I thought I would try something different.

Later all

Terra Nova R/C

Your bike made it to the post office before the truck left so it is on the way. You will enjoy the bike. It does require some changes, just check out the forums. I think the most important thing is to put a good heavy oil in the steering damper(80-100wt). Actually the most important thing is to check the slipper. Mine was too tight and it did a lot of flipping backwards and also wrecked the pinion and spur. Make sure it slips a bit.

Wicked!!

My Feedback: (5)

Hey will do.

Forgot I had posted here.

Terra Nova R/C

I see Venom is still finding ways to improve the VMX. I found some new Hop Ups.

[link=http://store.terranovahobby.ca/product.php?productid=1881&cat=30&page=3]Chain Tensioner Set[/link]

[link=http://store.terranovahobby.ca/product.php?productid=1882&cat=30&page=3]Option Front Axle[/link]

David Webb

I'm new here so I thought I'd say hi everyone.  I have many, many questions but first let me just say I've been racing something ever since I was 10. From BMX, motocross, supercross, roadracing (F3 and F2), downhill mountain bike and back to motocross.  I was thrilled to find the VMX.  I was looking into rc racing and only found stuff on 4 wheels, I was very close to buying a short course truck when I happened to see a review of a different bike.  It seemed kinda lame but they mentioned the VMX and the rest is history.  So this is where I'm coming from, some of my questions may seem off the wall.

My bike is going to be here Thursday and I was wondering if the ESC can handle a 3s LiPo? I know the motor can't but in every video I've seen the bike is not even clearing doubles let alone triples.  How adjustable is the suspension? Just oil weight and spring rate and preload or are there valving adjustments (rebound and compression separately I hope)?  I would really like to separate motor braking from actual braking.  Has anyone tried to put a rear disk brake on this bike and a four channel system so you can separate turning, motor, front and rear brakes?

Thanks in advance.

FD

JohnnyMacDad

David,
Yes the esc can handle 3s (see specs on venom site) but the motor cant. However, the bike has a 550 motor so its got some serious torque. I doubt your going to need to worry about going 3s at first, but who knows. You'll be busy learning how it handles. Rear tire is like a mx tire and its not great for tracks unless dirt is loamy / high grip. You can always invest in a few pinion gears to increase high end speed. There's a chart in manual that tells you gear ratios what you can use. FYI, I would love to race these but they are not quite popular enough and too difficult with the stock mechanical gyro. Only guys racing on dirt are in Italy and they use an electric gyro (e-gyro) instead. A gncc style course laid out would work though.  I have the vmx and duratrax dx450 to crave my mx &amp; sx fever, then to get a racing fix I got a short course sc10 2wd, but the bikes are my love. The rear shock is just like any other typical rc shock. You'll just have to mess with shock oil and preload to get something close to what you want for now, or later look into alternative shocks on market. Finally, if you do want to invest more into the bike later on, then get the front brake kit. From there the front take brunt of braking while rear braking power becomes less important. Modding the brake power of front and having stock 3 channel radio is enough for these. Would it be cool for rear brakes, yeah, but the front is where its at and the electronic braking will be adequet for any situation you come up with for rc dirt bikes imo.
Good luck,
John 

David Webb

John,<div>
</div><div>Having a rear brake is so engine, or in this case, rpm doesn't affect the rear wheel speed and vice versa.  That's the main reason slipper clutches were developed(for road racing at least).  I already have the front brake kit and a new rear shock but I would love to have a choice in spring rates(and more) for now.</div><div>
</div><div>F</div><div>
</div><div>Chris I wanted to ask you what the reasoning was/is for using a trailing axle fork?</div><div>Just a curious question, nothing more.</div><div>
</div><div>Thanks</div><div>
</div><div>F</div>

JohnnyMacDad

Rc bikes need the trailing axle and/or forks for the self centering / correcting that happens (think about shopping cart wheels). The servo and damper help guide the steering while the trailing design allows the wheel to find its center. The other way, the steering immediately would want to turn and bike just flops over. 

David Webb

Makes perfect sense. I must say I'm a little embarassed for not realizing that.

Thanks for the info.



In my other question I left a word out accidently, that makes the question make sense.(horrible grammar, sorry)
It should have read -
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; ">
Having a rear brake is so engine, or in this case,the motor rpm doesn't affect the rear wheel speed and vice versa. That's the main reason slipper clutches were developed(for road racing at least). I already have the front brake kit and a new rear shock but I would love to have a choice in spring rates(and more) for now.</span><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px;">
</span></font>






</div>