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Bike Review: 2008 Vento Colt - From RoadBike March 2008
 New-Bike Test: 2008 Vento Colt By Steve Lita, Photos By Bob Feather I’m pushing a long, black cruiser out of my garage and suiting up for an evening ride. My next-door neighbor is having a cookout, and entertaining a dozen or so guests. Two guys stroll over to the fence, lean over, and strike up a conversation. Let me play the tape for you: “Hey, man, nice bike. Is that a custom?” “No, not really, this is stock.” “That’s cool, what is it? Is it a Harley?” “Nope. “A Yamaha?” “Nope.” “Then what is it?” “A Vento.” “A what?” “A Vento Colt.” “Really! Who makes that?” “Um … Vento.” “How big is it? Gotta be 1000cc, right?” “Nope. Try 250.” “Get outta here! Nice bike, man.” Now replay the tape of this exchange (or at least a similar one) at the gas station, at bike night, in the shopping center parking lot, and out on the street while sitting in traffic, and you’ll get a feeling of what it’s like to own and ride a Vento Colt. People are attracted to it, curious about it, and astounded when you tell them about it. And that’s why we chose to review this model on the pages of RoadBike. There just seemed to be too many unanswered questions.
The first thing you notice about the Colt (like my neighbor’s party guests did) is how attractive and well proportioned it is. It’s long and low and loaded with chrome. The 21”- fat spoke front wheel dominates the view from the front and screams custom; a well-fitted steel front fender hugs the tire, making the look complete. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a more trick-looking front-end treatment on any modern factory cruiser of any displacement. It sets the tone for the custom-bike look and is one of the signature parts that attracts the attention of the population at large. Big, wide-reaching handlebars and floorboards are a natural on the Colt and make the rider look like he’s riding a real, full-size cruiser. The posture you assume looks appropriate and is quite comfortable — I didn’t feel scrunched at all. The only qualm I had was about the toe area ahead of the floorboard, where the foot controls come too close to the factory engine guard. I found my toe swiping the guard several times on downshift, and I was afraid I might scratch the chrome if done repeatedly. The floorboard brackets could use a little reinforcing as well; I wouldn’t try to stand on these.
An around-town ride on the Colt will bring a smile to your face, and you’ll be glad you wore that half helmet. There’s no problem pulling away from stops and keeping up with, or negotiating ahead of, urban traffic. The heel/toe shifter is fun to operate and the little engine motors the Colt around capably from zero to 50 mph. It’s when you get on the highway that you’ll be disappointed and wish you had a full-face lid to cover your frown. I found maximum, top-end speed at 72 mph (77 mph advertised) and not much power past 65. Slow-lane travel is where you’ll find the Colt, and passing a line of cars or a big truck will take a lot of planning. I don’t see anyone using a Colt for a long distance highway trip. The Colt has the power to let you hang with your crowd of riding buddies on rural roads, but you better hope there are no long stretches of highway on your trip: the pack will leave you behind. There’s a dual-piston caliper, front and rear, with a rear brake disc that’s 220mm diameter and a single 275mm rotor running next to that cool front wheel. Stopping power seemed ample for the modest speeds of this bike. I found the ride quality to be comfortable, thanks in part to its long wheelbase, and that tall, 21" front wheel probably helped. There were a few annoyances that took a little pleasure out of the riding experience. The odometer numerals jittered at speed, most likely caused by a dry speedo cable. A tinny rattle came from somewhere near the headlamp on hard jolts, and the three gauge-face warning lights (high beam, neutral, turn) appeared dim and were hard to distinguish in daylight.
In summary, this bike would make a good first bike if you plan mostly urban/local use. You’ll get instant street cred, as it doesn’t look like “just a starter bike.” It’ll attract attention and admiration from curious onlookers, and impress casual motorcycle fans because it looks like a bike you’ve lavished assorted accessories and custom treatments on. It’s not the average starter bike that looks unfinished. You’ll be able to maintain a modest pace at highway traffic speeds, but you won’t be able to blast past anything. And the Colt’s style and good looks may even cause traffic jams on city streets. If you determine that this is the type of riding you realistically expect to do, there’s no cooler looking bike than the Vento Colt to do it on. RB Tech Sheet 2008 Vento Colt
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You’ve probably seen images of the Colt in various advertisements, and while it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, there were still so many things we didn’t know about the Colt. For example: where to get one? Vento is constantly expanding its dealer base (currently over 350 dealers) and you can find a Vento dealer list on its web site, www.Vento.com. While there, you can check out its extensive line of scooters and even online parts books for its models. Not every community has a Vento dealer, though; we actually had to travel 50 miles to find ours at a high-end auto body shop that sells scooters on the side. Vento celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, and is headquartered in San Diego with assembly and quality-control facilities in Laredo, Texas. Vento says it has plans for some larger displacement engines, and recently announced a new 400cc three cylinder ATV. Hmmm … a three-cylinder cruiser? My mind wanders.
The circular embellishment on the air cleaner coordinates to similar treatment on the fronts of the mirror heads, proving the styling to be well-thought-out. The exhaust pipes look to be just the right size from a side or three-quarter view; however, spied from the back the first thing you notice is the rather smallish diameter of the pipes. There’s plenty of muffling and the bike purrs quietly. The seat is quite comfortable and long, which adds to the spread-out ergonomics and relaxed posture mentioned earlier. The short sissybar/passenger backrest looks nice, and the swooping rear fender hangs down to cover the rear tire profile nicely. There’s a script Vento logo on the rear fender just below the Harley-esque taillamp, which has an emblem on it as well — one that reads “Made in China.” The quality of the factory paintwork is top-notch, but the routing of the handlebar control wires could have been neater. 