The Vento Phantom is a small scooter bearing a name that means “wind” in Italian, sold by the American company Vento Motorcycles, Inc. The brand assembled its vehicles in Texas and distributed them through more than 300 outlets worldwide.
Vento Phantom at a glance
| Model | Vento Phantom |
|---|---|
| Brand | Vento |
| Company | Vento Motorcycles, Inc., United States |
| Name meaning | “wind” in Italian |
| Assembly | Laredo, Texas, from 1998 |
| Headquarters by 2006 | San Diego, California |
| Product types | motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, off-road vehicles |
| Dealer network | over 175 dealers in more than 30 US states |
| Outlets worldwide | over 300 |
| Typical engine of the brand | small-displacement; 250 cc V-twins in the cruiser line |
| Model page | no dedicated Wikipedia article; facts from the brand page |
based on one source: there is no dedicated Wikipedia page for the Phantom, so the article draws on the Vento manufacturer article.
History of the Vento Phantom
Assembled in Texas
Vento’s business model was assembly, not manufacture. The plant that opened in Laredo, Texas, in 1998 received components from outside, put them together and carried out quality control before the vehicles went to dealers. The Phantom was one of the models that came out of that arrangement.
A San Diego company
By 2006 Vento Motorcycles U.S.A. had its headquarters in San Diego, California, with assembly and quality control in Laredo and a marketing, product development and dealer support centre in Melbourne, Florida. Design, development and customer support were run from San Diego.
Small two-wheelers as the core
In the 2003 financial year Vento sold 17,840 units in the United States, and 77,600 of its motorcycles were sold in Chile, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Russia combined, counting highway motorcycles, scooters, utility vehicles and ATVs together. In Mexico the company sold more small-displacement two-wheel vehicles than Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki combined, which made scooters like the Phantom central to its business.
Design and features
- Scooter layout: part of the small-displacement two-wheel range that Vento sold in the greatest numbers.
- Laredo assembly: built up and quality-checked at the Texas plant.
- International sales: the brand reached Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Russia.
- Italian name: Vento means wind.
Vento Phantom versions
- Phantom: the scooter described here.
- Other Vento scooters: the Zip and Triton are covered in their own articles (links below).
See also the Vento Zip and the Vento Triton; the full range is in the Vento collection.
Video: Video of a 2006 Vento Phantom scooter
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Vento (motorcycle manufacturer), English Wikipedia: brand history, plant, sales figures
