# UTV KNOCK OFFS



## radi0geek

Looking for comments, reviews, opinions on hisun UTVs. Would like to hear from some folks who have actually own/owned one. I have been looking at reviews on several forums but there seems to be a lot of "I know a guy who had a friend who had a cousin who knew a guy that has one" stories. Or "I have a Yamaha and everthing else is crap". I have a Yamaha ATV, A Polaris ATV and a Susuki ATV, Arcticat Snomobiles and few more I will leave off. I like them all.


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## JimVT

hisun? is that a side by side? rihino owner myself.


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## mbsieg

Made in china enuf said I am in ATV motorcycle snowmobile repair. and have worked on them all including Hinsu........ If you want a cheap machine that is exactly what you will get bad air filteration bad drivetrain cheap plastic/controls. spend the extra 3-4K get a real one and be happy you did not spend 3-4K on repairs


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## radi0geek

I am talking about the rhino clone.  I use these things for work and will put like a 100 miles a year on it. Most of the ATVS and snowmobiles I have now are 7- 10 years old and all have 1000 miles or less on them. I just go a few miles at a time up and down a mountian. I do not ride them for fun so they get little overall use. So saving a few $K is tempting.


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## JimVT

side x side 's are nice  some you can haul easly. Check the payload  on them, some  don't have much. I would go with a used rhino that hasn't been modifiyed. Try entering hisun problems in  a enternet  search
jim


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## Doc

Hey radiOgeek, I run another forum that has a dedicated following for the Kubota RTV.  The things these guys do with them are amazing.  One member posted about an electric UTV that was a whole lot cheaper, and had a few advantages.  You might be interested in that or a used RTV or a used Rhino.  The RTV's are diesel and will out last most of us.  They will carry more of a payload also.  Some have the manual dump and others have a hydraulic pump for the dump bed.  After reading these guys posts I'm looking for a used RTV for my place.  I have lots of hills and valleys and sure could use the hauling capacity.  I have about 2k miles on my Honda ATV 400 ES.  It's done me a great job but the RTV would sure be nice.  If interested check out:
Net Tractor Talk: http://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=133
Takes you directly to the RTV owners forum.


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## muleman RIP

I have the RTV 900 and it is a workhorse. Not a speed demon for sure but it goes about anywhere I want. I climb my power line and it is steep and I haul a lot of wood. They use a hydraulic pump for the dump bed and also have an option for hydraulic tools to run off the taps on the back of it.


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## dpaulson

A wore out north american built one will be better than a chinese model


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## radi0geek

I still am looking for some one that has one. There is a place near Augusta Maine that sells them at thier power sports dealership along with other brand name stuff. They have a demo 2006 rhino clone that has a few K Miles on it. They have video and pics of the thing doing everthing from towing a snow trail drag with a set of tracks mounted on it to mud running and gravel pit cruising. The thing is still going strong and looks grate. It is hard to see the differance to the real thing. I sure would like to hear from some who has bought one before I pass on one.


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## Doc

How much are they wanting for it?  4 or 5k?


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## radi0geek

I would buy a new one. I can get a new deluxe version of the rhino for $7500. It has upgraded wheels and tires. It comes with an 800 cc honda clone motor. It has all the same features and if you put one right next to a rhino it is very hard to see any differnce. I did look at some older hisuns from a few years ago and they were no where near as good as they seem to be now. I am also curios how this is possable? How can hisun build these if they are not in kahoots with Yamaha? I am not trying to sing praise for these things, dont get me wrong. I would just like to find some people who actually own one and hear whay they have to say.


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## snow dog

muleman said:


> I have the RTV 900 and it is a workhorse. Not a speed demon for sure but it goes about anywhere I want. I climb my power line and it is steep and I haul a lot of wood. They use a hydraulic pump for the dump bed and also have an option for hydraulic tools to run off the taps on the back of it.


 



Muley, you can balance that thing on a power line. WOW I bow to your greatness.


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## muleman RIP

snow dog said:


> Muley, you can balance that thing on a power line. WOW I bow to your greatness.


Smartass! My line comes straight up a steep hill. The power line boys spanned 680 ft. between poles rather than have to bring in a tracked pole digger. I know it was steep enough when I cleared it with a D5 Cat that it was hard to keep from sliding. When they ran the gas line the first operator on the trackhoe went for a slide and would not come back. The last 100 ft. is really tough to get up over even with good grousers on the dozer.


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## Doc

radi0geek said:


> I would buy a new one. I can get a new deluxe version of the rhino for $7500. It has upgraded wheels and tires. It comes with an 800 cc honda clone motor. It has all the same features and if you put one right next to a rhino it is very hard to see any differnce. I did look at some older hisuns from a few years ago and they were no where near as good as they seem to be now. I am also curios how this is possable? *How can hisun build these if they are not in kahoots with Yamaha?* I am not trying to sing praise for these things, dont get me wrong. I would just like to find some people who actually own one and hear whay they have to say.


They can buy one and take it apart and copy it.  Much like they do with purses, clothes etc.  
From the way you describe them i suspect the early versions were not so good, which falls in line with what another poster said who has worked on them.  Might be hard to find someone who has one of the newer models, and if the model is that new their impressions won't be worth a lot as they have not put it through years of use.  
I saw a used Kubota RTV go for 8k on ebay.  for that kind of money I'd be going for the tried and true RTV over an unknown, but  that's just me.


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## grizzer

I bought a used diesel Gator 6 wheeler years ago. Seems to run all summer on one tank of fuel, and taught 4 Nieces how to drive over the years. It is not fast but with young kids you dont want fast anyway. I use it as a truck for servicing field eq, wood, dirt, rocks,  whatever hauling and once pulled a Taurus that high centered in a ditch out after 3 days of pounding rains. 

Mine is old style low slung so 3" of snow will get the drive belt wet & stop it.


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## BENNCHE

radi0geek said:


> Looking for comments, reviews, opinions on hisun UTVs. Would like to hear from some folks who have actually own/owned one. I have been looking at reviews on several forums but there seems to be a lot of "I know a guy who had a friend who had a cousin who knew a guy that has one" stories. Or "I have a Yamaha and everthing else is crap". I have a Yamaha ATV, A Polaris ATV and a Susuki ATV, Arcticat Snomobiles and few more I will leave off. I like them all.


 I have a  Bennche 500 made by Hisun     300 + miles and runs graeat. Looks identical to the Rhino and sold by my local Yamaha dealer. Has a one year warantee came stock with wench roof windshield mirrors horn and lights at $7'000


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## BigAl RIP

Gee? I guess i did good . A friend gave me his 2006 450 Rhino with a blown motor  and I had a new motor installed and a new front end . Total cost is $1950 .


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## AAUTOFAB1

why not just get a old Jeep CJ-5,about the same size and a much better 4x4 ,haul and pull more,been useing one for years as a UTV, but I guess the new toys are better than the old one's.


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## BENNCHE

AAUTOFAB1 said:


> why not just get a old Jeep CJ-5,atbout the same size and a much better 4x4 ,haul and pull more,been useing one for years as a UTV, but I guess the new toys are better than the old one's.


 I have done the CJ thing. Owned 7 at one time. Thay were grate in their day. Wont go where the UTV's goe.


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## BENNCHE

dpaulson said:


> A wore out north american built one will be better than a chinese model


 Which one is American made  ??


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## AAUTOFAB1

BENNCHE said:


> I have done the CJ thing. Owned 7 at one time. Thay were grate in their day. Wont go where the UTV's goe.


 
i have never seen a UTV make it up any of the 4x4 trails where i live,oh they try, but are not built for real 4-wheelin,but i really don't think they are designed for it fun to run around the ranch in


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## Snowtrac Nome

BENNCHE said:


> I have done the CJ thing. Owned 7 at one time. Thay were grate in their day. Wont go where the UTV's goe.


 i have to disagree i have a cj-5 stock 258 33 x1450 it follows a new polaris 6x6 any place and in some cases pulled it through the polaris has it's place if narrow is what you need also has a better ride quality the cj5 will haul more and pull more weight also has better brakes. when loaded i also find parts to be more in expensive


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## Dargo

I've probably had 8 or 10 neighbors go the 'knock-off' Chinese route with the sellers telling them that the engines were "Honda clones" and the transmissions were "Made by a Yamaha supplier" and all sorts of other obvious bullshit.  Not one of the cheap Chinese knock-offs are still running and they have zero resale value.  They are a lose-lose proposition.  I would not touch one with a ten foot pole using someone else's money.

I've taken the "Honda knock-off" engines apart to fix them since I've worked on Honda engines since 1974.  Honda my ass!!!  The ONLY thing to do with Honda is the word Honda the salesman used in a lie to sell the disposable POS.  Most were leaking fluids (contaminated fluids at that) on the showroom floor.  "Since they are clones, parts are interchangeable".  Again, my ass!  It would be like putting a 15 yard dump bed on an S10 pickup; it's a clone of the original bed, same thing.   Before you light your hard earned money on fire and burn it, look and see how many of those dealers are still in business, have a full service shop, have a fully stocked parts department (because you WON'T find the parts!) and see if they sing the same tune they sang only a few years ago.  I know it sounds rude, but it's the way I grew up and it's served me well; if you can't afford to buy the actual item you want, *NEVER*, under any circumstances buy one that's "just like" what you want according to the person selling the knock-off.


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## Snowtrac Nome

i have to agree with you Dargo even some of the brand name stuff can be hard to get parts for now days so i can imagine the off brand can be impossable. if you need something on the cheep by a small jeep or 4wd mini tuck strip it and put on some big tires


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## BENNCHE

dds said:


> i have to disagree i have a cj-5 stock 258 33 x1450 it follows a new polaris 6x6 any place and in some cases pulled it through the polaris has it's place if narrow is what you need also has a better ride quality the cj5 will haul more and pull more weight also has better brakes. when loaded i also find parts to be more in expensive


     Bought a new cj 5 in 1974 with the AMC 258 .Toed a 13 foot Scoty camper from western PA to Dinasor Utah and back plus meny other trips. Never run it in the ralleys . It probably was the best one I had.


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## timsetzer

*If your looking for a great UTV, don't look at a Bennche. I purchased the 700 Big Horn Crew last December. It spent the first two months in the shop with over heating. After getting it out and having it for 6 months, it is over heating again. Bennche will not respond to the issues. They want you to deal with the dealer and not them.

I don't have any respect for them at all. My wife will not drive the UTV because she does not feel the vehicle will get her where she wants to go and back with out over heating. I have contacted them several times and I can not get a response from them. I would like to have the $13,000.00 back I spent on it to get a Polaris Crew but I can't get a response. Today I hired an attorney to handle this issue.

Be ware and if you have to have a small vehicle to drive on the street, get a jeep.*


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## Snowtrac Nome

just what I said if I were to do it again I think I would get a cj-7 may look at replacing my wifes broom with a wrangler.


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## BENNCHE

timsetzer said:


> *If your looking for a great UTV, don't look at a Bennche. I purchased the 700 Big Horn Crew last December. It spent the first two months in the shop with over heating. After getting it out and having it for 6 months, it is over heating again. Bennche will not respond to the issues. They want you to deal with the dealer and not them.*
> 
> *I don't have any respect for them at all. My wife will not drive the UTV because she does not feel the vehicle will get her where she wants to go and back with out over heating. I have contacted them several times and I can not get a response from them. I would like to have the $13,000.00 back I spent on it to get a Polaris Crew but I can't get a response. Today I hired an attorney to handle this issue.*
> 
> *Be ware and if you have to have a small vehicle to drive on the street, get a jeep.*


   SORRY TO HEAR OF YOUR MISFORTUNE . I HAV HAD MY BENNCHE 500 FOR ABOUT A YEAR. I HAD SOME HEATING PROBLEMS WHEN IT WAS NEW. THERE ARE 2 TEMP. SENDING UNITS THAT CONTROLE THE FAN . ONE ON THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING AND ONE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE RADIATOR. THE SENSOR ON THE RADIATOR WAS BAD FROM THE FACTORY. AS FOR MY DEALER  (CLARION CYCLE) OR THE MFR.(HISUN) I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS WITH EITHER . IF THE HEATING PROBLEM SHOULD BE THE SENSOR ON THE RADIATOR THERE IS A PROTECTIVE BOOT OVER THE PLUG THAT NEEDS TO BE SECURED TO THE SENDING UNIT WITH A ZIP TIE.  THE DEALER STRESSED THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOT A RHINO WHEN I BOUGHT IT WHICH IS HIS MAIN BRAND. I TESTED BOTH AND BOUGHT THE BENNCHE


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## Quadking

radi0geek said:


> Looking for comments, reviews, opinions on hisun UTVs. Would like to hear from some folks who have actually own/owned one. I have been looking at reviews on several forums but there seems to be a lot of "I know a guy who had a friend who had a cousin who knew a guy that has one" stories. Or "I have a Yamaha and everthing else is crap". I have a Yamaha ATV, A Polaris ATV and a Susuki ATV, Arcticat Snomobiles and few more I will leave off. I like them all.


I bought a Hisun from Cara Powersports in Toronto. I bought it new in 2012, its a hisun 500cc ATV, I've taken it riding and hunting with my buddies through some pretty serious trails and it kept up to there Yamaha and Polaris no problem. Plus I got the plow kit for it and have been doing my driveway all winter. No problems yet. just make sure wherever you buy it carries the parts and does service if you ever need it and you'll be fine. Besides its half the price of almost any decent brand name machine out there, I would rather buy anything new then some used machine that you dont know what its been used for, at least you have warranty with these.


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## Dargo

Quadking said:


> I bought a Hisun from Cara Powersports in Toronto. I bought it new in 2012, its a hisun 500cc ATV, I've taken it riding and hunting with my buddies through some pretty serious trails and it kept up to there Yamaha and Polaris no problem. Plus I got the plow kit for it and have been doing my driveway all winter. No problems yet. just make sure wherever you buy it carries the parts and does service if you ever need it and you'll be fine. Besides its half the price of almost any decent brand name machine out there, I would rather buy anything new then some used machine that you dont know what its been used for, at least you have warranty with these.



I would buy a used name brand 100% of the time.  The UTV knockoffs have had a terrible track record based on all the forums I've visited and everyone I've have seen has broken.  The worst part is they have basically zero resale value.  I'd never consider throwing $7000 or more on something that will be worth less than $2000 when you get it home and, as mentioned, about zero if it breaks.  A Yamaha, Kawasaki or Honda will likely give decades of service and still be worth money after all that use.


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## mtntopper

We have a Kymco dealer in our small town who works on them and sells the parts. He is our only ATV dealer and seems to be selling quite a few locally. I have heard that Kymco is here to stay in the US and has a fairly decent reliable reputation as there dealers must be complete parts and service in a business location to be a dealer. Dargo, have you heard anything about this brand? Local service is very important. He ends up working on all brands and does a good job on all of his work from the customer I have talked to. 

I have a 2008 Rhino 700 bought used with only 32 miles on it and it has been bullet proof with tracks or tires. It has about 1700 miles on it without any repairs except for normal service type maintenance.


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## mbsieg

Kymco is not a knockoff. At least not in my book.





mtntopper said:


> We have a Kymco dealer in our small town who works on them and sells the parts. He is our only ATV dealer and seems to be selling quite a few locally. I have heard that Kymco is here to stay in the US and has a fairly decent reliable reputation as there dealers must be complete parts and service in a business location to be a dealer. Dargo, have you heard anything about this brand? Local service is very important. He ends up working on all brands and does a good job on all of his work from the customer I have talked to.
> 
> I have a 2008 Rhino 700 bought used with only 32 miles on it and it has been bullet proof with tracks or tires. It has about 1700 miles on it without any repairs except for normal service type maintenance.


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## Dargo

mtntopper said:


> We have a Kymco dealer in our small town who works on them and sells the parts. He is our only ATV dealer and seems to be selling quite a few locally. I have heard that Kymco is here to stay in the US and has a fairly decent reliable reputation as there dealers must be complete parts and service in a business location to be a dealer. Dargo, have you heard anything about this brand? Local service is very important. He ends up working on all brands and does a good job on all of his work from the customer I have talked to.
> 
> I have a 2008 Rhino 700 bought used with only 32 miles on it and it has been bullet proof with tracks or tires. It has about 1700 miles on it without any repairs except for normal service type maintenance.



Actually Kymco is a Taiwanese company that has been around for a long time.  They literally provided most of the parts for Honda until Honda got big enough to have their own plant and Kymco split off from them in 1963.  BMW currently uses Kymco engines in some of their enduro bikes.  There is a *HUGE* difference in Kymco vs the super el-cheapo Chinese brands like the one just mentioned.  Kymco is actually a very well respected company with many name brand dealers carrying Kymco and proudly putting a Kymco sign right up with their Honda or Suzuki etc. sign out front.  A Kymco will cost you about twice what you can buy a cheapo Chinese machine will.

The big difference is when a company like Kymco forges their own product line rather than a Chinese company that ignores copyrights and patents and makes extremely cheap "clones" of name brand products like the afore mentioned Hisun does with the Yamaha Rhino.  I honestly take offense to that company because they intentionally try to market their product by lying and saying "It's just like a Rhino" but half the cost.   NOT!  That is exactly what I was talking about in the post here about a year ago where a neighbor thought he was getting the "same thing" as a Rhino only to find out he basically blew $6500 bucks on something that never ran right a single day and completely broke within a month with him never getting it fixed or anything from it's so called 'warranty'.

In my area a Kymco scooter or E-Ton scooter costs about twice what the cheapo Chinese junkers cost but rather than being disposable at around 1000 miles on them, they are just getting broken in.  I've seen Kymco and E-Ton scooters at motorcycle dealers used with over 25k miles on them and still running fine.  Again, those are two companies who promote their own product as what it is and do NOT "clone" (read; violate copyright laws) other products.  Since I deal with auto, powersports and marine dealers all the time I get a bit offended at the Chinese junk that appears.  Really, all they do is take money from people who can least afford to be ripped off.  There may be others, but from personal experience working with dealers, warranty claims and actually seeing resale value, Kymco and E-Ton are the two 'not so well known' brands that stand out as being really well built and not just a pretender.

I just looked on eBay's *completed* auctions (they tell the real story; what really sold and for how much) and only 1 Hisun has sold, BUT it had a different engine installed in it from a Polaris or something.  There are dozens of Kymco's that have sold as well as E-Tons.  Those two brands are almost accepted as 'name brands' in many parts of the country since they've been around so long and have great track records.


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## Dargo

mbsieg said:


> Kymco is not a knockoff. At least not in my book.



As you can read in my previous post; I agree.


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## Vicsvw

I have a Ranch Pony for about a month. Waiting for the oil filter adapter. It should be shipped tomorrow. After checking with supplier a order 5 gts. of Castrol Edge, so I could get the oil changed. Now there is a question on if it is OK to use the Castrol Edge 5w-30 oil. Can not find out if it will cause problems with clutch and drive belt. Importer said OK to use but I don't trust them. Help Please from any Castrol Edge users. Vic.


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## JimVT

is it a wet clutch? A wet clutch is one bathed in oil. If it is use a oil that is made for motorcycles with one. 
 some engine oil is made extra slippery and this may cause your clutch to slip.


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## Vicsvw

You get what you pay for. I have had one for 3 months and its been down for 2 months.
My fault since I wanted to change oil write away and no one had oil filters. Went for the filter adapter so I can use reg filters. The importer did not know you could not use Castrol pure synthetic and the"Jaso" rating was needed.    Vic.


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## Bruce4310TX

if its made in china you will wait forever for parts, i have a polaris 500 6x6 awesome machine


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## mudder

radi0geek said:


> Looking for comments, reviews, opinions on hisun UTVs. Would like to hear from some folks who have actually own/owned one. I have been looking at reviews on several forums but there seems to be a lot of "I know a guy who had a friend who had a cousin who knew a guy that has one" stories. Or "I have a Yamaha and everthing else is crap". I have a Yamaha ATV, A Polaris ATV and a Susuki ATV, Arcticat Snomobiles and few more I will leave off. I like them all.


I have 2 hisun atv's , a 500 and a 700 , nothing but trouble with them since new, both are dead in the garage as I type this . the 500 is burning anti freeze and the 700 dumped it's anti freeze into the crank case and up into the air filter. gauges have never worked properly since new, they cough and sputter run like the rev limiter is always cutting in . had them in the dealer steady until warranty ran out and now they don't carry hisun any more. I'm have 12,000 bucks worth of junk now!.Take my advice and don't buy anything made in china. I could see if one of them were trouble and just "built on Monday" but both of them are garbage!


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