Question about Massimo, Cub Cadet and Benneche

[Travis]

I've noticed the  Massimo MSU-500, The Cub Cadet Challenger 500 (550?) and the Benneche Bighorn 500 all look the same?  Does one company make them and they just put their name on them?

 

     

[Willy M]

Massimo assembled in Texas:  http://powersportsbusiness.com/top-stories/2014/02/13/start-up-brand-dreams-of-building-its-own-utv/

Cub Cadet:  It sells its products through dealers and retailers. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio. Cub Cadet LLC operates as a subsidiary of MTD Products, Inc.

Benneche: We assemble all of our vehicles in Coppell, Texas, :  http://www.bennche.com/about/

"ASSEMBLED" does not answer the question of who actually made the parts themselves.  Most likely China, Philippines etc. make the majority of parts found in all these vehicles.

I've seen struts made in Brazil.  Most companies that sell to TSC and other big box stores use parts from overseas and mix and match them to build a 4 wheeler.

Try finding replacement parts after 7 years, darn near impossible with these brands.

If you plan on keeping yours for over 7 years buy such brands ad Polaris, Bombardier and other well known names that make their parts in house.

Chinese parts fail quickly after warranty since makers will only pay the least they can get away with to maximize profits. Yes China can make good parts but often do not

because they are not paid more to do so.

Having owned a big box store 4 wheeler all I can say is NEVER buy one just because the price is lower, you will regret that decision. Best resale value and best 

reliability come from made and assembled in the US and Canada.

A mix match of Chinese, Brazilian, Philippine parts to make a not heard of brand name spells TROUBLE, and yes, spelled in capitals.

And even more so NEVER buy used big box 4 wheelers, they are for sale for good reason, they cost the owner too much to repair.

I learned the hard way, now I own a Polaris. I hope this post if it saves just one person grief, it's worth it. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

[HISUN USA]

Travis,

All those models are made by Hisun Motors.  

www.hisunmotors.com

[Willy M]

Massimo assembled in Texas:  http://powersportsbusiness.com/top-stories/2014/02/13/start-up-brand-dreams-of-building-its-own-utv/

Cub Cadet:  It sells its products through dealers and retailers. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio. Cub Cadet LLC operates as a subsidiary of MTD Products, Inc.

Benneche: We assemble all of our vehicles in Coppell, Texas, :  http://www.bennche.com/about/

"ASSEMBLED" does not answer the question of who actually made the parts themselves.  Most likely China, Philippines etc. make the majority of parts found in all these vehicles.

I've seen struts made in Brazil.  Most companies that sell to TSC and other big box stores use parts from overseas and mix and match them to build a 4 wheeler.

Try finding replacement parts after 7 years, darn near impossible with these brands.

20 minutes ago, HISUN USA said:

Travis,

All those models are made by Hisun Motors.  

www.hisunmotors.com

If you plan on keeping yours for over 7 years buy such brands ad Polaris, Bombardier and other well known names that make their parts in house.

Chinese parts fail quickly after warranty since makers will only pay the least they can get away with to maximize profits. Yes China can make good parts but often do not

because they are not paid more to do so.

Having owned a big box store 4 wheeler all I can say is NEVER buy one just because the price is lower, you will regret that decision. Best resale value and best 

reliability come from made and assembled in the US and Canada.

A mix match of Chinese, Brazilian, Philippine parts to make a not heard of brand name spells TROUBLE, and yes, spelled in capitals.

And even more so NEVER buy used big box 4 wheelers, they are for sale for good reason, they cost the owner too much to repair.

I learned the hard way, now I own a Polaris. I hope this post if it saves just one person grief, it's worth it. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Founded in 1988 in China, withstood the test of time and earned the trust of many customers worldwide, our company now ranks among the top three companies-manufacturers of ATV and first as a producer of UTV in China. Our production bases are located in the / u area of over 600,000 square meters in China and over 100,000 square meters in the United States, include assets of several billion. dollars and over 3,000 employees.

HISUN ™ MOTORS Group has all the necessary national and international certificates, such as CCC, COP, E3, EPA, E-mark, ISO. Attitude to every detail and strict systems of quality control in accordance with QMS standards give us the right to be proud that we have fulfilled our commitment as a manufacturer of innovative and all-terrain vehicles that meet or exceed international standards.

 

My concern is as I previously stated, for people who keep their vehicles for many years,  will spare parts be available after years? What dealers tell me is NO. I do know if you are lucky enough to find a part you need you will pay dearly for it.

Seen as an expendable product it's highly unlikely they will make and stock spare parts much past past warranty periods. 

One thing I am sure of "you get what you pay for" and barely that. 

CAVEAT EMPTOR.

 

 

[HISUN USA]

Willy M.,

It sure feels like your trying to get things stirred up.

Parts are all available from our dealers.  Please feel free to use our dealer locator at www.hisunmotors.com to contact one if you need any parts.

[Willy M]

Not at all. Of course parts available for newer models. I'm talking about older ones only.  With a 6 year old Sportworks I could not find a strut. With the gas out of it you could not operate the vehicle safely.

These are bitsa 4 wheelers, bits from here and there.  All one has to do is call a seller of one of these and ask for parts for an older model.  Strut was stamped "Venesuela" of all places.

I would suggest selling any of these before they become obsolete.

[strike250]

Hisun motors is also the manufacture of many parts for Yamaha and other big name brand UTV and ATV manufactures. Keep in mind that Polaris RZR170 is also a chinese built UTV. If you've driving any other large brand name ATV or UTV, you have most likely had a vehicle with Hisun parts in the engine or elsewhere. They just started to make their own footprint in the billion dollar UTV market. They have been around now for over 5 years and with sales increasing more and more every year, the dealer base growing slowly but surly, they will be around for a while yet. Hisun and Bennche and Massimo and Coleman and so forth are going through internal growing pains. They all want to be the top dog, and word is that Bennche and Massimo are going to split away from Hisun soon. So their models might change. The reason you see the Hisun brand looking so much like Yamaha and Polaris is due to the fact that they actually manufacture the OEM parts for them at Hisun in China. Thats why they are called Yamaha clones at times, or Polaris knock offs. Currently Hisun makes all the brands for themselves, Bennche, Massimo, Coleman and more all just re-brand the Hisun product. Kinda of like Chevy and GMC, just a couple of different things but the same vehicle and different name. Sometimes the two companies fight internally against each other. 

Most of the parts in these UTV's are crossed referenced with Yamaha or another big name brand.

 

[mseawell]

If Hisun makes the parts for other brands and the Massimo MSU (sold at Tractor Supply) is a Rhino clone.  Will after market engine parts for the Rhino 660 or 700 fit the MSU 700?  Particularly, the jug and head.  I would love to try the Rhino big bore (745cc) kit on my 700.

Edited May 29, 2020 by mseawell
Corrected typos

[strike250]

In order to keep Yamaha happy, Hisun had to change the design by 5%. The clutch can use a Yamaha replacement or any aftermarket clutch that will fit the rhino 700 as well. As for the cylinder head and cylinder it is slightly different. Not sure if the aftermarket kit will work. what does the kit come with? Is it just a larger piston and you bore out your cylinder? or does it come with more parts.

[mseawell]

Is it ok to post a link to the kit on here?

Also, just from looking at pictures the MSU 700 head appears to be the Rhino 660 head, it has 5 valves, where the Rhino 700 head has 4 valves.  Again, that's just looking at pictures, I haven't torn mine down.

[strike250]

I just got off the phone with Hisun. So, the MSU 700 is a mix of parts from the Yamaha parts bin. They are using a Rhino 660 cylinder head and it has 5 valves instead of the Yamahas 4 valve head on the Rhino 700. They had to use a mix of yamaha parts to keep Yamaha happy. This way they can say they didnt copy their engine. There is no real way to know if the kit will work.  If you are looking for additional power, I would perhaps get a Rhino 660 performance cam, port your head and have a good exhaust system. The fastest way to power is how fast you can get the air and fuel through the engine, per the cylinder head. This will do more for you than any big bore kit. Porting alone will increase your power. Porting can be done by almost anyone who you trust in your area. The cams are available online almost everywhere as well. This is just my 2cents.  Another way is to program your ECU for additional fuel curve.

They have their own bore size. engine size: 686cc bore and stroke:102×84.0mm compression ratio: 9.2:1

[mseawell]

strike250,

Thanks for the info.  I'll look into having the head ported, a performance cam and exhaust.

 

[kenfain]

3 hours ago, mseawell said:

strike250,

Thanks for the info.  I'll look into having the head ported, a performance cam and exhaust.

 

There's a turbo kit for the yamaho rhino. Maybe the brackets would fit yours? It turns the rhino into a beast.

[Joe Breaux]

after the experiences I have had with Massimo I would STEER CLEAR of anything they sell.. and forget any warrenty..its non-existent .. and Tractor Supply will laugh in your face 

[strike250]

I have to admit I fully understand and know of the experiences first hand, you are right. That's why I took it upon myself to help those out there who have questions or need some service advice. The dealer network is very poor. Hisun, massimo and Bennche all are connected and they don't have the same dealer support as the larger Japanese or others out there. Their model is to just sell as much as possible, and not worry to much about service and parts. They don't have the same "race on sunday and sell on monday" as the other main manufactures. They Don't have a budget for things like racing or advertising. Their sales continue to rise every year regardless of how they treat the dealer network. One of the reasons for poor performance with the dealer support is that they don't have a lot of dealers currently to match the others out there. That means when you need a part or service its not easy to find a local dealership. Also, the aftermarket is cautious to jump on board and support those vehicles unless the manufacture helps them. This manufacture does not understand that relationship and thus it lacks in this area. They dont understand why they need to support the aftermarket, when all they want to do is sell product. As far as quality goes, they are okay. They have teething issues just like everyone else does. The dealers don't want to fix them because they just dont know much about them and they want the easy fix to continue to make money. When you have a dealer or mechanic that looks at them and instantly thinks to them selves that its a piece of @#$%, then they have already got it in their mind that they dont want to work on it, when its easier to repair than most larger company UTVs out there.

Theres also the problem with ordering parts, as they are located in central U.S. only. and it takes time to ship parts out to them, there is no local warehouse like some other manufactures have available. Folks like tractor supply hate working on them, their policies are really aimed at just selling them, and when they break down, its a pain for them to work on them. Any good mechanic can pretty much do any repair on these units, remember it takes fuel, compression and spark to make something run. When tractor supply tries to get warranty done with the manufacture it takes longer than they would like, and that cost money. Yes its not a perfect system for the Chinese UTV market, but they are not the complete problem, some of the blame does rest on some dealerships out there who just dont want to work on them. So it gets a bad rap for sure. 

For me, its been up and down, but my customers have continued to call upon me for assistance and help and I will continue to provide that to them at no charge. I am retired and I do have a small dealership just to keep busy. I enjoy the conversations I have with my customers and continually look for answers to their questions, even when I don't know it. I try to walk them through the problem and even provide an alternative part when I can. I am sorry you have had such a bad feeling from these UTVs, they can be a ton of fun for the money, as long as you walk into it understanding that it might have a problem that you will have to address some time. I have never owned a vehicle that didnt need to go to the dealership once in its life. For what you get, they are still a great bargain, and I would still continue to recommend them to others while advising them of the problems ahead of time. I am open and want my folks to be happy. I tell them the good and bad before they buy any of these products, knowing they will not buy from me as they are mostly out of state, so why not be honest and let them know up front.

[Joe Breaux]

thanks for the reply... I am just disgusted by the whole mess..    BTW   this is the response I recently got from MASSIMO MOTOR SPORTS home office... 

The business stated:

"Mr. Breaux, You are correct we did end our contract with HiSUN because of engine problems. We ended that relationship in 2018 and have not looked back sense. I am sorry if you have had an issue with our customer service department in the past but we have completely revamped the department and it's standard operating procedures over the past two years. Massimo Team"

 

yet they offer ZERO help   AGAIN with my machine that broke on MILE ONE on its first day and is currently in shop at my expense AGAIN for 5th time ..Massimo has never paid one dime for repairs...  If it had a decent motor [ like YAMAHA] it would be acceptable but HISUN is garbage 

[Travis]

If I were you, I'd threaten with legal action via lemon law and get back your money.

 

[Joe Breaux]

I did threaten legal action since it broke the first time on its very first day.. They laughed and said I wouldn't be the first!   .. apparently they don't really care about their customers or their reputation.   All I want is for it to work properly but it seems the HISUN motors 500 and 750 are incapable of that... Anyone know if a Yamaha engine will work on these ? I m told Hisun copied the Rhino motor.. will it bolt up? and where would I get one?

[Ridge Runner]

Joe. Did you ever get your UTV running?

[Joe Breaux]

OH HELL YEAH.. new Head, New Yamaha Head Gasket, New Waterpump...   We bypassed the thermoswitch for electric fan to run 100% .. That made a huge difference. ..running great now.. had it out 5 weekends now, run all day with no more overheating issues 

[strike250]

Great to hear, glad you're able to enjoy it now.

[Ridge Runner]

Great Joe. Sad you had to do all that to get a new machine running.  I hope mine lasts awhile....

[Joe Breaux]

so far its doing great.. no thanks to the pathetic service dept at Massimo Ripoff Motors 

[inkjunkie61]

I have a Massimo Alligator 550..I have read that it is a clone of a Yamaha engine..which engine? I would like to buy Yamaha replacement parts, when needed..thanks..