2022 Massimo Buck 450 First Oil Change Tips Needed

[Bill Hughes]

Looking for tips on the engine oil change .  First oil change is coming up in a month. Any tips from Buck 450 owners? 

[Joe Breaux]

make sure your oil is approved for WET CLUTCH applications.. Do not use Full Synthetic Automotive oils .. I personally use ACTEVO  m/c oil from Castrol  10W40 in all my ATVs,  UTV and M/C 

[TapBoss]

I use Lucas products for both oil and differential.

[Steve Vanvelzen]

I had to purchase an oil filter from amazon for Hisun (also compatible with Massimo) and changed the oil with Motul 10W40 Synthetic ATV/UTV Oil. I topped it right up  and now I find that it goes into Drive and Reverse much better. It is still not perfect but much better.

[Lippert Powersports]

The first break in oil change after around 100 miles, replace the factory mineral oil with a 30w conventional, no need to change the filter yet. At 500 miles you do the full service with filter then add a good quality 10w-40 synthetic.

Just to clarify, Massimo is a distributor not a manufacturer, what you own is a Linhai machine! Linhai is a manufacturing partner of Yamaha and have been building these types of machines around the world since 1994.  They are designed and engineered in either the US or Japan then built in China and assembled in the US actually Garland TX, Massimo owns the US distribution rights. Bennchie used to sell the same machine but they’re in the middle of a lawsuit and that’s a whole different story. This is not a Hisun machine, the engine is basically a Yamaha so you should be able to cross reference parts!

[Steve Vanvelzen]

Thanks for clarifying this for us.

Oh I see, so to save money, rather than Yamaha scrapping out all of their out of spec and reject parts they ship them to Linhai who then sends them to Massimo in Texas (and previously Bennchie) to use them up in their machines. So there is no accountability on the part of Yamaha which also explains why everyone complains vehemently about the tech support on these machines; kind of like machines from the island of misfit toys.

[Joe Breaux]

36 minutes ago, Steve Vanvelzen said:

Thanks for clarifying this for us.

 So there is no accountability on the part of Yamaha which also explains why everyone complains vehemently about the tech support on these machines; kind of like machines from the island of misfit toys.

lol   exactly.. and Non-Existent warranty service, not to mention ,no shops will touch them unless you pay CASH UP FRONT  [ and not even then at most] because Massimo never pays them.   And just because Yamaha parts might interchange with some Massimo parts, does not mean the chinese made parts are the same quality as the YAMAHA built.   You pay less for the Chinese stuff... AND YOU GET LESS  ..Its that simple.   BTW, my Massimo  is HISUN not LINHAI  engine/trans ..or at least started out that way. Now its mixed Hisun/Yamaha  engine.  Guess what? The Yamaha parts did not fail!!  . I speak from  disappointing experience with both Massimo quality, or lack there of, and the atrocious Service or lack of ANY  there of. .. just my opinion 

[Bill Hughes]

44 minutes ago, Steve Vanvelzen said:

Thanks for clarifying this for us.

Oh I see, so to save money, rather than Yamaha scrapping out all of their out of spec and reject parts they ship them to Linhai who then sends them to Massimo in Texas (and previously Bennchie) to use them up in their machines. So there is no accountability on the part of Yamaha which also explains why everyone complains vehemently about the tech support on these machines; kind of like machines from the island of misfit toys.

You do realize that virtually every item manufactured in significant quantity is manufactured in China right?  And you do realize that Yamaha, Honda, Polaris, Massimo, etc. don't own any of the manufacturing companies in China because China is a communist country so the government essentially owns every business right? So all of these vendors that sell in the US are distributors. They don't make the parts, they may, like Massimo assemble components and subassemblies into finished vehicles in the US, right? You understand that? Now let's look at why this is the case. what do you think the reason is?  I'll give it to you. It's not because people don't want to make things in the US, most everyone would prefer that. It's because it more or less  IMPOSSIBLE to manufacture anything significant in the USA and not because of labor cost. Labor cost have little impact because most major manufacturing is highly automated, using little human labor.  No, the reason is US government regulations and restrictions (and their friends in the legal business) make it cost and legally prohibitive to make metal, plastic, glass, etc. all the basic components of any complex device.  No company can survive trying to do major manufacturing in the USA and they can't open a plant in China (which has no labor laws, no EPA, no OSHA, etc. ) because everything in China is government owned. So the only option is partnering with a Chinese company, and so every major US product vendor does that. Honda, Yamaha, Polaris, etc. all the basic parts that need to be made in large quantity are made in China.  If you don't like this, then you need to think hard about how you vote and pressure politicians to be more US friendly and less China friendly.  That's the real problem.  It's not an excuse for Massimo's lack of attention to customers and quality control. They could do better, but these problems are not exclusive to Massimo and it's a symptom of poor US government and huge over-reach in regulations and favors to special interest and outside influences. If the US government and corrupt politicians would clean up their act, companies with poor products and poor customer services couldn't survive,  As it currently stands, high quality and good customer service is too expensive and too much legal and regulatory lability to compete in the USA.  Sitting back an blaming companies struggling to survive won't fix it and the current US administration is tacking on more and more odious regulations which have crippled the supply chain and manufacturing, so hang on to your wallet, its going to get worse.  

[Steve Vanvelzen]

I agree with you 100%. Actually the country north of you is even worse. We have a communist lover Prime Minister who's father was also a communist lover Prime Minister.  If you are ever really bored at night  with absolutely nothing else to do research the Trudeaus and there links to the communist leaders of the world. It's scary, and just think, throughout history Canada has just been a puppet for it's much larger neighbour to the south, the US. What does that tell us. The US presidents have been lip locked to the CCP leaders for decades, starting no later than with Nixon who was suckered in by Mao until finally Clinton pushed to get China into the WTO. China and their CCP who have absolutely NO respect for human life, animal life, the environment, other countries or anything for that matter. Now how stupid was that?!!! All of us Western Countries! My biggest question for a long time has been, why have democratic countries cow-towed to this country for all this time? Are our politicians being paid off? Are they pressured by big Corp? Or a combination? The US and it's government absolutely despises Cuba and North Korea and has for a long time; but then they kiss China's ass every chance they get, they send all of our jobs over there, let them steal everyone else's ideas and let them get away with whatever they want while they over-regulate companies and people at home. I don't understand, Cuba and North Korea are small potatoes. China has always been the only threat.  Unfortunately most of the population here and there are what I call "Sheeple".  I hear it from my wife all the time which really upsets me, "but everything is so cheap from China, I don't want that to change" AAHHH! I try my best to vote the right people in but am always outnumbered by the Sheeple. 

I just want to hide out on my farm and hopefully get a chance to retire in peace before big brother knocks on my door and tells me that I have to keep my religion to myself, tell me I can't  speak my mind anymore, that I am being watched and tracked where ever I go, every time I buy something they are keeping track, when I deposit a certain amount of money into my bank they are going to interrogate me on where I got it, and when a new vaccine comes out I have no choice but to take it or I will be ostracized and lose my ability to enjoy rights I previously had.

OMG...TOO LATE! Communism is here already. Hey look at the bright side, if communism is here maybe they will bring the jobs back.

Oh, BTW Bill, hope this helps with your first oil change

[Joe Breaux]

2 hours ago, Bill Hughes said:

You do realize that virtually every item manufactured in significant quantity is manufactured in China right?  And you do realize that Yamaha, Honda, Polaris, Massimo, etc. don't own any of the manufacturing companies in China because China is a communist country so the government essentially owns every business right? So all of these vendors that sell in the US are distributors. They don't make the parts, they may, like Massimo assemble components and subassemblies into finished vehicles in the US, right? You understand that? Now let's look at why this is the case. what do you think the reason is?  I'll give it to you. It's not because people don't want to make things in the US, most everyone would prefer that. It's because it more or less  IMPOSSIBLE to manufacture anything significant in the USA and not because of labor cost. Labor cost have little impact because most major manufacturing is highly automated, using little human labor.  No, the reason is US government regulations and restrictions (and their friends in the legal business) make it cost and legally prohibitive to make metal, plastic, glass, etc. all the basic components of any complex device.  No company can survive trying to do major manufacturing in the USA and they can't open a plant in China (which has no labor laws, no EPA, no OSHA, etc. ) because everything in China is government owned. So the only option is partnering with a Chinese company, and so every major US product vendor does that. Honda, Yamaha, Polaris, etc. all the basic parts that need to be made in large quantity are made in China.  If you don't like this, then you need to think hard about how you vote and pressure politicians to be more US friendly and less China friendly.  That's the real problem.  It's not an excuse for Massimo's lack of attention to customers and quality control. They could do better, but these problems are not exclusive to Massimo and it's a symptom of poor US government and huge over-reach in regulations and favors to special interest and outside influences. If the US government and corrupt politicians would clean up their act, companies with poor products and poor customer services couldn't survive,  As it currently stands, high quality and good customer service is too expensive and too much legal and regulatory lability to compete in the USA.  Sitting back an blaming companies struggling to survive won't fix it and the current US administration is tacking on more and more odious regulations which have crippled the supply chain and manufacturing, so hang on to your wallet, its going to get worse.  

I dont need to think long and hard on who to vote for, and I promise you I did not vote for the current senile old fool in the WH that cant string two coherent sentences together and cant answer a question without the answer written down on index cards ahead of time.. How on earth is this man allowed to be in charge?   If anyone voted for him, you should hang your head in shame.  .. But then I never lived my whole life on govt dole.. 

[Lippert Powersports]

All the major brands either own plants or have a manufacturing partner in China, in 2017 Polaris bought a plant in China. All the Japanese manufacturers have plants there as well, it’s the way of the “global economy “ that we live in today. The elite’s run the economy and the rest of us deal with it.

[Bill Hughes]

22 hours ago, Steve Vanvelzen said:

I agree with you 100%. Actually the country north of you is even worse. We have a communist lover Prime Minister who's father was also a communist lover Prime Minister.  If you are ever really bored at night  with absolutely nothing else to do research the Trudeaus and there links to the communist leaders of the world. It's scary, and just think, throughout history Canada has just been a puppet for it's much larger neighbour to the south, the US. What does that tell us. The US presidents have been lip locked to the CCP leaders for decades, starting no later than with Nixon who was suckered in by Mao until finally Clinton pushed to get China into the WTO. China and their CCP who have absolutely NO respect for human life, animal life, the environment, other countries or anything for that matter. Now how stupid was that?!!! All of us Western Countries! My biggest question for a long time has been, why have democratic countries cow-towed to this country for all this time? Are our politicians being paid off? Are they pressured by big Corp? Or a combination? The US and it's government absolutely despises Cuba and North Korea and has for a long time; but then they kiss China's ass every chance they get, they send all of our jobs over there, let them steal everyone else's ideas and let them get away with whatever they want while they over-regulate companies and people at home. I don't understand, Cuba and North Korea are small potatoes. China has always been the only threat.  Unfortunately most of the population here and there are what I call "Sheeple".  I hear it from my wife all the time which really upsets me, "but everything is so cheap from China, I don't want that to change" AAHHH! I try my best to vote the right people in but am always outnumbered by the Sheeple. 

I just want to hide out on my farm and hopefully get a chance to retire in peace before big brother knocks on my door and tells me that I have to keep my religion to myself, tell me I can't  speak my mind anymore, that I am being watched and tracked where ever I go, every time I buy something they are keeping track, when I deposit a certain amount of money into my bank they are going to interrogate me on where I got it, and when a new vaccine comes out I have no choice but to take it or I will be ostracized and lose my ability to enjoy rights I previously had.

OMG...TOO LATE! Communism is here already. Hey look at the bright side, if communism is here maybe they will bring the jobs back.

Oh, BTW Bill, hope this helps with your first oil change

I just got a note from Media Elect Biden, he's taking care of the oil change, but you have to pay him back.

[mcraigchr]

On 2/5/2022 at 11:50 AM, Bill Hughes said:

so hang on to your wallet, its going to get worse

Sadly, you are correct and this will be only a part of the difficulties that are coming.

I'm glad I live in rural Texas.  

CC

[mcraigchr]

On 2/3/2022 at 11:37 AM, Bill Hughes said:

Looking for tips on the engine oil change .  First oil change is coming up in a month. Any tips from Buck 450 owners? 

I used Mobil 1 4T 10w-40 when I had a Coleman / Hisun and run Mobil 1 products in all of my vehicles.  Which as others have stated, is a wet clutch so you need a motor oil that designed for that.  Had no issues with the oil itself.  The machine, which would make that oil resemble gritty mud after 20 hours, I had an issue with.

[Bill Hughes]

1 hour ago, mcraigchr said:

I used Mobil 1 4T 10w-40 when I had a Coleman / Hisun and run Mobil 1 products in all of my vehicles.  Which as others have stated, is a wet clutch so you need a motor oil that designed for that.  Had no issues with the oil itself.  The machine, which would make that oil resemble gritty mud after 20 hours, I had an issue with.

Obviously Mobile 1 is a very good product and if you are using the approved motorcycle type mobile 1 it should perform as well as any other brand synthetic. There's virtually no difference between major brands. 

[Joe Breaux]

1 hour ago, mcraigchr said:

I used Mobil 1 4T 10w-40 when I had a Coleman / Hisun and run Mobil 1 products in all of my vehicles.  Which as others have stated, is a wet clutch so you need a motor oil that designed for that.  Had no issues with the oil itself.  The machine, which would make that oil resemble gritty mud after 20 hours, I had an issue with.

Gritty mud?  hmm.....have you checked for a head gasket leak?   Sounds like coolant in the oil.  mine has never looked like that in my HISUN  500 engine.. Not even the break-in oil it came with.. I changed that at 15 miles after Head Gasket leak, and then cracked head issues.  then once more at 100 miles after waterpump fail.  .  and now I change it every 400 miles.. It looks fine at 400mi but I change it anyway.   Amazon oil filters and Castrol Actevo M/C 10W40 

[mcraigchr]

1 minute ago, Joe Breaux said:

Gritty mud?  hmm.....have you checked for a head gasket leak?   Sounds like coolant in the oil.  mine has never looked like that in my HISUN  500 engine.. Not even the break-in oil it came with.. I changed that at 15 miles after Head Gasket leak, and then cracked head issues.  then once more at 100 miles after waterpump fail.  .  and now I change it every 400 miles.. It looks fine at 400mi but I change it anyway.   Amazon oil filters and Castrol Actevo M/C 10W40 

I traded it in on a Kubota.  The decision was fairly easy because:

1. I sent the oil off to the lab.  The report that came back was about as good as our current political environment.

2. All of my other equipment is diesel.  I have diesel tanks for my equipment. The RTV-X1140 is diesel and has some other nice features (4 seater mode or 2 seater mode allowing for more people or more cargo).

3.  Kubota was offering 0% financing for 48 months.

4.  All of the rest of my equipment is Kubota and I have never had a single issue with any of it.

You might be right about the head gasket.  I did not check.  It was under warranty and all of warranty repair places around me stopped working on them. Kinda strange that 3 different places stopped at or about the same time.  I took that as a sign of future grief and traded it in a Kubota.  Had nothing but good times since.

CC   

[Joe Breaux]

They ALL have stopped working on them everywhere.  They dont get paid!  A Massimo warranty is about as good as Joe Biden's mental acuity .. I am shocked you could trade it.. Honda refused mine with almost no miles on it 

[mcraigchr]

2 minutes ago, Joe Breaux said:

They ALL have stopped working on them everywhere.  They dont get paid!  A Massimo warranty is about as good as Joe Biden's mental acuity .. I am shocked you could trade it.. Honda refused mine with almost no miles on it 

Gosh.  Sorry to hear that.  If it makes you feel any better, I took a bath on it.  lol.   Paid $8500.  2 years later, I got $3000.  😞

In case you're interested, here is the oil report.

[Bill Hughes]

57 minutes ago, Joe Breaux said:

They ALL have stopped working on them everywhere.  They dont get paid!  A Massimo warranty is about as good as Joe Biden's mental acuity .. I am shocked you could trade it.. Honda refused mine with almost no miles on it 

Simply not true.. Just yesterday massimo shipped me a complete new windshield at no charge as a warranty replacement because the lower piece bowed a bit and didn't seal against the upper. I called on Monday. The tech called back yesterday and I sent a photo. Windshield shipped same day along with a side net latch . No charge. 

So you make a lot of statements you don't seem to be able to back up.  Such as finding hundreds of new Honda utv s when no one else can find one and claiming Massimo doesn't honor their warranty when clearly they have been nothing but top notch in my recent exchanges with customer support. . If you don't like your machine, dump it. Why are you wasting your time on this forum whining in other owners ears? 

[Bill Hughes]

1 hour ago, mcraigchr said:

I traded it in on a Kubota.  The decision was fairly easy because:

1. I sent the oil off to the lab.  The report that came back was about as good as our current political environment.

2. All of my other equipment is diesel.  I have diesel tanks for my equipment. The RTV-X1140 is diesel and has some other nice features (4 seater mode or 2 seater mode allowing for more people or more cargo).

3.  Kubota was offering 0% financing for 48 months.

4.  All of the rest of my equipment is Kubota and I have never had a single issue with any of it.

You might be right about the head gasket.  I did not check.  It was under warranty and all of warranty repair places around me stopped working on them. Kinda strange that 3 different places stopped at or about the same time.  I took that as a sign of future grief and traded it in a Kubota.  Had nothing but good times since.

CC   

Kubota makes decent stuff. They should. Their utv sells for $6000 to $9000 more than a Massimo. 

[Joe Breaux]

I wish I had paid the $4K more for the Honda Pioneer.. I would have saved money after 6 times in the repair shop that Massimo refused to pay for .. 1st time, it was 1 day old when it broke in its 1st mile .. I even tried to trade it in at a big loss.. HONDA would not take it and it was brand new with ...haha warranty..haha 

[Steve Vanvelzen]

36 minutes ago, Joe Breaux said:

I wish I had paid the $4K more for the Honda Pioneer.. I would have saved money after 6 times in the repair shop that Massimo refused to pay for .. 1st time, it was 1 day old when it broke in its 1st mile .. I even tried to trade it in at a big loss.. HONDA would not take it and it was brand new with ...haha warranty..haha 

Not sure about your area but check the private for sale used market. Maybe there is no inventory out there and you can try to recoup most of your money by reselling it.

[Joe Breaux]

 I would not have sold in to a friend. lol.....Dont need  to now.. Spent $$$$$$$$  converting to YAMAHA  critical parts..  its running good now.. The MSU 500 is a 95% clone of Yamahas RHINO  machine , but with cheap chinese  made parts .. that Massimo refuses to warranty .

[Travis]

13 hours ago, Bill Hughes said:

Simply not true.. Just yesterday massimo shipped me a complete new windshield at no charge as a warranty replacement because the lower piece bowed a bit and didn't seal against the upper. I called on Monday. The tech called back yesterday and I sent a photo. Windshield shipped same day along with a side net latch . No charge. 

So you make a lot of statements you don't seem to be able to back up.  Such as finding hundreds of new Honda utv s when no one else can find one and claiming Massimo doesn't honor their warranty when clearly they have been nothing but top notch in my recent exchanges with customer support. . If you don't like your machine, dump it. Why are you wasting your time on this forum whining in other owners ears? 

just like you've had good experiences with a company, people have had bad experiences with the company, it happens all the time with different companies,

[Bill Hughes]

13 minutes ago, Travis said:

just like you've had good experiences with a company, people have had bad experiences with the company, it happens all the time with different companies,

Absolutely true and you make my point, which is, all of these companies are pretty much the same and you will find good and bad service at different independent business that service any of these machines. I don't like blanket statements that one or the other is all bad or all good. That simply isn't true.  Yes, Honda and Polaris, etc. have been around and gotten through most of their growing pains so they have a lead in some areas, but most parts are made in China for every brand and these machines are not indestructible and many of the established brands have priced themselves out of the market.  Everyone will have differing experiences and results. Massimo is clearly making efforts to improve their customer care and I applaud that. Competition is good for the market place. Having viable competitors will force established brands to price more competitively. As we used to say, place a cast iron anvil on the demo floor and someone will make something nice with it and someone else will break it. 

[mcraigchr]

13 hours ago, Bill Hughes said:

Kubota makes decent stuff. They should. Their utv sells for $6000 to $9000 more than a Massimo. 

Yeah, I paid more than I ever thought I would for a UTV.  $18200.  But, there are clearly some things about it that drive the price increase. 

1.  It's a diesel.  There is always a price increase for that.  Power / torque and longevity are worth something.

2.  It's a 5 seater / 2 seater with an expanding bed.  This might be an option too on some Mossimo models.  Not sure.

3.  I have not confirmed this, just read it from sources that are not bullet proof.  The Kubota frame is supposedly a L series tractor frame.   If true, this machine is a good deal tougher than most (all?) China made buggies.

4.  There is *no* comparison in the ride quality between the Hisun and the Kubota.  We thought we were in a Cadillac when we got the Kubota home.  lol.

So, while agree with your statement about a Kubota costing more (purely $$$) ... it really isn't an apples to apples comparison.  That said, I see where there is a market for the 2 seater, gas powered UTV's that cost less.  It just didn't fit well for me.

CC

[Bill Hughes]

2 minutes ago, mcraigchr said:

Yeah, I paid more than I ever thought I would for a UTV.  $18200.  But, there are clearly some things about it that drive the price increase. 

1.  It's a diesel.  There is always a price increase for that.  Power / torque and longevity are worth something.

2.  It's a 5 seater / 2 seater with an expanding bed.  This might be an option too on some Mossimo models.  Not sure.

3.  I have not confirmed this, just read it from sources that are not bullet proof.  The Kubota frame is supposedly a L series tractor frame.   If true, this machine is a good deal tougher than most (all?) China made buggies.

4.  There is *no* comparison in the ride quality between the Hisun and the Kubota.  We thought we were in a Cadillac when we got the Kubota home.  lol.

So, while agree with your statement about a Kubota costing more (purely $$$) ... it really isn't an apples to apples comparison.  That said, I see where there is a market for the 2 seater, gas powered UTV's that cost less.  It just didn't fit well for me.

CC

Of course , if you have the money and you're happy spending it, then you should buy the most reliable with the  most features. But if you don't have that much cash and don't want to spend it, their are other options. That's how markets and competition work  And of course, like everything else, since 2013 Kubota makes all if it's parts in China.

[mcraigchr]

18 minutes ago, Bill Hughes said:

Of course , if you have the money and you're happy spending it, then you should buy the most reliable with the  most features. But if you don't have that much cash and don't want to spend it, their are other options. That's how markets and competition work  And of course, like everything else, since 2013 Kubota makes all if it's parts in China.

My understanding was that Kubota made the bulk of its parts in the US and Japan.  But that is merely hearsay on my part.  Outside of political issues (which I shall keep to myself lest I offend a libtard), I don't have an issue with *quality made* (controlled) Chinese ... anything.  I have an issue with Chinese crap being pushed as something good.  There seems to be a lot of that in the power sports area.  Tractor Supply, a place I spend a lot of money and have / had a high opinion of, pushes the Coleman / Hisun crap.  After I started having issues with the unit, I lost a lot of respect for Tractor Supply.  They completely took a hands off / 'not my problem' stance.  This is after owning it for less than 30 days.  So, I dealt directly with Coleman and Hisun.  I can assure you, my money will not go to those turds ever again.   

Funny thing is, I was working a deal on a Polaris at the same time as the Kubota.  Comparably equipped, the Kubota was cheaper when 0% financing was considered.  Plus I got the Kubota after a 2 month wait.  The Polaris dealer couldn't commit to getting anything for 9 months.

Not saying these things to argue with you, just that there is more to a UTV purchase than merely price.  Comparably equipped the Kubota is not more expensive when all things are considered (including cost of ownership). 

[Bill Hughes]

Kubota announced the transfer of all parts manufacturing to China in 2013.