Plumber101010
Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
Well. Here we go!!! First 30 min ride.
Not going to list the pros, as we probably all know what those are and enough has been written about the benefits of owning one of these. So I am only going to concentrate on things I didn't like. Not necessarily to be interpreted as meaning I don't like it overall. As I do.
First thing I immediately noticed was a severe lack of closable compartments. My Massimo 500 has THREE closable compartment. For $23000 and change, having only the glove compartment was an oversight! The other two compartments are open and to me that's just dumb. Couple of good bumps and whatever is in those open compartments with no lid or door is going to come flying out in the air. They should've had a closed hatch added.
Next thing I noticed, I cannot imagine why this thing does not have a parking/emergency brake? Using the transmission versus locking the brakes on the wheels just doesn't make sense to me. I'm sure someone will tell me that one is better, but what they won't be able to tell me, is what would happen if I have brake failure going down a hill? I like having a lever that I can pull a cable with to lock brakes manually, that's just good common safety sense.
I am almost regretting the EPS.. Almost. You lose a certain feel for the vehicle. You lose the feeling of "tightness" like rack and pinion. You lose the "fun of it" There's too much free play, to say when you are turning back and forth quickly, say maneuvering many short curves one after another like an obstacle course with cones, there's seems to be ( not an expert and maybe the nature of power steering) just a tad of hesitation before the tire follows. I almost like it being a little hard to turn. Making U-turns though without a doubt, it was wonderful to have, so I think everything is a trade-off.
There is a lot of left right sway. At times not feeling as stable as I would have liked to feel. I don't know if that's due to the diff Mudlite Tires design or the fact that I was driving it normally thru my trails with the plow still on. I will check the air pressure and remove the plow and see if that changes it any.
Generally and overall, it was much rougher, harder, harsher, louder, then I envisioned. Having absolutely no experience with these type vehicles I don't know why, but I envisioned this quiet little Honda, silently creeping up the hill with the smoothness and power of a Boeing 747. Wasn't quite the reality of it. Transmission was hard to shift, sometimes long to shift, and engine noise not reduced enough to make a great impression. Yes, I am aware after reading many threads the transmission will start to smooth out noticeably. The suspension was much smoother than I thought so that's a plus.
Was under the impression that the soft door panels were very easily removable. I was under that impression by reading on the website under accessories says it's "quick install and removal" This does NOT appear to be the case at all and requires removing mounting brackets and screws. I don't consider that "easily removable" in anybody's world. Easily would be to pull a couple pins.
Overall, I guess my biggest disappointment is simply this. And again this could be attributed to driving around with the plow and or the tires.
But when I turned, or maneuvered, it was almost like everything else had to follow Like links on a chain. Turn left, then wheel followed, than chassis frame followed. I just didn't feel like I was in absolute control of the unit as there was just too much delayed sway.
Not going to list the pros, as we probably all know what those are and enough has been written about the benefits of owning one of these. So I am only going to concentrate on things I didn't like. Not necessarily to be interpreted as meaning I don't like it overall. As I do.
First thing I immediately noticed was a severe lack of closable compartments. My Massimo 500 has THREE closable compartment. For $23000 and change, having only the glove compartment was an oversight! The other two compartments are open and to me that's just dumb. Couple of good bumps and whatever is in those open compartments with no lid or door is going to come flying out in the air. They should've had a closed hatch added.
Next thing I noticed, I cannot imagine why this thing does not have a parking/emergency brake? Using the transmission versus locking the brakes on the wheels just doesn't make sense to me. I'm sure someone will tell me that one is better, but what they won't be able to tell me, is what would happen if I have brake failure going down a hill? I like having a lever that I can pull a cable with to lock brakes manually, that's just good common safety sense.
I am almost regretting the EPS.. Almost. You lose a certain feel for the vehicle. You lose the feeling of "tightness" like rack and pinion. You lose the "fun of it" There's too much free play, to say when you are turning back and forth quickly, say maneuvering many short curves one after another like an obstacle course with cones, there's seems to be ( not an expert and maybe the nature of power steering) just a tad of hesitation before the tire follows. I almost like it being a little hard to turn. Making U-turns though without a doubt, it was wonderful to have, so I think everything is a trade-off.
There is a lot of left right sway. At times not feeling as stable as I would have liked to feel. I don't know if that's due to the diff Mudlite Tires design or the fact that I was driving it normally thru my trails with the plow still on. I will check the air pressure and remove the plow and see if that changes it any.
Generally and overall, it was much rougher, harder, harsher, louder, then I envisioned. Having absolutely no experience with these type vehicles I don't know why, but I envisioned this quiet little Honda, silently creeping up the hill with the smoothness and power of a Boeing 747. Wasn't quite the reality of it. Transmission was hard to shift, sometimes long to shift, and engine noise not reduced enough to make a great impression. Yes, I am aware after reading many threads the transmission will start to smooth out noticeably. The suspension was much smoother than I thought so that's a plus.
Was under the impression that the soft door panels were very easily removable. I was under that impression by reading on the website under accessories says it's "quick install and removal" This does NOT appear to be the case at all and requires removing mounting brackets and screws. I don't consider that "easily removable" in anybody's world. Easily would be to pull a couple pins.
Overall, I guess my biggest disappointment is simply this. And again this could be attributed to driving around with the plow and or the tires.
But when I turned, or maneuvered, it was almost like everything else had to follow Like links on a chain. Turn left, then wheel followed, than chassis frame followed. I just didn't feel like I was in absolute control of the unit as there was just too much delayed sway.
