Not untrue at all. It's not well known. They don't advertise "buy here, we were owned by honda" LOL. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
I only know it cuz of personal conversations with Kymco Joe. (President of Kymco USA)
Many honda parts interchange w/Kymco's. I have a TRX450R axel in my Mongoose. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
They have a rig at the GNCC's. They are trying to compete with the bigger comany's.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: kingquad400

Maybe theyll go big someday =0, but intill then im staying away. Also none of the atv magazines or any websites say anything about honda being heavily invested in them so i do think that is untrue. But yeah i have to admit that their minis are pretty nice.</end quote></div>

King you certainly are entitled to your opinion and I respect that. I do disagree with you. Kymco is not junk. They got an ATV Magazine best buy accolade as being a strong, reliable no frills atv...right next to Suxuki and Kawasaki. The review of the product was quite favorable.

 

I have for a year and half now owned a Chineese import and for my riding and use its a fine piece , I did have a little trouble with the starter once but the dealer quickly sent a new one and it was up and running again in less than a week. I have what is known as a Hensim but is sold by Vbike and called a Vbike I think, either way I enjoy the hell out of it and at 1700 new it was well worth the money, so much in fact just recently I purchased the wife one . A 300 cc model in a Utilitygrade and does her fine. As it is with all the imported Chineese models where a dealer isnt within a couple of miles away, you need to be mechanically minded and own some metric wrenches. My first was semi assembled and had to tighten all the nuts and bolts. The second was in a crate and assembly required . I do have a small problem with the instrument cluster not being right but the dealer will send a new one when he gets the old one to replace, but I am not willing for it to be down that long. I am waiting till I can do it in person, the problem isnt that big a deal . Its just a nuisance in running. For anyone who wants a cheapy ATV in today's economy I would suggest looking at Vbike.us I looked for several months before purchasing my first one a year and half ago,and didnt hesitate a second on the second one. A friend of mine also purchased the 300 cc and is pleased with his also .

 

Well I will agree that china made atvs are not up to the big name brand standards... BUTTT!!! You pay much much less on a china brand atv... So if you're a weekend warrior who is out to do some trail riding, and not hammer the hell out of it.. I see no problem saving some money and going with a popular brand china atv.. I Currently have a 2002 yamaha raptor 660r.. And a 2007 150cc Jetmoto .. Big difference in quality, But Big difference in price also... The jetmoto Sat outside for the past year and half, under an atv cover... I live in western pa.. Winters get pretty bad here along with the cold/snow/rain.. You get my point... Yesterday I bought a new battery for it, and drained all the old fuel out and replaced with new fuel.. I changed the oil/greased it.. Pulled the choke, Hit the key and it fired right up... Took it for a nice long spin, and when I got back I cleaned it up.... Only thing i'm dissapointed with is the front chrome bumper had some rust on it, and some rust on the handle bars and parts of frame.... I cleaned it all off, but im sure it will come back... I was also very suprised I didnt need to clean the carb out.. The atv runs great!! So in conclusion... If you can turn a wrench.... I have no problem recommending a Jetmoto...

 

XXX, glad to hear the 150 ran good for you, I had the same rust on my 150! The other night finally took my 15 year old into have his shoulder looked at as it was not feeling better after rolling the Red Jet 250 the weekend before and the X-ray shows two breaks in his Clavicle! Yes I am up for the bad parent award![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Well I'm sure it could of been much worse.. He will heal up and be back riding before you know it...

 

I agree - Kymco makes solid ATVs, but you are better off buying them from Arctic Cat. (The 50, 90, and the new 150 are all made by Kymco, except perhaps for the plastic cowlings.) My daughter had the 2006 4-stroke AC DVX50, and it ran great, had GOBS of power, and you could easily remove the variator restrictor for more speed (which we did). Now she wnats the new 2009 AC 150, which has lights, reverse, racks front and back, and tows 300 lbs. It also has 2 variator restrictors to keep the speed down to 20 mph. You can remove one restrictor and it will go 30 mph, and then 39 mph with both restrictors removed.

 

i had a yamoto 110cc and i spent more time fixing it then i did riding it.

 

My neighbor bought 2 hensim 125's atv's last year and both are broke--approx 2 months after buying them. They were not rode hard at all- 1 was his 10 year old petite daughters and the other was for his petite wife. The daughters atv wore out the metal where the ball joints connect to the spindles. The other has electrical problems and 2nd gear is gone. We have been e-mailing hensim in california for months to get parts==NO REPLY!! EVER. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS JUNK!!