j.fulciniti

we sort of laid it out on the floor and took some measurements to make sure the blade could rotate without hitting the tires. Then we made sure there was an area to connect the u bolts to then frame. It took some trial and error before we drilled

Hi Gang - on Black Friday I purchased the Massimo Universal 60" Snow Plow. https://www.massimomotor.com/Massimo-UTV-ATV-Universal-Snow-Plow60. It was on sale for 599 plus tax, free shipping. Here's a YouTube video my buddy made of the install - Here's a few thoughts regarding my purchase and install. THE GOOD I ordered online on the Massimo website on Black Friday. The plow arrived promptly the following Thursday via UPS ground. The box was neatly packed and all the parts were included. The directions are sketchy so I did refer to the Massimo videos for help in assembling the plow. One man job, took me about 1.5 hours to assemble. If you are fairly handy, this was not too bad, even with the shoddy directions. THE NOT SO GOOD The directions suck. They were written by someone whose first language is NOT English. (made in China). The cover page described a "SONW PLOUGH". MY buddy and I got a good laugh. There was really no directions on how to install the frame plate to mount the "PLOUGH" to the frame of the UTV. This set up did come with 2 Frame brackets. One was for Massimo UTVs and the other was a universal mounting bracket. Both had tons of screws, bolts, mounting hardware. The universal had 4 different sizes of u bolts which really came in handy. WHAT WE DID My buddy has a lift in his garage so we jacked up the 400 to investigate how to install the bracket. We removed the first 3 screws that held the plastic skid plate to the frame to reveal the frame. At that time we realized the Massimo bracket was not going to work so we opted for the universal frame. After taking a few measurements to insure the blade could be rotated without hitting the front wheels, we decided we would install the bracket just behind the 2nd screw that holds the skid plate in place. We put the plastic skid plate back on with only the first 2 screws but did not use the 3rd one in order to keep the bracket flush. Using the universal brackets and some quick grip clamps, we staged the bracket and marked a hole to drill thru the skid plate to feed the u bolt down. The 2020 Buck frame tube is square VS round so we used the longest u bolts for a square frame. Note - the kit came with 16 u bolts. 8 long bolts ( 4 rounded and 4 squared off) and 8 short bolts (4 and 4 as well) Once we drilled the 4 holes , we slipped the u bolts around the frame with one side on the outside of the skid plate and the other on the inside where we drilled. We connected the washers / nuts and secured the plate to the frame. We then lined up the plow to connect to the frame mount using quick release pins to attach the plow arm to the frame plate. Of course it was not a perfect fit so we had to beat the hell out of the plow arm connector to get it inside the frame plate connectors. After that minor fiasco, we ground off the end of the u bolts that extended down from the frame. It stuck down about 1.5 inches and we did not want to risk them catching on to any debris if we were off road in the future. After that, we released the winch and hooked it to the O Ring Pin on the plow frame. The winch lifted and lowered the plow with ease. FINAL THOUGHTS Massimo should do a little QC on their directions for this "SONW PLOUGH". It appears to be a solid unit and I look forward to using it in my driveway. I am concerned that taking it on and off the frame mount with be a little difficult. I forsee us manipulating the quick release mounts so they go on and off much easier. We may need to grind them down a tad so they slip on and off without beating the hell out of it.

Ha - I did a search earlier and saw that one. I just put it in my cart. To be clear, you do not remove the drain plug, you just do that extra 1/2 quart "rinse / remove" to get out any residual.

I like the idea of the transfer pump. That sure would reduce the mess of a drip pan. Just pump it into an old container. Those pumps are dirt cheap on Amazon or at Harbor Freight. I use a battery one to pump gas to my tractor. I was always spilling from a 5 gal container and 15 bucks changed all that. SIDE NOTE: I wonder if this thread could be moved to the Massimo section of the Forum? There's some good info here.

This oil meets the standards and you can pick it up at your local Wally World. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Valvoline-4-Stroke-ATV-Conventional-10W-40-Motor-Oil-1-Quart/19514362 I did my first oil change on Sunday - way too late (260 miles). My manual has conflicting info. Under break in, it says to change the oil after 20 hours or 500 miles. In the chart, it says 20 hours or 200 miles. Then I read some posts that say change after the first 25 miles. It was a bear getting off the drain plug. Luckily, my buddy is a mechanic and has a lift in his garage. FYI - take a look at your owners manual in the maintenance schedule. Be prepared to change your gear oil in the final and differential cases at 20 hr / 200 miles. We ended up replacing the gear oils in both. The oil in the final case was funky and had some metal shavings in it.

Well. yesterday I was able to get my oil changed and it was a JOB. My neighbor has a lift in his garage so we put it up and used an impact driver to get the drain plug out. That spring shot out and we made a mess. Lucky for me, he's a mechanic. We found this manual online https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1356653/Bennche-Bighorn-400.html?page=104#manual We ended up changing the gear oil in the final and differential cases per the manual. The final had some nasty gunk in it. If you are not mechanically inclined, I suggest taking it to a service center and have them do the required maint.

I could not get mine loose / off. I was not able to get any leverage. My unit will sit until Sunday when I can take it to my neighbors house, use his lift and "real tools". Funny / not so fun story - while pulling hard my socket slipped off drain bolt and I cut my hand on the edge of the skid plate. Then turned my head around and skinned my nose on the other side of the plate. Nothing bad but I looked like some one beat my ass in my garage. I still look pretty stupid with that scrape on my nose today.

Fired her up, put it in low, drove around and up and down our steep hills 4X. Never took it out of low and NEVER saw the CEL. Prolonged downhill in N or L does not set off the CEL but H does.

I'll try that tonight if the rain holds off. Say I use Low to go up and down the steeper roads with no CEL issues. I read your post earlier that given my driving habits, I should be driving in low way more than I do. Perhaps the CEL issue is -------- Operator Error.

I like the idea of the Fumoto Valve but got to thinking - which is dangerous for me. Since this unit does not have a filter, one would still have to remove the entire valve to access the screen to clean it. Other than a much easier and cleaner oil drain, do you think that defeats the purpose on this particular engine? After I do my first oil change and make a mess, maybe I'll appreciate the valve A LOT more. I have plenty to learn as this is my 1st UTV so I truly appreciate all the feedback and posts.

After busting my knuckles 12 times, I could not get the drain plug off. Of course, my ramps are at my brothers house 40 miles away. I'll have to table this issue until later next week as I'll be out of town for several days. Thoughts from the posts above. I do not believe the 2020 Buck 400 model has the Hisun engine mentioned above. It's Chinese for sure but I read that Massimo ditched that engine in 2018 or 19. There is some mention of belts which I gather means drive belts. This unit has a shaft drive. Drove up 2 steep hills in low and came down both in neutral. NO CEL. Drove up a steep a 3rd time in High and came down in neutral - NO CEL. Hill #4 up in high and down in high - you betcha - CEL came on. Drove back to the garage, let her sit running for a few minutes, CEL went off. To be continued ............

Well then their owners manual is full of POOP. Page 9.1 Vehicle Break in Period. Several comments about taking it easy and checking oil daily. I followed every one of their 7 recommendations. Item 7. word for word below Please replace the engine oil and filter, after driving for 20 hours or 500 miles. I'll get that oil changed asap.

Thanks JT Answers below 1 - I only drive in high, all we do is cruise around our community roads at varying speeds. 2 are rather steep 2 - I have not as I did not want to build too much speed 3 - 268 miles no heavy loads 4 - no backfire - I'll try neutral today if I can. Ran around the lake last night 3.8 miles on basically flat roads - just 2 small hills. (I can easily avoid the steeps) with flawless performance.

I talked to my boat guy today. He services my Mercury 90 HP four stroke outboard. I totally forgot he services ATVs, jet skis and other small engines. He said the same - use a 10W40 synthetic blend that meets the criteria in the manual. He uses a Mercury Marine oil on my boat. He suggested trying this product - https://www.autozone.com/motor-oil-and-transmission-fluid/engine-oil/quicksilver-10w-40-atv-utv-motorcycle-engine-oil-32oz/1060305_0_0 It's a division of Mercury Marine and the specs meet the requirements in the manual. It also is formulated for wet clutch engines. I grabbed 3 quarts at lunch. It was on sale, 2 for 16. I agree, better to resolve this sooner than later.