Taotao Rhino, what problems have you had?

[Mudflap]

Nearly 200 hours on the Rhino and this is what has gone wrong so far:

Choke lever on left handlebar control broke. Modified and fixed.

Front shock stopped dampening. Replaced with a $68 pair from eBay.

Tail light broke off. Replaced with $7 ATV light from eBay.

One of the 4 rear rack supports broke, the part that holds the welded nut at the bottom. Will weld when I get home in the spring. Held tight with a bungi cord for the time being so it doesn't rattle.

Pilot jet in carb clogged twice. 10 minute clean out once the stupid "tamper proof" float bowl screws were slotted. Wonder what the repair shops do when a customer brings in a rig with a clogged pilot jet in a sealed carb? Replace the whole carb?

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

I would guess a lot of the problems are self induced.... broke choke lever... they do not break by themselves... using the regular gas will plug the carb... premium does not you can use a extra fuel filter incase it is just dirt from the bottom of your gas can... as the weld breaking... can be from the poor weld .. or tress,, and a loose bolt or tension from mounting.... small price to pay for the joys of riding,,,,, enjoy .. the tamperproof screws are not needed to remove when premium and clean fuel used.... spend the extra money for the right fuel and save your self some trouble and work... I do not mean to sound like I am giving you heck... but this is the stuff you have to do due to EPA and the low fuel...

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

I forgot .. yes the shocks are shitty... your new ones are probadly better...

[Darth Racer]

Only problem I have had so far is with the Rhino is the footbrake/start/safety switch. Mine is getting rusted inside from all the stream crossings. Have to diddle with it to get it to start.

Had an issue with the battery not holding a charge but the winch I installed is the culprit. It is remote operated only so it takes a little power for the standby. Disconnected one lead for now and the battery held a charge for one month to the next start/riding. Have a power cutoff switch to install on the lead to resolve this.

[Mudflap]

The foot brake light switch is a standard motorcycle part. I've broken a few on various bikes so I bought 5 off eBay for under $1 each.

The minor problems I've had with the Rhino are indeed minor for me, being a mechanic.

Rack support is a quick fix once I get home to my garage and welder.

The choke lever unit is held together by a machine screw threaded into about 3mm of plastic. If you try to snug it up enough so the lever stays where you put it the plastic threads just pull out. It's a common design on Chinese bikes but not a good design. Better to just have the ball detent and use the lever on the carb.

The shocks are a wear item and aren't expected to last forever. The new ones work better and were cheaper than OEM shocks.

I know sealed carbs are a way to get EPA approval but it's still stupid. A spec of dust will clog the tiny pilot jet orifice. I suppose a sledge hammer blow to the float bowl stands some chance of dislodging it.

BTW all the gas used in the Rhino is premium stored in clean plastic 5 gallon cans.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Mudflap

The foot brake light switch is a standard motorcycle part. I've broken a few on various bikes so I bought 5 off eBay for under $1 each.

The minor problems I've had with the Rhino are indeed minor for me, being a mechanic.

Rack support is a quick fix once I get home to my garage and welder.

The choke lever unit is held together by a machine screw threaded into about 3mm of plastic. If you try to snug it up enough so the lever stays where you put it the plastic threads just pull out. It's a common design on Chinese bikes but not a good design. Better to just have the ball detent and use the lever on the carb.

The shocks are a wear item and aren't expected to last forever. The new ones work better and were cheaper than OEM shocks.

I know sealed carbs are a way to get EPA approval but it's still stupid. A spec of dust will clog the tiny pilot jet orifice. I suppose a sledge hammer blow to the float bowl stands some chance of dislodging it.

BTW all the gas used in the Rhino is premium stored in clean plastic 5 gallon cans.

Did you replace the fuel lines? The fuel lines that come on these china bikes are garbage and pieces of rubber will flake off and get in the carb.

[Paul2]

So,,, my rhino, 1 year old btw,
New taillight due to rocks, reinstalled chain twice as never tightened the frame bolts after each ride from hell, only about 25hrs on it but guarantee the trails in Upstate NH would convert those 25hrs to about 300 easily..
I switched the oil to the diesel rotella, changed the plug to NGK, and yes the carb upon arrival immediately got messed up so TXPOWER sports sent me a new one and running perfectly.
BTW in MA there's only gas with ethanol in it,,Its MA land of the liberals please don't forget,, so I go to NH to buy only "ethanol free" gas at a local airfield for 5.50 a gallon, and the ATV's as I have 3, run PERFECTLY!!!
DO NOT run gas w ethanol in them, their carbs will foul asap as mine did, and the fuel container was brand new from the store to the gas station and it still messed up in no time.

[Paul2]

OOps one last,, I changed all the batteries over to YUSA batteries that fit,,,much better longevity now.

[2LZ]

When I bought it, I swapped the carb, filter and muffler out right away. No problems other than the original batteries are garbage but that's to be expected. It's seen some serious abuse on our hill dragging trees up to the burn pile and hauling full carts and no complaints. Been worth every penny so far.

[culcune]

A little off topic, and perhaps Flashlightboy can answer this since he deals in Taotao, but is the newest Rhino a 200cc? According to their website, it is, but Taotao tends to fudge things on their website, although going from a 229cc to a 200cc wouldn't be in their best interest to 'brag' about. If I recall, the chain used to be a 520, but is now a 428?

[Mudflap]

My 10 year old Taotao ATA250D was supposed to be a 250. The engine was stamped 171FMM, but it measures out as a 200 with the bore being 63.5mm. Haven't pulled the head on the Rhino to measure but there is no reason to believe the 167FMM stamp on the engine is correct. Probably wouldn't make a noticeable difference anyway.

The ATA250D used a 428 chain and the Rhino uses a 530 chain. I've switched mine to a 428 in order to get the desired gear ratio.

Originally Posted by culcune

A little off topic, and perhaps Flashlightboy can answer this since he deals in Taotao, but is the newest Rhino a 200cc? According to their website, it is, but Taotao tends to fudge things on their website, although going from a 229cc to a 200cc wouldn't be in their best interest to 'brag' about. If I recall, the chain used to be a 520, but is now a 428?

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

will try to find out... I quess the serial number would tell you as they will only pass on the info as they get it...... I was told that the 250 cc( real one ) has no EPA certification for North America,,,,,,,,, CF MOTO would not pay to get it done... this was from my source at KANDI in California,.,,,, CF said you pay for the EPA CERT IF you want t o import it in North AMerica.... so they use the 200 cc .. in th e dune buggies and atvs... for KANDI & TAOTAO .. and GIO stuff.... they have 300 cc atvs

[Mudflap]

Clutch cable broke at the lever today, at least several strands are broken. I give it 10 more pulls until it breaks completely.

[Mudflap]

The reason the clutch cable broke is because the barrel end is too small for the hole in the lever. When the lever is pulled, instead of twisting it hangs up and bends the cable strands. The original cable that came new on the quad was not correct, it doesn't match the clutch lever.

[FLASHLIGHTBOY]

what would you do to change this???