“I have a 2007 Yamaha Rhino 450. I keep hearing in the News about how dangerous they are. I would like to state my opinion.
We use this vehicle as a support vehicle for our small farm. We use our Rhino to take feed out for our cattle; to carry tools for fence repair; to trim trees; and to pull branches and fallen trees out to where we can dispose of them.
Neither Yamaha or Interstate Cycles [where the vehicle was purchase] presented this vehicle to us as a low-slung sports vehicle. It does not have the handling capabilities of a Lamborghini, and we don’t remember anyone telling us it did. On the other hand, a Lamborghini does not have the utility of the Rhino. The Rhino can haul a bigger load, across more difficult terrain, seating two passengers in greater comfort than any vehicle known to man. We are intelligent enough to understand what the Rhino is designed for. Can it be tipped over if one tries hard enough? Probably the answer is yes. So can either one of our cars, or my tractor. It seems like people have ruled out personal responsibility; expecting a company to build a vehicle that does everything, in every arena, and not depend on any kind of common sense from the operator.
This is a good, solid, well-built vehicle. It does what it has been designed to do well. I am sure that in the two years that we have owned this vehicle I have exceeded its design parameters, and it seems to have a more than acceptable tolerance for abuse built in. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect there are immature people that purchase this vehicle, drink a bunch of alcohol, then grossly exceed its design parameters. Then wonder why they get hurt. And, in our law-suit happy society, they sue.
I can’t say if my vehicle will ever roll over or not. If it does, I can say almost for sure that it will do it not from a design flaw, but from something that I have subjected it to that it wasn’t designed for. That being said, I hope it doesn’t roll over.
Yamaha has built good vehicles for as long as I remember. Form my first DT250 in the mid-70s to the Rhino I own now, all of them have given me service above and beyond what I paid for. I will continue to purchase Yamaha products as I need them. I don’t trust the ambulance chasers.”
– William of Florida
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