I've no idea about the utility engines (which have a very mixed rep at my local sales & service) but as far as I understand it, Honda contracted Lifan to make authorized replacement parts for some of the smaller Honda motorcycle & ATV motors, such as the CRF50, XR50 & XR70F... given Honda gave them the specs & are fussy about such, that's good enough for me.
The "mixed reputation" of the Lifan utility motors could be just a result of hasty assembly & shipping damage, the majority of repairs aren't from terminal mechanical failure but rather seem to be mostly loose wiring, substandard soldering, shoddy assembly, poor tuning & even sometimes minor components like fasteners missing... nothing like the Chinese in-frame kits ofc - but they do seem to cut a few corners to keep costs down, understandable given how inexpensive they are.