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| September 08, 2010, 12:48:36 PM |
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Ib Racing
Rhino Leg Protectors with Skins
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Product Overview:
| Ib Racing offers a wide variety of Rhino and ATV products. Last month we introduced and installed the ib Racing stainless steel Rhino grill inserts. This month were installing a set of there powder coated black leg protectors with optional 1/4 panels. |
| After reading about people having there legs severely injured because there leg would fall out in a crash or roll we new this was a must have product. The Yamaha Rhino comes with no leg protection at all. In fact it was ironic how we received a letter from Yamaha regarding the leg protection problem shortly after installing these leg protectors. Yamaha also included a warning sticker they deemed necessary to have placed on each side of the roll-cage. Good thing we don't have to worry about that. |
| The leg protectors took about an hour to install and with detailed instruction supplied they were pretty straight forward. The front mount attaches to the Rhino's roll cage where the upper and lower part of the cage bolts together. Simply remove the two factory bolts and replace them with the longer stainless steel allen head bolts supplied in the kit. The new bolts are 1" longer and allow for enough room to bolt the leg protector to them as well. |
| The rear mounting requires drilling two holes through the factory tube and bolting the leg protector down with the supplied self taping bolts. We used a 12volt cordless drill, two drill bits and a marker to mark and drill the holes. This part was very important and making sure the holes are in the exact position as the mount on the leg protector. It not a difficult task just an important one we wanted to make sure went smoothly to avoid and complications. Needless to say we took our time marking and making sure the two holes were evenly spaced the same distance as the leg protectors mounting holes before drilling. After triple checking our markings I took a punch and a hammer and made some marks to start the pre-drill. See the picture below to see how our holes lined up. Next step was to bolt the leg protector to the tube using supplied self taping bolts. |
Now that the ib Racing leg protector tube has been installed it was time to line up our powder coated 1/4 panels and temporarily attach them while we mounted them to the Rhino using supplied self taping screws. We used several pieces of electrical tape to align the 1/4 panels into position. I found the electrical tape to be easier to work with since it allowed some stretching while aligning the 1/4 panel. Once we were satisfied with the position more tape was applied every couple inches to ensure the 1/4 panel would move while were drilling the holes in the tubes.
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| The self taping screws went in fairly easy with a little pressure and medium speed on the drill. I noticed the factory tubes were a little harder to drill because the wall thickness of the tubing is thicker. We staggered the screws to ensure they weren't moving with the vibrations from drilling. I also double checked the 1/4 panels position from time to time. Check out the pictures below to see how well our leg protectors turned out. Not only functional but they add some style to our rhino making it a little less "farm" equipment looking. |
| After all the self taping screws were mounted and the 1/4 panel was secure it was time for the 1/4 panels to come back off. This is optional but ib Racing recommends placing a small bead of sealant or silicone along the panel were it rides on the tubes. This will eliminate any extra vibration sounds that may arise from riding. I can't stand to hear little vibration sounds so this was a must. Besides the hard part was over and now the panels can come right off and go back on in less than a few minute so why not spend the extra time to ensure everything was installed correct. Fortunate for me I had some "Big Stretch" black silicone caulking laying around the shop. Since I'm an ex-construction foreman I know al about different silicones and sealants typically used. We used this stuff on all our projects and have had nothing but great luck with it. Its very rubbery and stretchy hints the name Big Stretch. With that said we applied a 1/4" bead along the edge of the 1/4 panel about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch away. See pictures below for details. Last but not least the panel went back on in its original position. After tightening the screws there was a couple minutes of clean up along some of the edges of the 1/4 panels were the silicone squeezed out. Not over yet, still have the passenger side to do. :) |
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Conclusion:
Not only do these ib Racing Leg Protectors and 1/4 panels look great but the extra leg protection is outstanding. I feel more comfortable driving our Rhino through rock-crawling terrain were I found myself putting my foot out against rocks. I also feel more comfortable catching air in the dunes with our rhino knowing that in the event of a crash my leg will more than likely stay in the rhino and not get smashed. I'm sure adding these leg protectors and 1/4 panels prevented a future leg injury for me whether it be a serious injury or not. Check out ib Racings website for more details and color combinations available.
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