Working Breed
We love the freedom of winding through the trails, cresting a huge dune, or crossing a moose marsh on an ATV, but the ability to haul tons of gear, a passenger or two, and to venture deep into the woods makes Side X Side vehicles truly amazing. For packing gear into the hunting or fishing camp, or simply moving stuff around the job site or farm, there are very few vehicles that are as easy to operate, and can perform half as well. Just like with cars or trucks, however, nearly everyone likes to make a vehicle their own by customizing it. Some do it strictly for looks, some do it for work, but most people customize their vehicle for a little of both. We’ve even found one guy who installed a 4 wheel steering kit, and then painted his Yamaha Rhino pink just to stand out when rock crawling! We will never paint one pink, but recently we busted open our big tool box and reworked our factory Rhino, to add a bunch of parts to make it our own.
We had several goals for our Rhino makeover. First and foremost it is still a work vehicle, and we wanted to retain and enhance those capabilities. We’re on tight trails and in the woods quite often, so better protection was important, and since we would be driving it in the winter, we needed to make sure the driver and passenger were sheltered from the elements a little better, as well. If we could meet those goals and make it look cool too, that would be a bonus!
There are many companies offering all manner of bolt on/weld on/tape on/parts for Side X Sides these days. The trouble is we’re really not familiar with most of them, and it has definitely been our experience that trying to assemble mismatched parts from several different companies rarely works as well as one hopes. We’ve also seen parts (and for that matter vehicles) that there is no way we can recommend, and we certainly don’t want anything to do with those.
One company that has been building quality parts for some time is Seizmik, and when the Side X Side market began to expand, they recognized a need for quality accessories that could both enhance the vehicles capabilities and offer the driver and passenger a little more comfort, as well. It was time to try out some of their parts on our Rhino!
A new bumper
The factory Rhino bumper is functional for cruising around the yard, but when the trail winds between tight trees or huge rocks, we prefer something with better coverage. The Seizmik “pre-runner” style bumper definitely gets the job done. The advantage of the Seizmik bumper is that it offers much better protection to the lower chassis members, the A-arms and front suspension, and the bodywork. Constructed of steel tubing, the bumper feels solid from the moment you take it out of the box, and we like the tubing layout. All the welds were clean, the powder coated finish was smooth and glossy, and general workmanship and quality were excellent. It looks great! We were happy to see the bumper also came with winch mounts as well, and should you bolt on a winch, there is a handy access screen that can be removed with 4 bolts. The removable screen is no lightweight either and should do an excellent job of stopping sticks, rocks, and whatever else may try to jam its way into the front of our vehicle, and possibly damage the radiator, which would bring any adventure to a quick and steamy end. We did not install a winch and left the screen in place.
Bolting on the bumper was no problem, and you simply need to remove the stock bumper (4 bolts) and install the Seizmik bumper in its place with the same bolts. Here’s a tip for bolting anything on. Since holes in many aftermarket parts are slotted to allow for tolerance différences, we prefer to install a washer on most bolts. This adds surface area and a wider clamping area for the bolt head. When installing the Seizmik bumper, we installed heavier washers on the bolt heads as well. Our tip for installing the Seizmik bumper is to install the top two bolts, leave them loose, and then rotate the bumper into the position for the bottom two bolts to be installed. Align everything so that it follows the hood lines, and tighten all 4 bolts. Our bumper went on quite easy and looks great!
Cover up
Since we would be driving our Rhino in the winter, it was also important to get better protection for the driver and passenger, and Seizmik has you covered (literally) for that also. Nobody likes freezing winter wind in their face, and the Seizmik vented windshield we installed took care of that problem. The Window is made from a thick, clear plastic that bolts on, and it was no trouble getting into position. Along the bottom of the windshield, the kit includes a tough fabric cover that is fastened to the window with a strip of double sided tape and Velcro, and again Velcro is used to secure it under the Hood. Simply open the hood, align the Velcro tabs with the hood lines, stick in place with the double sided tape, and shut the hood. We then slid our window up the roll cage until the lower windshield skirt was nice and tight, and then tightened the window bolts down. The fabric cover even has a couple zipper vents that can be opened to let a little air flow into the cab on warmer days. In the summer the skirt can be removed entirely, thanks to the Velcro strips.
On all Rhino models prior to 2008, the Rhino came without doors, and that always had us a little concerned. Seizmik addressed this situation also, and even though for ’08 the Rhino has a small door, we like the added protection of the Seizmik doors we bolted on. The aluminum doors from Seizmik look great, are safer for the passenger and driver, and with the tough fabric covering offer shelter as well! Seizmik designed the kit for all Rhino models up to 2008, but even though Yamaha made a model change, we managed to install the doors with very little extra work. As usual, we only glanced at the directions from time to time, and instead of bolting on the aluminum hinge plates as Seizmik suggested, we went with a set of holes already in the tubes, which required us to only drill one hole for the major hinge plate. For the latch catch plate, however, instead of using their self tapping screws, we drilled two 8mm holes completely through the roll bar on each side, and installed two 8mm bolts (60 or 65mm long) through the bars, and fastened with a nylock nut on the inside.
Be sure to tape over the exposed threads on the Inside, so they don’t snag the seat belts! Just like installing any door in your house, leave the hinges a little loose, at first, to make sure it closes correctly, and only then tighten down. You can adjust the latch mechanism as well, and even the pull cable for the latch. We got our doors on with very little trouble, although it will take a couple hours to install and adjust correctly. Our doors fit, close, and latch perfectly in either the half door configuration or with the full door attached. We intend to leave the tough fabric and upper portion of the door on for cold weather riding, but in the summer we will remove the covering and upper door portion and go for the desert racer look! Thanks to the design, and a Velcro covering the windows can either be unzipped or the fabric can be removed entirely. We love them!
Overhead compartment
With the new doors, bumper, and windshield installed, we already had much greater protection but we weren’t done. We would also be installing the Seizmik Advanced Soft Top and rear window system. Once again, the Seizmik enclosure kit is made from a tough fabric covering and is fastened quite securely with Velcro strips, but before installing the Advanced Soft Top, we bolted in the Hybrid Roof System.
The Hybrid Roof System replaces the two cross bars from the top of the roll cage with an entire rack that bolts into the same location but does much more. The advantage is a little more head room, a much sturdier roof section, and a roof top storage area. Bolting it in place was no problem, and just like the bumpers and doors, it fit very well. We then pulled the Advanced Soft Top over the roof, adjusted to where it needed to be and rolled the rear window section down to enclose the cab. The soft top is then fastened quite securely to the Rhino roll bars and roof with Velcro straps, and you’re ready to ride!
Light it up
The Seizmik Pre-Runner light bar looks cool even when turned off! The 4 massive round lights loom over the top of the windshield and give the Rhino the look of a desert race truck, or possibly the best poaching vehicle ever, not that we would ever do that. The light bar is surprisingly simple to install with the help of a friend, and like all the other Seizmik parts we have tried, the workmanship is excellent and everything fits very well. Wiring the light bar into the vehicle electrical system is not difficult, and the Seizmik engineering crew did a good job of pre-wiring everything they could and making it easy for the average guy. The light bar fits neatly ahead of the new roof system and soft top and doesn’t block the drivers view. When turned on with a simple dash mounted Switch, it’s amazing how much better everything looks at night. We wanted to take it out for a night ride!
A big rack!
With the existing bed and new roof rack, the Rhino can carry quite a bit of gear. However, the Seizmik people have a couple of different hood racks to choose from, and even two very tough bags that can also be fastened to the racks. We installed the ExoCage across the top of our hood. The ExoCage has a sturdy, tubular frame is fastened to the front bumper and to a couple mounts that bolt through existing roll cage mounting holes. It’s easy to install and just as importantly, easy to pull out of the way when checking the air filter. Simply unscrew a couple knobs and the cage swings out of the way. When in operation, the ExoCage offers excellent protection for the front bodywork, and a nifty front center storage area. Seizmik has an even larger front hood rack that fastens in the same manner and can turn the Rhino into a virtual pack mule with a mountain of mobile gear, but unless you’re using it to move or on a month long patrol with the military, most will never need it.
Woods Rhino
We love the looks, the added protection, and the capabilities of our new Seizmik Rhino. The fit, finish, and workmanship of the Seizmik parts we tried are all excellent and well thought out. They even came securely packed in their own box along with a set of easy to follow instructions that list required tools, pictures, tips, and approximate install time. Our installation went very well even though we generally exceeded the install time. However, we only glanced through the instructions and, as usual, made a few modifications of our own, including adding washers for extra bolt head surface. We also cut off a lower portion of the windshield skirt around the rubber straps that hold the front hood down, but that was our choice, and we didn’t feel it was needed anyway.
The new cover already has the driver and passenger extremely well protected from the elements, and for cold winter riding, you can’t beat it. The engine even helps add heat to the driver and passenger compartment, but it does make it a little louder as well. Since we prefer the muscle look, our Rhino will never be painted pink, but the Seizmik parts we bolted on definitely achieved our goal of better driver and passenger protection, enhanced capabilities, and awesome looks. We really like it!
