2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 - Project Built To Win

If you've been following our monthly updates, you know we're headed towards giving away a tricked out '08 Rhino 700. Rigid Industries in Mesa, Arizona, has taken the bone stock Yamaha UTV and has been adding on suspension, drivetrain, and other cool goodies. We're bringing you more this month and they still have a few other surprises to be revealed before the build is complete.

All this puts us one step closer to giving this modded Rhino away to some lucky reader of our UTV specific mini-mag SideBySource. You can go to Rigid's website (www.rigidindustries.com) to fill out an online entry form. The winner will be drawn at random at OFF-ROAD Magazine headquarters on September 10, 2009. Limit one entry per household address.

The stock Rhinos come with useable, but not overly-accommodating seats. This month, Jay Gammage of Rigid installs a sharp set of Premier Racing Products (PRP) suspension seats. A suspension seat provides not only good looks and comfort, but offers enhanced rider safety in the event of a hard landing, when compared to a lesser seat.

We also like to play after the sun goes down and have found a quality set of lighting helps keep the trail and terrain more visible in the nighttime hours. As such, the Rhino lighting was upgraded to HID headlights up front and followed up with some cool LED taillights bringing up the rear.

Take a look as we add on to the build and come back next month when we'll be adding some new rolling stock and who knows what else. In any case, don't forget to enter to win the Rigid Industries built Yamaha Rhino! SBS

Rigid Industries and Off-Road Magazine are giving away a custom-built Rhino to a lucky reader!Simply go to www.rigidindustries.com to enter! No purchase necessary

Here are the Premier Racing...        read full caption Here are the Premier Racing Products Rhino low back seats with adjustable headrests. The also make a high back version where the headrest is integrated into the top of the seat. They're available in a wide range of fabric colors.	Once each stock seat was unclipped...        read full caption Once each stock seat was unclipped from the chassis, the bottom base pan was removed. The pan was then transferred to the PRP seat and the stock bolts used to secure it to threaded plates on the seat bottom. These seats install fast!	With the new seats clipped...        read full caption With the new seats clipped into the chassis, Jay installed a Crow Enterprizes 4-point harness on each. The lap belts simply bolt onto the stock Rhino chassis tabs and the shoulder harness loops wrap around the cage bar directly behind the seats.
The difference between the...        read full caption The difference between the new PRP seat and the stock bucket is night and day, both visually and by the feel of sitting your body in it. They hold you in place better and with the harnesses, significantly improve overall safety.	Next on the agenda was improved...        read full caption Next on the agenda was improved lighting. Rigid supplied one of their Rhino OEM HID Kits that provides everything needed to convert the stock headlights over to brighter HID illumination.	For $10 Rigid sells this optional...        read full caption For $10 Rigid sells this optional mount plate that can be installed across the front chassis rails under the hood to provide a convenient mounting location for the ballast modules.
Installation of the HID bulbs...        read full caption Installation of the HID bulbs in the factory light housings is easy. The bulbs pop right in and out.	The final installation looks...        read full caption The final installation looks really clean. The ballasts are a new design and their size has been reduced. The units are secured to the plate using self-tapping screws. Once mounted, the ballast harnesses are plugged into the headlight connectors and the supplied wiring harness is used to connect the ballasts to the stock Rhino harness. Everything is simple plug-in.	Heading to the tail end of...        read full caption Heading to the tail end of the Rhino, Jay removed the stock red tail lights (foreground) and replaced the units with Yamaha LED tail lights with reverse lights. The LEDs consume less power, last longer, and are brighter.
The LED tail lights use a...        read full caption The LED tail lights use a 28 LED array to tell others when you're stopping or backing up. You may have also noticed the bright yellow body panels on the Rhino. We'll let you know now that the winner will get the prize wrapped in these vivid Maier body panels. Stay tuned!