Pro Armor Bumper

Pro Armor Baja Bumper

 Although I feel the Yamaha Rhino is an excellent looking and performing machine from the factory, I feel there is certain items that can be changed to make it look and perform even better. One of those items is the front bumper, The bumper is the first thing others will see when they see you coming and it is the item that will take the most abuse if you make new trails. With this said you not only want a bumper that looks good, but one that is durable and built to take that abuse. With several manufacturers offering bumpers for the Yamaha Rhino that are very similar in design it could be a hard decision which one to purchase, if you were a new to the industry. My decision was an easy one, The bumper I chose was a Baja style bumper from Pro Armor. I made my choice not only because of its good looks, but because I know the quality of Pro Armors products have always been top notch.

  Pro Armors Baja style bumper comes powder coated black, has mounting tabs for lights, and is designed to work with their Winch mount as well as their Front Bumper Skid Plate. The quality of this bumper is top notch, it looks as it is designed to take the abuse I am looking to throw at it. The fit and finish is excellent, which not only makes the bumper look good but also makes mounting this bumper very simple. When mounting this bumper I just unbolted the stock bumper and bolted this one in its place using the original hardware. Then I remounted my lights to this bumper using the mounting tabs already located on the bumper itself. This setup is a big plus to me because the bumper itself is designed to add protection to the lights unlike the setup I had with the stock bumper. One thing I did have to modify was my EMP Radiator guard, I had to modify it in order to clear the larger tubes of this Pro Armor bumper.

  In order to run a winch with this bumper the Pro Armor winch fairlead mount is required. So in order to retain my KFI winch I also purchased Pro Armors winch fairlead mounting plate. This mount is an excellent setup that has mounting holes drilled for both the wide spool and regular spool winches. Installation is also simple, Just bolt in the plate under the mounting tabs on the bumper with the bolts facing up and the nuts on top(if you mount them with the bolts facing down there may be clearance issues with the winch) These torque to 75lbs (I also used red threadlocker on these bolts).  Flip your winch and mount upside down under the mounting plate (I used blue threadlocker on these four bolts). Then attach you wiring and fairlead mount if you have not already. Now run your cable through the fairlead and attach your hook. With the winch mounted upside down now it will drain better, hold less mud, and possibly last longer. Another plus for this setup is the fairlead is mounted higher and tilted down slightly so it will work more efficiently if you are running a plow.

In conclusion I feel this is a excellent alternative to the stock bumper. I must say I am very happy with my selection and would not hesitate to do it again.

www.proarmor.com

If you have any questions about this review you can contact me through e-mail at:

Neil@mudandgutsoffroad.org