You should tell me because you own one.- That's just one of the stupid upgrades that Yamaha did
to try and prevent a rollover.
That just addressed the natural human instinct to put your arm or foot out to prevent it from rolling over. I've driven, raced, wrecked and flipped about everything on wheels that goes off road. In the late 80's early 90's when I raced a Honda Pilot (no, not a minivan thing), I flipped a long travel machine that had about a foot and a half wider rear stance than stock. I not only flipped it over on it's side, but actually got 6 end over ends one time. That was pretty hard on it...and me. That is when I appreciated the wrist restraints and helmet. For some unknown reason I managed to let go of the steering wheel when cartwheeling and managed to bang my head off of each roll bar.
I bought a Yamaha Rhino when they first came out in '04 (I think that's the right year). One of the first things I did was to push it to it's limits and 'bicycle' it on two wheels to see where it's tipping point was. Being that it was a bit more "tippy" than I'd have liked, I had a friend who owns a muffler shop use his mandrel machine to bend up some 'leg minders' that I drew up on paper and installed them on my machine. Their only purpose was to keep me or someone else from putting their foot out the side if it was going over. About a year later the leg minders were being sold everywhere. Figures. I wasn't thinking profit when I drew them up, I was just thinking that I'd prefer to not crush my ankle or lower leg.
I also bought a set of wrist restraints. This only helps the driver, but my rule was no hot rodding or extreme trails with a passenger. I assume the grab bar was supposed to give you something to grab and keep your arms and hands from getting crushed. If you can keep your arms and legs in the machine, flipping is really no big deal safety wise unless you have something enter the operator's compartment; such as a limb or jagged rock etc. About the only machine on tires I don't think I could flip was the 4X6 JD Gators. They were so slow, low and wide with a low center of gravity, even trying I only got it to slide down a hill sideways. They had such a bad 'push' that it was literally impossible to get one sliding sideways or turn so fast that they'd flip.
Yamaha basically made the Rhino too narrow so it would fit on most ATV trails and could be hauled easily in the back of a pickup. I've always felt it was the operator's issue to keep the rubber side down on an off road vehicle. The Rhino flips easier than many others but, believe me, the others will flip. If you don't believe me, you're setting yourself up to get hurt. I feel it's best to know it's limit in controlled conditions before you go wild with one or, otherwise, don't go too wild off roading. About the Razr, I think it looks cool! I'm not particularly fond of Robby Gordon, but he has a vast amount of experience off road so I feel he is a qualified as anyone to give advice as to what to add and change to make one fast, fun and safe.
