How To Replace and Install an ATV or UTV Grab Bar
WHEN TO INSTALL A GRAB BAR ON AN ATV/UTV
Almost all ATVs come with a rear grab bar because it is unlikely you will be calling AAA to help you extract your ride from a mud pit or a slippery patch. A grab bar is a place that you can latch onto and muscle your ATV back onto the trail.
Because drivers come in all sizes, the stock grab bar design may not be the best to optimize leverage. If the bar is too big for your hands or is too high off the ground to bring your leg muscles into full play it's time to find and install a new one. Grab bars are comparatively inexpensive and a snap to install.
THINGS YOU'LL NEED:
- Replacement grab bar
- Socket set
- Ratchet wrench and extender
PREPARATION
Experience is the best preparation for this project. You wouldn't be looking for a new grab bar unless:
- Your old rear grab bar has been beaten out of shape by other cross-country ATV drivers who have run up on your back end.
- Your current grab bar is set so high that you have to rely on upper body strength alone rather than combining upper body with the big muscles in your legs.
HOW TO INSTALL AN ATV/UTV GRAB BAR
- Remove the existing grab bar. Most grab bars are secured to the ATV using four bolts, two on each side. Remove the bolts and pull the grab bar from the machine. On the right side, you will have to contend with the exhaust so you will probably need to use the extender to get to the bolts.
- Install the new grab bar using the same bolts that held the old bar.
Some grab bar kits will come with a number plate for cross-country racing and almost all of them will be pre-drilled so the plate can be mounted on the back of the grab bar. We advise you don't do that.
First and most important, you don't want a number plate in your way when you are trying to use the grab bar. Secondly, it's only a matter of time before someone runs up on you and breaks the number plate.
We suggest you mount the plate on the frame forward of the grab bar. That means you will probably have to cut the plate to fit and drill holes for the bolts in the frame but the end result will be a plate that is visible and won't be destroyed the first time you get bumped in the back.
- End of Procedure -
