Soon to be Rhino owner

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Darth Racer

LOL after seeing it in the crate and the rear axles close to the edge I think your local dealer is BS'ing you.

That's what I'd figured also...but the odd thing is there are many quads out there of different sizes that have a narrower rear end. One would think it would be easier to make a wider crate out of that garbage angle iron they used for it. I saved it for making stuff but boy does it spatter!

[Darth Racer]

Okay didn't know that about other ATV's ... if they are non clone origin then will take back my comment to what the dealer said... I just don't trust dealers.

The thing to keep in mind though is a wider crate takes up more space in the shipping container. But that sort of takes me back to my original comment. Even the Honda's are shipped in crates which are packed into shipping containers to the dealers.

I have a HF budget welder... Splatter is my middle name. LOL maybe the combination of cheap welder and cheap steel will equal no splatter. One of these days I have to do the DC conversion mod to the welder so it works like it's supposed to. It looks like they brazed my crate. One of the cross braces popped in transit.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Darth Racer

I just don't trust dealers.

I have a HF budget welder... Splatter is my middle name. LOL

LOL! I see we have the same taste in dealers....AND welders!
I installed all 20 amp outlets in my garage and I have to admit, that little welder sticks stuff together better than I was expecting. It won't leave you looking like Rembrandt, but for as often as I weld, I couldn't cost justify anything more expensive.

[Darth Racer]

There is a mod out there that converts the output to a DC voltage like a welder is supposed to be. The cheapo HF one is AC output .. it's why you get the booger welds.

LOL all dealers are crooks by nature. My local dealer wanted to charge me $2000 for the Rhino. LOL you could just tell by the look in his face he was going to molest you on the warranty work too.

[Darth Racer]

Got to do some work on the Rhino today before the rain chased me back in.......



Added very expensive atmosphere to increase roundness....




Got to work on the winch mounts....



All welded up.. just need some U bolts to lock it all down....

[Darth Racer]

Today's Hit List:

Finished installing the winch. Pics to follow.

Made up a hitch 2LZ style... Thanks for posting it!!! Pics to follow.

Found out the hard way that the foot well snaps inside/between the black fender trim not over the top of it. DOH!! All the holes lined up perfectly now wasn't as bad as I stated earlier in the thread.

Changed the oil after watching some videos. It was the 17mm bolt in the very bottom of the engine. Discovered there is a sight glass to see oil level and color on the fly. (I like that) Doesn't look like I have an oil filter option on this engine.

The drain plug has a magnet in the middle of it. Quite a bit of metal dust on it. Drained out the stirfry shipping oil.. and saved it for lubing the chain and other parts. Replaced with Rotella 15/40 Will do a second oil change after the first days worth of riding in case there is any other particles in there.

Fueled it up with some go go juice and started it up. Idle is a bit rough, if you let go of the throttle it stalls. Have to find the idle screw. Found PZ27 stamped on the carb. Should be able to find what I need online.

The clutch disengages after only pulling back the handle about a 1/2 inch or less. Not sure if that is right. Kinda worried its not fully engaging. Don't want to burn up the clutch. The lever on the engine is at 90 degrees.

You guys are right about the instruction manual and the DVD, they are both pretty much useless. The tire pressure gauge they give you starts at 10psi.. are you kiddin me!!!

Really wish there was a reliable manual online for these TaoTao's

Any guidance on the clutch and idle is appreciated.

[BlackBike]

Stir fry shipping oil, thats gotta be the word of the day

[2LZ]

Don't feel too bad. My tire pressure gauge showed up broken and the DVD wouldn't play on anything I have or at work either! LOL!
Great job on the winch and also the hitch! Can't wait to see the pics!

Do me a favor and take a pic of the plastic fender trim/foot buckets and how you mounted them. I did mine in the freezing Winter and there was no way they would have bent to go under the fender trim, even after heating them in front of the wood stove! Now that it's warm. I may be able to get them to bend now.

[Azhule]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

and the DVD wouldn't play on anything I have or at work either!

Probably "Region Protection" for the "Asia Region" and wont work on our DVD players, might get it to work on a computer if you have the right 'work around software/Movie Player'

[Darth Racer]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

Do me a favor and take a pic of the plastic fender trim/foot buckets and how you mounted them. I did mine in the freezing Winter and there was no way they would have bent to go under the fender trim, even after heating them in front of the wood stove! Now that it's warm. I may be able to get them to bend now.

I took a look at your foot wells in the other thread you posted in today.. Yeah you did the same thing as me at first and mounted them on top.

Getting ready to go outside for another round of modding and tweaking.. will take some pics and update this thread later. It wasn't hard to tuck them in during the 55 degree weather the other day. Was a head slapper when I noticed it. Was just about to get the drill out to realign the holes too. That space in the corners was a giveaway. Didn't make sense the first way to have that double gap. The space just being off around the corners didn't seem right.

Too be continued........

Found the info I needed for the PZ27 carb idle adjustment... there are two Idle Speed & Idle Mixture now the fun begins.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Darth Racer

Didn't make sense the first way to have that double gap. The space just being off around the corners didn't seem right.

I know exactly what you mean! It was driving me nut but they wouldn't bend frozen. I'll have to take another look at them tonight.

[Darth Racer]

As promised here are the pics of the foot well to fenders tucked in between.

I think this might help some future lurkers of the forum put there TaoTao's together.

Note: they need to be tucked before any bolting down takes place. Don't think you will be able to do it with the foot peg bolts screwed in. Tuck them in then swing in down the to foot pegs.






Nice n tight .... lined up right. All holes lined up perfect for the screws to insert into.

[Darth Racer]

Pics of the finished Harbor Freight ATV winch mounting as promised. Have to tighten down the cable guide. Noticed its crooked in the picture. Stuff like that drives me nuts. LOL

Relocated the Made in China sticker too. Didn't like it on the chain guard.







2LZ style hitch almost done. Just needs bolting down and hole drilled for a 1 7/8" ball.

Bought a longer shoulder bolt for snug fit. The stock one was a little short to add anything in between.

[Darth Racer]

Hey 2LZ I read in another thread just now that you have the winch control box under the seat.

In the winch install I tucked the winch control box into the bay under the front hood. Only accessible if the front rack is off the two top main bolts by the handlebars. It's pretty much a hidden feature. You have to pull up the black hood up carefully by the handlebars. Just held in place mostly with snap groove fittings.

Didn't have to mess around with the wire lengths going this route. The wires come out of the bay from some of the holes already in there.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Darth Racer

Hey 2LZ I read in another thread just now that you have the winch control box under the seat.

In the winch install I tucked the winch control box into the bay under the front hood. Only accessible if the front rack is off the two top main bolts by the handlebars. It's pretty much a hidden feature. You have to pull up the black hood up carefully by the handlebars. Just held in place mostly with snap groove fittings.

Didn't have to mess around with the wire lengths going this route. The wires come out of the bay from some of the holes already in there.

Your quad looks great!...as does all the bling you've added! I'm going to have to change the way my foot buckets are mounted now. Since it'll be warm, they'll probably bend into submission. One of mine showed up frozen and bent like a banana. I had to sit it in front of my wood stove for a few days just to get it to fall back into basic shape.

The crooked fairlead would drive me nuts also! It's hell being anal AND OCD at the same time, ain;t it!? LOL!

Did you have to loosen a fairlead roller to get the hook through? I did! The hook isn't on by a pin, it's permanently mounted to the cable on mine. Do yourself a favor and get one of these. It's the only one I found that's made in halves so it will go around the cable, since the hook doesn't come off.

http://www.amazon.com/KFI-Products-A...ilpage_o00_s00

I got the whole thing mounted...and as you know, the fairlead is TIGHT in that little hole in the bumper cover....and I accidently hit reverse on the remote and sucked that damn hook back through the fairlead! I had to half disassemble the damn thing again to retrieve the hook! The stopper not only eliminates this problem but you can tighten the cable against it so the cable stays tight on the roller plus the hook won't rattle and wag going down the trail.

Hitch looks great too! I'm glad my pics were helpful! After staring at anhoards hitch for a while, it seemed having the load drawn straight off the swingarm horizontally seemed the right idea instead of making something vertical.

Regarding the winch control box, I saw that little stash area in the front but it seemed a bummer to get to....especially since my front rack was a B--CH to get mounted. The rear holes didn't line up just right and I didn't want to take the rack back off. I just did a little snippity-clip on the wiring and put the long lengths off the "winch" side and stuck it under the seat so it's easier to access, if need be. It does take up a lot of space under there though, is the drawback.