Originally featured as UTVGuide.net’s UTV of the Month for December 2009.
This build reflects the extraordinary creativity of the early Rhino aftermarket. Within only a few years of Yamaha introducing the platform, builders were adding custom cages, long-travel suspension, engine conversions, audio systems and family seating. See how that movement developed in our complete history of the Yamaha Rhino.
The “Fat Rod” was built to combine two ideas that rarely came together in the early Yamaha Rhino era: five-seat family accommodations and the low, aggressive appearance of a custom hot rod. Joey D. of UTVUnderground.com and Daniel Rosenzweig of Magnum Off Road transformed a Yamaha Rhino into a one-of-a-kind machine with a stretched chassis, removable rear seating, custom bodywork, long-travel suspension and a Weller Racing 720cc stroker engine.
More than a showpiece, the Fat Rod was designed to carry a family through the desert while still delivering the performance and handling expected from a heavily modified recreational side-by-side.
A Five-Seat Chopped-and-Dropped Rhino
Magnum Off Road built the Fat Rod around a custom five-seat, chopped-and-dropped chassis. The frame rails were plated and gusseted to support the modified layout, while the low cage and bodywork gave the Rhino a radically different profile from the original machine.
The project illustrates just how quickly the aftermarket embraced the Yamaha Rhino 660 platform. During this period, builders were turning the compact two-seat Rhino into everything from desert prerunners and short-course race vehicles to elaborate family builds.
Handcrafted Hot-Rod Bodywork and Paint
Custom aluminum and fiberglass panels created the Fat Rod’s distinctive body. Wally World Designs applied flat-black paint over matte-black powder-coated aluminum before adding its “Wally Flake,” a finely cut holographic material that produced a metal-flake appearance in direct sunlight.
Rick “Wally World” Wallace then ghosted candy-red scallops into the side panels and rear fenders. Red and white hand-painted pinstriping completed the hot-rod theme, including the Fat Rod lettering on the hood and the custom full-house playing cards on the body panels.
The one-off fiberglass hood and rear fenders were produced by 747 Ink. A concealed latch allowed the hood to open and provide access to the fuel filler for the custom center-console-mounted fuel cell built by Magnum Off Road.
Weller Racing 720cc Stroker Engine
Beneath the custom aluminum interior panels was a Weller Racing 720cc stroker engine. Supporting components included a Mikuni HSR45 carburetor, Black Rhino Performance K&N intake, Black Rhino Performance CDI and Muzzys dual exhaust.
A PBS breather system with a siphon break and oil-return system helped manage the modified engine. Zero Tolerance Fabrication of Upland, California, fabricated the aluminum dashboard, center console and engine cover that enclosed the mechanical components and completed the interior.
Removable Rear Seats for Family or Cargo
Beard Super T1 seats were installed for the driver and front passenger. The rear of the Rhino held three matching Beard child seats, each equipped with a padded five-point harness.
The rear-seat assembly was mounted on a removable bracket. With the seats removed, the rear compartment became a Rhino-lined cargo bed with room for coolers, tools, fuel containers or a spare tire. That convertible design allowed the Fat Rod to serve as either a five-seat family machine or a two-seat desert prerunner.
Class 1-Inspired Roof Hatch and HID Lighting
Dynamic Services and Products of Escondido, California, fabricated the exterior aluminum panels and a Class 1-inspired roof hatch. A custom latch held the hatch closed, while a gas strut supported it in the open position. The opening provided additional access to the cabin and an alternate exit.
Five six-inch Baja Designs PreRunner HID lights were mounted above the roofline to illuminate nighttime desert runs.
Magnum Off Road Long-Travel Suspension
The suspension consisted of a Magnum Off Road +6 long-travel system paired with FOX Racing shocks. Summers Brothers 300M axles handled the additional width and increased suspension travel, while Cognito Motorsports spindles, heavy-duty Magnum Off Road heim-joint tie rods and a Gear One steering rack completed the front end.
Despite its extended five-seat layout, the Fat Rod retained a relatively low center of gravity. The wide Yamaha Rhino long-travel suspension improved stability, rough-terrain control and cornering performance compared with a stock-width Rhino.
The build shared the low-slung styling that defined several influential Rhinos of the period, including the SDR Motorsports custom Yamaha Rhino 660 featured earlier in 2009.
Fat Rod Yamaha Rhino Specifications
- Magnum Off Road +6 long-travel suspension
- Magnum Off Road five-seat chopped-and-dropped chassis
- Plated and gusseted frame rails
- Weller Racing 720cc stroker engine
- Mikuni HSR45 carburetor
- Black Rhino Performance K&N open-air intake
- Black Rhino Performance CDI
- Muzzys Yamaha Rhino dual exhaust
- PBS breather system with siphon break and oil return
- FOX Racing shocks tuned and valved by FOX
- Summers Brothers 300M axles
- Cognito Motorsports spindles
- Magnum Off Road heavy-duty heim-joint tie rods
- Gear One steering rack
- Beard Super T1 front seats
- Three removable Beard child seats
- Padded five-point harnesses
- Rugged Radios intercom and two-way radio
- Wally World Designs custom paint and pinstriping
- Five Baja Designs six-inch PreRunner HID lights
- DWT Rockstar wheels with OMF beadlocks for dirt
- DWT Diablo beadlock wheels with Dune Sport DOONZ paddle tires for sand
- Maxxis Bighorn dirt tires
- Custom aluminum dashboard, console and engine cover by Zero Tolerance Fabrication
- Custom exterior aluminum panels by Dynamic Services and Products
- Latching roof escape hatch with gas strut
- One-off fiberglass hood and rear fenders by 747 Ink
- Custom center-console fuel cell by Magnum Off Road
A Snapshot of the Early Custom UTV Industry
The Fat Rod represents an important period in recreational side-by-side history. Builders were still discovering how far the Yamaha Rhino could be transformed, and projects like this helped establish many of the ideas later seen throughout the custom UTV market: stretched chassis, multi-passenger seating, long-travel suspension, integrated communications, elaborate bodywork and high-output engines.
Its combination of family seating, desert capability and handcrafted hot-rod styling made the Fat Rod one of the most distinctive custom Yamaha Rhino builds of its era.
See more influential machines in the UTV of the Month archive.
Fat Rod Yamaha Rhino Photo Gallery
Some photos courtesy of JustinDawesPhoto.com.
