In the interest of thorough and complete product evaluations, we at the ATV Connection are constantly striving to improve our product testing technique. One example is the use of GPS technology to obtain accurate and non-arguable top speed readings as well as gauging the accuracy of factory speedometers. Remember our DG Brute bumper test posted in Sept/97? Well, we never stopped testing it! But we had to wait to complete the test until we found just the right candidate to "Crash Test" it. (It' s amazing what you can get for a Mountain Dew and a bag of M&M' s!)

Why crash test a bumper? Well, after you bolt a bumper onto an ATV, what else is there to test if it doesn' t fall off in the first hour anyway? And since no one else in the industry had ever done it, we decided to be the first.







As you can see from the pictures, the Brute bumper lived up to its name. The large diameter tubing absorbed the impact with a small tree and left the plastic and frame unscathed. A lesser bumper most likely would have folded back into the front plastic causing a hefty repair bill. As it stands now, the ATV is unharmed, save for the damage to the center of the Brute bumper and appears to be ready for more!

Brute! That is an appropriate name for this new line from DG. Everything is extremely beefy on these bad boys. These floorboards and front bumper (shown right) are certainly designed for extreme conditions. Weighing in at 22 and 23 pounds, respectively, you shouldn't consider these products if you are worried about reducing weight.

FLOORBOARD INSTALLATION

Installation wasn't exactly straightforward. No instructions were included, which led, at times, to a work stoppage while everybody gave an opinion as to how to proceed. With the floorboards we initially had a question as to whether or not the footguards were to be used with the floorboards. We guessed not. However, there was no mudflap portion of the footguard, so we came up with a compromise. By hacksawing the bottom of the guard 1.5 inches below the center of the center hole, we could have both! The shortened guard now covers the area directly behind the floorboard. We reused the 6mm retaining bolt from the bottom of the footpeg to hold the footguard, fender and floorboard ear (of course, a matching 6mm nut had to be procured).

One particularly nasty part of the installation was with the rearmost "U" bolts, which are too small for the frame. The frame at that point is 32mm wide; the "U" bolt is just 28.5mm. (Red circle) Driving on the "U" bolt with a hammer buggered the threads slightly, but we still managed to start the nut. Also, driving the "U" bolts was complicated by the snowplow attachment ears that reside just outboard of where the "U" bolts have to go.  On the left side, the shift lever was initially moved up one spline. This, however, still allowed the lever to hit the floorboard on each downshift. The shift was made cleanly, but there was that metallic "clang" when the lever hit the board. In addition, there is barely enough space under the shift lever to get your foot in position for an upshift. The lever was again positioned another spline higher (now +2). This tended to be a little high, with upshifts now requiring the lifting of your entire leg to complete the shift--reminiscent of a Harley with floorboards. After some more testing we finally decided to return to the +1 position and bend the shift lever up a quarter-inch at a point three inches back from the tip of the lever.

On the right side, with the footpeg removed, the brake pedal is nowfree to rise until it hits the back rail of the floorboards. This increased height requires that H-D practice of raising your foot to actuate the pedal. Four pounds of footpegs and brackets were removed, for a net gain of 18 pounds.

Front Bumper Installation

Luckily, all the mounting tabs align perfectly. The "U" bolts are a pain to tighten, though, even with an air butterfly, because they are set back in so far. The "U" bolts are required because this bumper is winch-capable and the standard four 8mm mounting bolts are simply not up to a 1500-pound pull.      A major problem arose when we tried to reinstall the front rack. The front tabs align well but the rear vertical struts were now off by almost a full hole. It seems the front struts coming off the Brute bumper are a little short. A combination of bending the rear vertical rack arms and the horizontal bolt-on cross member finally allowed the mounting bolts to slide into position.     The removed factory bumper weighed in at five pounds, for a net gain of 18 pounds.

YEA'S

With the floorboards installed, no matter how much snow or mud we encountered, our feet never slipped. Mounting the ATV was also much easier, especially in wet snow. In the past our feet would slip off the snow-packed stock footpeg onto the somewhat fragile plastic fender guard. That won't happen with the Brute floorboards. You don't even have to look down to make sure you are on the footpeg as you step up. This is a time saver you will appreciate if the work you do on your Brute floorboard-equipped ATV involves multiple mounts and dismounts. The new shift and brake lever position was adapted too quickly and wasn't thought of again.      An interesting side benefit of the Brute front bumper surfaced. Steering in wet snow became more precise because of the 18-pound weight gain hung in front of the tires. There was less sliding and more precise tracking, yet the added weight didn't affect the perceived steering effort. Also, the front brakes are now slightly more effective, probably because the tires--with more weight on them--are less prone to lockup.

NAY'S

All that extra weight can make the ATV a bear to lift out of a mudhole. We wish DG would check the assembly jig for the front bumper's rack mounting points. It would also be nice to have slightly larger "U" bolts for the rear mounting points on the floorboards, although, from a production standpoint, this most likely isn't economically feasible; since DG is using off-the-shelf SAE hardware, there isn't a "U" bolt size that is slightly larger without going way too large.

CONCLUSIONS

Even with the assembly hassles, the floorboards and front bumper are recommended because of the perceived quality and operational benefits AFTER installation.

Floorboards Rating

Bumper Rating