Every ATV and side-by-side is held together by a small army of plastic fasteners — and when you pull a machine apart for maintenance, half of them break. This guide covers every common type, how to identify what you have, and how to never pay dealer prices for them again.
The five fastener types on your machine
1. Push rivets (expansion rivets)
The workhorse. A ribbed shank pushes into a round hole and expansion legs lock it from behind. Used on fenders, side panels, footwells, airbox covers, and CVT covers. The powersports standard is the 8mm push rivet — Honda calls it 90653-HC4-900, Polaris calls it 7661855, BRP calls it 293150089, but it's the same 8mm shank, 15mm head fastener.
2. Christmas tree clips
A stacked-fin shank that bites into the hole at multiple depths. Common on automotive-style body panels and some UTV interior trim. Not interchangeable with push rivets — the fins deform permanently on insertion.
3. Screw-in body rivets
A push rivet body with a Phillips screw center. Turning the screw expands the legs; unscrewing releases them. Kawasaki and Suzuki use these on airbox lids where you need repeated access. Reusable a handful of times before the threads strip.
4. Quarter-turn fasteners
Race-style Dzus fasteners on sport quads and MX plastics — quarter turn to release. Fast but expensive and they need a mating receptacle riveted to the frame.
5. Well nuts and panel screws
Rubber expansion nuts with machine screws, used where plastic meets metal frame tabs — windshields, racks, some Honda fender edges.
How to identify what you need
Pull a surviving fastener (not a broken one — the legs deform) and measure the hole, not the head:
- 8mm / 5/16" hole — the standard. Roughly 90% of powersports panel fasteners. Shop 8mm rivets or verify with the fitment lookup.
- 6mm / ~1/4" hole — small trim, inner liners, number plates on some dirt bikes.
- 10mm / ~3/8" hole — heavy panels and automotive bumper applications.
No calipers? The largest drill bit that slips freely through the hole is your size. Full details in the size guide.
Why fasteners break — and how to remove them without damage
UV exposure makes nylon brittle over 5–10 years, and prying with a flathead screwdriver snaps the expansion legs or gouges the clip seat. The right way: a $5 plastic rivet removal tool (or angled needle-nose pliers) under the head, pull straight out, and always install a fresh rivet — the legs are single-use by design. Our removal guide covers stuck and spinning rivets.
The economics: dealer vs. bulk
A dealership parts counter charges $1–2 per OEM push rivet. A full plastic refresh uses 30–40 of them — that's $40–80 in clips alone. Bulk aftermarket rivets in the same spec run $0.043–$0.16 per rivet. Most owners keep a 100-pack on the shelf and never think about it again. Use the quantity calculator to size your first order.
Fastener kits vs. single-size packs
Multi-size assortment kits look like value but typically include 6 sizes where you'll use one. If your machine takes 8mm rivets — check the full machine list — a single-size pack means every rivet in the bag fits every hole you'll meet.