Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 5

Editors Note: For full disclosure, it should be noted that our writer, Jeff Vanasdal, is the man behind Santor Design Co. We met Jeff 2008 when he was showing off a one of his project quads that featured very cool “ Whiskey Runner” graphics kit he designed. He’s been writing for us ever since.

At the Indianapolis Dealer Expo earlier this year Santor Design Co. displayed a white YFZ450 with a graphics kit that was drawing a lot of attention. The kit was designed to look like ripped fishnet stockings stretched over the plastics and featured two lady bombshells in nothing but boy shorts ( Click here to see it). The YFZ450 was also decked out in the latest Maier USA race cut front and rear fenders. That was a look the ATV.com editors liked, but we decided we wanted something a little more “G” rated for the Raptor so we decided to come up with a some new custom graphics.

Santor Design Co. specializes in custom graphics and apparel, and concentrates on producing unique and original works of art for ATVs. For our Raptor 250 Project we designed a kit that features what looks to be the internals and intertwining components of an engine in an X-ray effect.

All Santor Design Co. graphics are printed on a special material that makes installation a breeze. SDC kits feature a Rapid Air system that directs and release the air pockets when applying the graphics. This greatly reduces those pesky air bubbles that get caught in between your plastic and the graphics.

If you happen to scratch up SDC graphics or mess them up somehow, you don’t have to order a whole new kit to fix it. Whatever piece of the kit is damaged can be ordered separately, which can save you a lot of money. Santor Design Co. has a lineup of graphics kits to choose from, but custom graphics are available.

With the graphics completed, we turned our attention to the plastics of our faithful Raptor. We’ve put a few miles on our project quad to test out all the accessories we’ve added and the original plastics were pretty scratched up. Fortunately, Maier USA has some sweet high gloss carbon fiber look plastic for our machine. Maier USA has been manufacturing aftermarket plastic for motorcycles and ATV’s since 1972 and is the largest manufacturer of custom and O.E.M. type motorcycle and ATV plastic in the United States.

We added new front and rear fenders along with a new hood. For the front we used white carbon fiber look and for the rear and the hood we chose the standard gray carbon fiber look. Not only did this really make the Raptor 250 shine, but it also synched up well with the design of the SDC graphics.

If grey and white aren’t for you, don’t fret. Maier USA offers twenty different colors of plastic to choose from. Even the pickiest of people should be able to find what they’re looking for.

With the combination of the Maier plastic and custom Santor Design Co. graphics we gave the Project Raptor a truly one of a kind look. Whoever wins this quad should be able to stop traffic wherever they ride.

Check back next week for Part 6 of our Raptor 250 project as we wrap things up and take a look at some gear from Shift Racing that the winner will take home. Click here to enter the Raptor 250 contest.

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