156 www.motocrossactionmag.com

WHAT IS IT? A one-piece shroud and side panel withmore room for sponsor logos and artwork.

WHAT’S IT COST? $649.99 (for skins and semi-customgraphics).

CONTACT? www.srpinternational.com or (203) 878-2379.

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things thatstand out with SRP’s CRF450 Slater Skins.(1) Construction. The plastic material is thermally

formed, high-impact, high-density, heat-resistantpolypropylene. John Slater makes his own moldsin-house. Slater Skin graphics are six-mil convex vinylwith an eight-mil laminate. Titan MX designed theMXA graphics, while Side Line Graphics and AffordableSign handled the layout and printing.(2) Graphic design. For your $649.99, you could get

the same graphics that we got, but with your name orcompany in place of the MXA logo, and use a basicsticker kit for sponsors to fill in the gaps. For an extracharge, you can do a totally custom job. The graphicis one giant piece, making the visual presentationseamless. The downside of this is that it is very difficultto install smoothly.(3) Paint. The Slater Skin plastic is unique in that it

can be painted. For active motocross bikes, paint isn’tpractical, but for a show bike, it can take the look toanother level.(4) Sponsorship. Slater Skins are all about more

signage. The one-piece, streamlined Slater Skin panelsare designed to help promote offroad racing by givingcorporate sponsors 1200 square inches of advertisingspace (which is 900 square inches larger than the stockpanels). Odds are you aren’t one of the few riders whocan compete for wins at the top level, but you can still

SRP CRF450 SLATER SKINSattract a lot of attention and get valuable exposure for yoursponsors with something unique and visible. Slater Skins area billboard on a bike.(5) Performance. A positive aspect of the one-piece

panels is a smoother rider interface with the bike. Thenegative aspects include a little more mud getting trapped,a more open airbox, which can let more dirt (as well asmore air) inside, and some engine overheating issues.(6) Future development. Currently, the Slater Skin is

only available for modern Honda CRFs. Slater is working onthe 2010 Yamaha body style. He is also getting involved insome wind tunnel testing.(7) Pro status. In the past, Slater Skins have had the most

exposure among freestyle guys like Mike Metzger. Currently,Slater is testing with race teams who may be interested.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? We noticed a few compromiseswith the Slater Skins. (1) If one breaks, you have to replacethe entire thing. (2) It’s held on with fewer bolts than thestock plastics, making theexisting attachment pointsmore critical. (3) Although it’sdifficult to notice when on thebike, the lower portion of theSlater Skin doesn’t rest flushagainst the main spar of theframe. (4) The Skins need tobe modified to run certainthings like radiator braces,head pipe oxygen sensors, oilcoolers, etc. (5) To stop thebike from overheating in longmotos, you would need tomake ducting behind theSlater Skins to help get airthrough the radiators moreeffectively.

This is a five-starproduct for a

marketing man anda two-star productfor a functionalist.Slater Skins don’tdirectly help lap

times on the track,but they couldget you more

sponsorship, whichdefinitely helpsperformance.

MXA RATING

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