"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
04/03/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None
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"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
04/03/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None | 1
| 16 |
My father-in-law is in town today and he got excited when one of these came on the T.V. So, I decided that it was time to go down and drive one! We had plans to go visit my WRX and take some more photos, then go over to the local car show (photo dump later), so it was easy to surprise him by pulling into the Polaris dealer.
There are plenty of reviews online where they thrash it much harder than I did, so I won’t go into any performance reviews. I will confirm that the steering is twitchy, the clutch is very light and engages very quickly, it lacks low-end torque (at least compared to my WRX), and there’s a LOT of vibration - so much so that it fuzzes the mirrors.
It doesn’t help that the mirrors are mounted on long stalks.
Whoever designed this machine has an unhealthy love of angles. The are found EVERYWHERE, outside and inside, from the front to the back. Even the steering wheel and shift knob have strange angles on them, making them a bit uncomfortable to grab.
There was a pretty good wind blast hitting right in my face, contributing to the motorcycle feel. Given the number of rock chips on my cars, I’m not sure I would want to drive this thing without a full-face helmet. I’ve hit bugs at high speed and it hurts. I’m sure that a high speed rock will be that much worse.
The low ride height, low seat height, and open cockpit make the Sligshot feel faster than it really is. My son swore I was driving “crazy”, but I didn’t break the speed limit or break the rear wheel loose. Everything just feels different.
Everything also looks different. So different that we had cars jockeying for position around us to get a better look. At one light, an SUV stopped three cars short so the family could gawk at us for the entire long light cycle. They didn’t roll down a window to talk to us. They just sat and stared. Weird.
Being a demo unit owned by a dealer, destined to land in a customer’s hands, I didn’t dog on the Slingshot like I really wanted to. I did several laps around a four mile loop with both my father-in-law and my son riding shotgun. Why didn’t my father-in-law drive? The Slingshot is considered a motorcycle and I was the only one with a motorcycle endorsement.
In the end, I decided that I’d rather have a new motorcycle than a Slingshot, but it is just about perfect for guys like my father-in-law. He never owned a motorcycle, so putting him on something with motorcycle controls would be a bad idea since he would have to learn a whole new skill set. With a Slingshot, he could just jump in and drive away. It really is that easy.
Is he going to buy one? The want is really bad. I, being the devil on his shoulder, told him that he isn’t getting any younger and if he ever wants to get one, he’ll need to do it soon. I think I am now persona non grata with my mother-in-law. I guess that’s ok for now. I got to drive a Slingshot!
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 09:05 |
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I see at least one of these on a daily basis. They are strangely popular. Or I just see the same one everywhere.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
04/03/2016 at 09:10 |
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There are two I see regularly, both owned by old guys. I spotted a third on the road during the test drive. It’s owned by a guy built more like a bear than a man. I don’t think that Polaris was aiming for that market, but the Slingshot is a great alternative for guys too big to ride a motorcycle comfortably. The low side and open top makes it easy to get into and there is plenty of space for our larger brethren.
Flavien Vidal
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 09:12 |
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Oh nice! I haven’t tried one yet, but my friend is the official importer for them in Japan so I hope he can get me behind the wheel of one sometime soon! :)
pip bip - choose Corrour
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 09:13 |
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are they 50 state legal to use on a MC license or not?
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> pip bip - choose Corrour
04/03/2016 at 09:21 |
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Depends on the state. Polaris has the scoop:
http://www.polaris.com/en-us/slingsho…
Louisiana - Driver’s license with motorcycle endorsement.
Texas - Driver’s license, no motorcycle endorsement required.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Flavien Vidal
04/03/2016 at 09:24 |
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You should go drive one. It’s different. I suppose it’s more like driving a convertible car, but with the low windshield and the air blast in your face, there’s no mistaking it for a Miata.
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pip bip - choose Corrour
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 09:31 |
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interesting that it’s only available in 48 states (hawaii & maryland dragging their heels)
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> pip bip - choose Corrour
04/03/2016 at 09:41 |
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I didn’t notice. I was focused on the laws where my father-in-law would be driving it. Since he can’t drive it in Louisiana, I offered to deliver it to Texas for him if he decides to buy it here. :)
jariten1781
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 09:48 |
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Interesting...so they worked out the Texas thing? For a while they were not allowed in the state because the way Texas had the definition of cars and motorcycles made them unclassifiable.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> jariten1781
04/03/2016 at 09:55 |
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http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/0…
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jariten1781
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 10:00 |
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Yeah, looked it up. So, they found a gap in the law then swiftly and logically corrected it without fanfare...that like never happens haha.
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Flavien Vidal
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 10:03 |
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I’d love to! I’ll try to jump on a demo sometime soon :)
jimz
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/03/2016 at 11:06 |
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Michigan- operator (driver’s) license with a CY endorsement. I’m good to go!
TheOnelectronic
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/05/2016 at 21:29 |
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You found the steering twitchy? Really? I wonder if they changed that, because a common complaint about the first models was the slow steering rack and numb on-center feel.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> TheOnelectronic
04/05/2016 at 21:37 |
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They must have changed something. One of the reviewers I watched said it had a caster problem, so I know it wasn't just me.
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TheOnelectronic
> TheRealBicycleBuck
04/05/2016 at 21:42 |
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Ours definitely doesn’t have enough caster- the on-center feel is vague and the steering wheel doesn’t center itself with any sort of authority, but I don’t think it’s ever felt twitchy to me. I can see that happening if they went with a quicker rack for later models though.