The Slingshot…….. Post ride report

I love Motorcycles.   I love Corvettes.  I love Jeeps ... and now.. the SS

Flying in to Little Rock to pick up the Slingshot, I wondered if I was going to find myself going in a different direction, away from my addiction to my Vette. I mean, this obviously competes head on with Sports Cars… right?   

When I first saw the Slingshot on the ‘net and later in person 2 months ago, I couldn’t shake that feeling that … it was too futuristic.  Looked ‘stumpy’ in the rear.  Might not be comfortable with the hard plastic looking seats. Well, I was wrong... on all accounts!  Have to admit, when I walked into the Gregory Polaris showroom and sat in my new SS for the first time, I was questioning my sanity.  I was about to finalize the deal on something I don’t’ need.  It serves no real purpose to me other than … pure fun.  Had I gone too far this time?  

On the first ride, Rob and I took it out for a quick run up the road and back.  I’d find myself doing this almost a dozen times, sharing the fun and excitement with everyone that had come out to see me ( the fact that my friends came out was nothing short of awesome).  Back to the first impression.  A few things jumped at me right away, in somewhat of a negative way.  The body of the SS is basically ….. Plastic.    The motor is a GM 2.4 and seemed underpowered.  The brakes caught me off guard; didn’t seem like there was enough brake there to stop it.   The exhaust is quiet; so quiet you can hear the drive belt whine, the transmission ‘whine’.. Hell... hear everything.   The stereo doesn’t seem to have enough power to overcome the wind noise over 50mph…   All these things went through my mind the first hour as I gave some demo rides to my buds.  Rob told me it took him about 75 miles to get the ‘feel’ of the vehicle… he was right.

The exterior may be plastic, but when you lift the hood, it looks like a Race Car!  The SS has more than enough motor to get you to the fun factor.   Once you get comfortable with the power band, it easily climbs hills, as you dive into the corners.   I’d heard it had a top speed of 130mph; I didn’t get it over 100mph…hell, I’m not sure you want to!  But, in the 90s... it cruises along perfectly.  Stable.  No feeling of ‘unsafe’.   It cruises all day in the 70s and 80s, effortlessly.   

Brakes.   What problems was I complaining about now?  They are fine.  Perfect.  Diving into corners, downshifting along the way, the brakes handled everything I threw at it.  

Stereo:  Once you get it off the airwaves and utilize the USB port or Bluetooth, you can crank up some clear music.   Now, this thing is in the wind, at least for me so, the stereo does best under 50mph to hear it... but, for someone shorter that doesn’t have their head in the wind they can probably hear it just fine!

Which brings up the windshield?  These are optional (and a must!), but… I need another inch or two of height on the windshield to give me a wind break.  Maybe that will be an aftermarket item down the road.  Until then, I need to get some goggles to keep in the SS.

So, someone asked “Is it worth 24k!?”   Hmmmm ….. Of course!  Well, 20k if you get the entry level model.  Especially if one doesn’t own a motorcycle.  This becomes your entry point into the world we bikers enjoy every time we take 'em off the kickstand and head down the road…

So, does this compete with a Sports Car?  I’m going to go out on a limb and say ….. No.  It doesn’t have the fit / finish of a higher end vehicle.   Additionally, no doors.  No roof.  No windshield wipers, no…. well, you get the point.   Remember, this is technically a Trike; a Motorcycle.   I like to think of it has a legal,  minimalist race car of sorts, made for fun, not racing light to light.  My wife told me it felt like our old MG, but without doors.  Of course that MG doesn’t slide around in a 360’ spinning the rear tire effortlessly either.  

The SS is a class all its own.  Enjoy it for what it is.   An adult toy to tear up the twisties.  And that I did for 425 miles from Little Rock back to Texas.  Dove hard through every corner I could find.   Punched the accelerator down hard in every straightaway with no traffic up head.  Passed every car I could find knowing they were thinking "WTF is that??" as I shot by.  At every stop, I lit the rear tire up, again and again, through the gears.  Slid it around every turn.   Slid out of gas stations.

I can't wait to go do it all over again........