WHILE Polaris has run into headwinds about its status as a motorcycle manufacturer (trike, autocycle, or none-of-the-above vehicle) in some US states, the Slingshot has been mostly well received by the media and early adopters, and would appear to be another step in the powersports industry to seeing the "Reverse Trike" becoming established as an accepted leisure riding/driving option and industry category.
Specifically in the case of Polaris, the Slingshot looks set to capitalize on the strength of the increasingly diverse Polaris dealer network, and on the ground originally trail-blazed by Quebec, Canada based Campagna Motors with their T-Rex 20 years ago.
Some 100,000 units later that first appearance for a "Reverse Trike" project with volume production ambitions has subsequently been exploited by CanAm with their Spyder.
That said, the two machines are really quite different though. As Bassani's Gary Naito points out "the Slingshot fits into its own category. Technically it's more like a 3 wheel car with a 4-cylinder Chevy style engine, but Polaris has got it classified as a motorcycle."
At least they have now. While most states treated it as a motorcycle straight away, there were those who weren't so sure, but that issue does appear to be largely resolved now in the Slingshot's favor.
In addition to having logistics on their side, it would appear that Polaris will also have demographics working for them with the Slingshot. Although they had some initial production and recall issues, it would appear that the company is on to a winner, and with the kind of muffler demand that Bassani are reporting, the smart money is on the Slingshot emerging as a popular and highly tuneable and customizable platform.
Bassani's performance muffler is getting good reviews in Slingshot owner forums as an answer to the "thin sound" that some owners are looking to upgrade. The louvered core that Bassani uses is said to deliver a more aggressive sound, and to offer improved performance.
For our part, as an American made vehicle, AMD Magazine intends to be "Slingshot friendly" on a moving forward basis, so we'd be happy to hear from other vendors with aftermarket product for the machine.
www.bassani.com