@Bill Schaffer Was the cold air intake an Alpha? I only ask because I had to reroute the throttle boby wiring around the snap-in fuel line fitting to relieve some of the tension against the fitting.
Only speculation of course but seems the fuel line ruptured @ :55 in the video after the fire was well underway ....
I cannot think of anything else in that location which would have caused this sudden and short lived energetic plume other than fuel under pressure .....
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Sad day @Bill Schaffer!
Glad you're safe,
I don't understand why they keep referring back to the Razor's. Completely different platform.
@Bill Schaffer we are very thankful that you were not hurt nor the firemen that responded.
The articles written were what a lot (including myself) had issue with. I felt further details and investigation should have been done before making unfounded claims and warnings. Also the reference to another fire that was caused by totally unrelated issues just did not sit well with me. You have to understand that a good number of us have had to deal with similar claims in the past only to have them found to either be half true or false altogether. If there is in fact a problem (headlight relay issue comes to mind) than it is good to hear Polaris has contacted you. I only hope that the follow-up story is written in a true journalistic manner.
Thank you again for adding the extra details that some of us were looking for.
Engine compartment fires are wicked. I lost a nice car to a power steering leak. Scary. Most things up front burn, fuel, fluids, hoses, wires, tires, headlamps, etc. all it takes is something to act as kindling, then game over. Really smelly too.
Glad Bill is okay. People burn too... Hopefully just a one off. On a positive note, Bill will be getting a brand new ride!
I would like to thank Bill for his very detailed account of the moments leading up to the Incident. We all can learn some knowledge from his actions. Unfortunately he had to bear the sad results. The motor loosing power is a clear sign something bad is going on. We learn from his actions, it is best to find a safe place to immediately pull over and stop. I feel one action that would help is to have an auto approved fire extinguisher on board that can be reached before you get out of vehicle, to fight any fire in the cockpit. Only to be use to gain time to exit the vehicle and get as far away as possible. Call 911 immediately. We all need to have a plan for emergency action in the events such as he experienced.
So glad he was not hurt and was able to share his story!
Folks, with any electrical connections, Ohm's Law governs the safety of the correct current flow and fuses provide protection when a problem arises with the connections. Adding any electrical connections to a designed product, requires thought of current, connection material, correct torquing of connections and the proper use of appropriate fusing.
A loose connection in a high current circuit can cause heat and lead to a fire. People that hook up electrical components must understand the effects of Ohm's Law in order to determine that all is safe and operates with in the safe limits of current flow. Current flow can be too high if you just make a connection to any point you find a hot wire. Sometimes that wire may be fused to high for your circuit. This is why you should not just work with electrical connections if you do not understand Ohm's Law.
Electrical connections can be the most dangerous part of any modification if not done with the proper engineering and with wire size, connections and current drain, it can lead to disaster and it happens slowly as wires heat up from excess current. If a circuit becomes grounded due to physical action, or circuit short, if all is proper, a fuse will blow. If not correct, the wire can heat up red hot and after time will heat up other wires and all will start to burn. This is why things take time to lead to total failure.
Never, ever, hook any wires up yourself without it being a fused connection and you need to know the proper fuse size. It is best to have someone qualified to do this type work.
I feel strongly, this was a electrically generated failure. The Main fuse block is on the drivers side. Things started happening slowly with the performance. Wires were most likely burning. Finally things started shorting and more failure would occur. I think you can see that a quick stop is the best action to take anytime your Slingshot or any vehicle starts to show changes in performance. One further point, when stopped, turn the key off immediately to stop any more current flow in any circuit. The sooner the ignition is turned off the better. Don't forget, turn the ignition off right away, as soon as you stop.
Ohm's Law I=E over R That is Current (I) equals Voltage (12v) divided by Resistance (Your Circuit, wire, and connection) The current through low resistance is what can cause a fire.
For information purposes.
Thanks for the info, hopefully you'll be back in the road soon.
Display MoreOnly speculation of course but seems the fuel line ruptured @ :55 in the video after the fire was well underway ....
I cannot think of anything else in that location which would have caused this sudden and short lived energetic plume other than fuel under pressure .....
.
I have seen tires pop with that effect during a vehicle fire. I was thinking the fuel tank, but that would have been more central and towards the back.
The added air from the tire rupture fans the flames when fully engulfed.
Oh my, so glad u are ok, Praise the lord u got out in time and didn't get hurt.. WOW!
@Bill Schaffer glad you made it out safe. Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story of what happened that day with us. Hope your back in the saddle soon. 
glad your okay Bill
It doesn't get any worse than your product actually burning to the ground at a Corporate Sponsored Owners Event.....
Like when Bill Gates himself was on stage in Chicago unveiling a new version of Windows, and got the blue screen of death..? 
@Bill Schaffer glad to hear you are OK and working with Polaris Bwe all appreciate the information and look forward to the results from the investigation. If anyone implied you were an idiot sorry about that.
Hope to see you back in the saddle.
@Bill Schaffer - any word on the cause of the fire?
