New EZ-OFF SOFTOP Avialable from SSBK.c

    http://www.allthingsslingshot.com is pleased to introduce the new EZ-OFF SOFTOP from Slingshotbodykits,com Currently this top is available for pre-orders only for the first five beta users , while production tooling is being ramped up. A 20% discount off retail is available to those first five. The M.S.R.P. for production units will be $1,145.00


    EZ-OFF SOFTOPS provide the ultimate in flexibility between soft tops and ridged tops. While providing all the protection from the sun and weather, of the ridged mounted top, in less than five minutes one person can remove or install a Softop (with minimal tools and effort), to revert back to that open air freedom provided by your Slingshot Roadster.


    The EZ-OFF SOFTOP provides a long sleek , aerodynamically correct enclosure that completely encompasses the roll hoops, and streamlines the rear end . The entire EZ OFF SOFTOP is integrally supported by a full width structural cross bar mounted on four points across the back of the roll hoops , providing plenty of longitudinal rigidity while allowing the Softop to rotate within.
    While remaining firmly squared and attached at the roll hoops the Softop is free to be lowered or raised on telescoping tubes at the leading edge of the top. Providing easier access for cleaning , loading etc. A draw down safety cable is used to secure the telescoping tubes, on push pins, during highway speeds.


    The EZ-OFF SOFTOP is manufactured using only the best, Sunbrella fabrics, upgraded to Sunbrella Plus which provides an additional urethane coating on the inside for abrasion and moisture resistance.


    * The term Softop is inherited from the boat top industry where fabric over aluminum tube tops are referred to as softops, and fiberglass, polycarbonate or aluminum panel tops are referred to as hard tops. The term Softop does not necessarily infer collapsable or foldable, but easily removable. In the case of the EZ-OFF SOFTOP it is easily removed , but does not fold or collapse, without dismantling.

    I prefer the MeanSling top much classier looking.
    I can't help but think that if the wind caught that top the wrong way it would not only flip it up but tear up the back of the Sling.
    I guess if MeanSling didn't do all the R&D they would still be in the design stage.


    Edited by the Advertising vendor ;
    -Thank you for your opinion if you prefer the looks of another top , I can very much appreciate that and respect that you state your thoughts respectfully without bashing the ones you don,t prefer.
    -With regards to the wind catching a rear hinged top ,that is a legitimate concern , as at speeds below 65 mph the wind loading alone applies enough down pressure on the top to keep it firmly planted, however at speeds above that the leading edge starts to bounce and flap around a bit almost exactly as your front fenders do when you catch a bump or a bit of wind turbulence. Also as with your front fenders, it only takes about a 3 - 5 lb downward pull to overcome this tendency to bounce. The pressure applied is still downward but bouncing about occurs at speeds in excess of 65 mph so the simple solution is a safety cable ( or Phils buttons for fenders) that applies a mere 5 lb hold down force on the telescoping front tubes , as it is the play in their inherent design that allows for the push button spring clips to operate freely that allows this bouncing . While the push button clips are engineered to hold well more than 5 lb loading, we are not satisfied relying on that design feature alone to secure the top at all speeds. The additional safety cables serve two purposes, 1- they secure the top from bouncing a bit in that play 2- they are there for that one time when complacency kicks in and an operator fails to lower the tubes all the way properly fully engaging the spring clip buttons. In this scenario, as the cables dangle freely they would immediately start to flop about notifying the operator of his mistake . the top doesn't require any fastening , clips or cables at normal speeds under 65 mph but the addition of the safety cables will ensure that the tubes are pulled all the way till engaged on the pins and also eliminate the top bouncing a bit in that pin hole play at the higher speeds. -
    - yes , Il admit and acknowledge Patrick was the first to demonstrate to us all that those existing tube and fabric structures and their associated fittings can be used in the Slingshot arena , and his design is inspiring , to say the least. That is why we chose to respect the design work he contributed to this existing construction process and deliberately went about designing our own top that would serve a different purpose without using any of Patricks fantastic forward tilting designs.

    The more people I meet

    The more I love my Dog!

    Edited 2 times, last by kev ().

    Quote from sideseatdriver

    Sooo it's a lower, farther back sitting, almost exact copy of a MeanSling top? Yeah... I'll stick with supporting @Ruptured Duck.


    I get why it's done, but why can't people come up with their own ideas?

    Yes ,"I'll stick with supporting ruptured duck " please do @sideseatdriver I admire your loyalty to Patrick as his top has proven to very successful and I too would be proud to have one if that was all that was available BUT, BUT, bUT, I desire something different, whatever happened to choice ? is it loyalty or protectionism your promoting here ? While I credit Patrick with being the first to demonstrate to us those existing tubular structures, with all their fittings and sunbrella materials long long long ago proven in the power sports industry can also be put to use on Slingshots, I hardly believe everyone else who decides to use them should be denied the opportunity . Should someone else just reverse engineer his application with his fabulous forward tilting mechanism and what not, of course not . But that is hardly whats happening here .


    I am only answering the cry as I see it , for a top that would provide more aerodynamic efficiencies by extending out the back further and encompassing the roll bar hoops that fellow forum members @ slingrazor and others have been calling for, for a while now . Patrick has indicated many times on this forum that he is not interested in developing another top at this time. Just LAST NIGHT @ Painter posted, "Kev, I see less drag with improved airflow and do I also see a rear hinge?


    I,m sorry while I ADMIRE AND APPRECIATE PATRICKS TOP, I believe there is also a need for a larger Softtop . I also believe there are alternative ways to handle the larger structural and longitudinal loads applied to a bigger top , Is that not my choice ? oops there it is again , ( now a dirty word, Choice ? ) While at first glance @sideseatdriver the tops do appear similar, just a different size, I can assure you and I'm sure Patrick will too, that's where the similarities end. There are many benefits to the larger top and the rigidity of a rear mounted four point hinge and so I've decided to bring those to market to introduce them to consumers .


    AND, in the bigger picture Patrick has nothing to fear from my endeavours, if anything , the advertising and promoting of my new Softop and it's industry will bring him sales ! I believe or I WOULD NOT HAVE INVESTED HEAVILY IN THIS INDUSTRY, that there is plenty of room for potential growth in this fabulous Slingshot industry.The introduction of another Softop top as I define them, and it's additional marketing will help enlarge that sector of the top industry as more and more consumers become aware of the benefits of quick removable Softops.


    While I appreciate the opinions of the OG and the regular posters here , please recognize the advertising dollars paid by supporting vendors here may not necessarily be targeted at you. You may have noticed @rabtechs recent post of 2000 members here , 6000 on the TDS and numerous facebook groups growing every day , these are the potential growth that support the industry so forgive me if advertising to them appears to be harming one of your loyal long term friends, He is just beginning to crack the surface of this real market available here (albeit with your help ) , and his top is front and center of the Softop industry currently so I hardly feel guilty about the sales any additional marketing and promoting of that industry will bring him . Although, I do respect Patrick and all his Meansling products, so you will never see me advertise here or anywhere else, negatively towards the MeanSling top , I will only advertise the positive attributes of my new top and Will not answer questions of how it compares to Patricks negatively, as other less scrupulous manufacturers do . Instead I will remain focused on how many benefits removable softops have to offer the consumers.

    I do think it is unfortunate that this new top looks virtually identical to the Mean Sling top - - - seriously if you set each top on the ground and took a picture of it unless there was something else in the picture to indicate size they would be almost impossible to tell apart.


    considering the fact that this is the beta phase of production if it is possible I would recommend something be altered to make it look less like a knockoff


    if it isnt to late I think it would be better both sides


    JMO

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    @edwardaneal I appreciate your opinion but a lot of people here, except Patrick and I, seem to be going off on a different tangent , and you all may be forgetting one thing . Patricks top will stand on It's own merit !
    My top is not a knock off of his, and when you all get a chance to look it over you will see that . It is definitely a larger,different top, designed to appeal to a different audience . With over twice the footage of tubing inside and number of fittings required to streamline the airflow further out back, my top will always cost approximately 20 % more money and only appeal to people who want something different then Patricks top.
    We are not head to head competitors vying for the same customers but fellow manufacturers working in the same industry selling two different products, offering consumers a choice at different price ranges between no top, a removable softop (by my definition) or a hard top. There will always be choices within those categories, but is it fair to say DDM SHOULD NOT EXIST BECAUSE Hahn equipped the first Slingshot with a turbo and even though they are two different systems they look alike from afar ?
    The consumers will always fair well when there are different choices and the industry will grow as more customers find the different tops available more appealing. This is where I will find my customer base, with some of the 2000 members here and other on the other social media sites I participate in, who are looking for a top different then Patricks ! And undoubtedly as more marketing efforts promote the softops which I can guarantee you, at least 75% of all the Slingshot owners out there haven't even heard of either of these two tops yet . Patrick will benefit first from this additional marketing as a lot of new interest drawn will go to the more affordable, more established top!
    So you can all stop worrying about Patrick , PATRICKS TOP IS A SUCCESS, WILL ALWAYS BE A SUCCESS , AND WILL STAND ON IT'S OWN MERRIT .you can all relax now and just maybe some of the nineteen hundred or more members who have looked at Patrick's top but are looking for something a little different can look at my top without feeling like they are betraying some sort of forum allegiance here.

    Hey, @kev.... Did you delete all the dialogue from @sideseatdriver and others, and edit @MACAWS 's post? I recognize that it's your vendor page, and although I didn't realize you had the ability to reach into other peoples' posts and change them (or just delete them), it doesn't surprise me that the ability is there. It just seems a little disingenuous to remove other peoples' posts, eliminate the back-and-forth discussion between other forum members, and censor opinions in the community. Was that your intent, or was it something else?

    Quote from KayTwo

    Hey, @kev.... Did you delete all the dialogue from @sideseatdriver and others, and edit @MACAWS 's post? I recognize that it's your vendor page, and although I didn't realize you had the ability to reach into other peoples' posts and change them (or just delete them), it doesn't surprise me that the ability is there. It just seems a little disingenuous to remove other peoples' posts, eliminate the back-and-forth discussion between other forum members, and censor opinions in the community. Was that your intent, or was it something else?

    Vendors have full control of their threads and can manage them how they see fit.

    The more people I meet

    The more I love my Dog!

    Hi @KayTwo no, my intent ,although that is my job as a business man to clean up my advertising forum when it gets messed up , was not to silence any of those opinions at all. In the case of @sideseatdriver, post it was a little counterproductive to my advertising dollars spent to have it right front and center there, when I wanted to respect her post but address it directly in my following post , so her post was only moved from the #2 post to the #4 post where I could address it directly and I did not delete one word of her dialogue.
    In the case of @ macaws post I then realized there might be a better way to address a posters comments and added my response to his concerns directly to his post . And I think I did so in a very tasteful and respectful way and he has had no objection to that. At all times the easiest way for me would have been just to delete these posts , as is my right, but instead I found a way which I thought worked best for both parties without having to delete their posts directly and allow for both sides of the conversations to be heard .
    But please understand once you have had a chance to view my response and respond, I will eventually delete these posts too, as an advertising vendors forum needs to be cleaned up periodically and stay true to the cause. I'm a little surprised that that seems disingenuous to you though so let me put it in a scenario for you to consider.
    You and sideseat driver decide to sell your house, you also decide to represent your own house as your own realtors and advertise an open house , where you serve horderves and wine and entertain those inquiring customers whom you,ve spent time and money and plenty of effort, inviting them into your house to view your product. Half way through that event you come across a neighbor not interested in buying your house at all, but attending your open house designed to promote your product, and you overhear him explaining to other inquiring guests everything he doesn't like about your house and why he would not buy it. Now honestly kaytwo , tell me you would not address this issue ?
    Is that not all I,ve done here ? Please consider this is a business for the advertisers and it is those advertisers dollars that afford the forum members free membership into a very large and enjoyable forum. @ rabtech offers these forums to sale to the vendors to subsidize all his expenses and efforts required to operate and maintain such a forum, and promotes their right to clean up there own forums . So how would you have me respond , remember this is my house isn't it ?

    Just thinking out loud here.


    I have a question. If Patrick's top was patented would kev's top be an infringement?


    I appreciate both vendors and have done business with both and will continue to do so and I don't think either one of them should have a lock on producing "soft tops". Competition in the market place is good for everybody, even competing vendors as long as it's not an identical "knock off" product marketed at a cheaper price just to take advantage of the name and success of an already established product. How much do you have to change a product for it to not be an infringement? Don't know the answer to that question but I bet the fact that it opens from opposite ends and is a different size would probably be enough. jes my .o2


    Edited by the advertising vendor; attn @Ghost
    "as long as it's not an identical "knock off" product marketed at a cheaper price "
    Exactly my point exactly ! not only is it a different top to serve other considerations such as aerodynamics too , but it is not even marketed at a cheaper price ! My target audience for my larger,different top is the ones who are looking for something different and are willing to pay more for it. I dont consider myself a head to head competitor to PATRICKS TOP, BUT AS A FELLOW VENDOR PROMOTING AND MARKETING SOFTOPS.


    P.S. if any posters object to my editing their posts this way , please consider it is just my way of keeping my advertising forums focused, while still allowing the original post to stand. The alternative would be to clean up advertising threads by deleting posts that drag on and on with too many quoted posts which would have the effect of derailing the advertising objective. In addition I would ask this poster , please, if you have any comments to add please consider adding them here verses creating another post.


    Thank you Kevin Adams,
    ALL THINGS SLINGSHOT .COM


    Tim "Ghost" Ganey
    Winfield, Alabama
    205spam412spam2868

    Edited 2 times, last by kev ().

    Well... Eh... I'll leave it all alone and just say "It's not personal, just business..."


    Let businessmen conduct business and let friends be friends... Don't mix the two. .. Compartmentalize and differentiate. In other words... Be a robot.


    @KayTwo this reminds me of another example of this , you will remember Tripod accusing Rabtech of censoring his posts and leaving the forum over it, or at least that was his excuse that day. You may also remember Rabtech trying to explain to him that if he had posted on advertising vendors threads and they wanted to clean them up someday and refocus those threads on advertising , that those posts would be deducted from his total post count and Rabtech could not be held responsible for this . Those posts stuck in my mind, as at that very time I had been writing advertising threads that within the 2nd or 3rd post got totally derailed onto personal conversations amongst posters. and no I did not delete any of them but just wrote off my advertising efforts, and dollars and sucked it up. But since then I have considered if this was the best way to handle the situation as apparently other vendors as rabtech had mentioned, knew enough to clean up their advertising threads.


    When I first started advertising the zzp turbos which have now become a major contender, on TDS there were some very detrimental posters making some very unproven claims on my advertising threads and I had to make the decision to delete their negative statements and I notified them of my reason why and they agreed to give it time and let it play out.


    This time I did not consider sideseat drivers or macaws posts to be in that context however and just went about my business cleaning up my advertising forums in a manner which I felt was very professional, please consider and let me know how you feel as I do respect both yours and sideseat drivers opinions. But please understand after tonight these posts too will be deleted as I adamantly feel this is not what an advertisers forum was designed for .

    Personally, I won't "willingly" cover mine (I feel like it would take away from the openness I so much enjoy). That said, if you talk to my better half, we need to get one because the southern heat kills her in the summer.


    As far this products goes, it is different from Patrick's... albeit similar in the same respect. I too, have a loyalty and would insist on getting a top from Patrick if we were to get one (which I don't plan to do for only the reason I stated above). Stacy, on the other hand, wants a top to provide shade for her neck (which this one appears to do better). So in the end, if patents are not being infringed (and I don't believe they are in this case), she would probably end up suggesting we get Kevin's because of the extended coverage factor.


    To me, having this kind of choice is good. And while this may look like intellectual theft of Patrick's idea on the surface, I see it as a way to fill a gap the consumer market may have asked for. A gap that Patrick could have missed, chose to ignore, or one that will take a queue from Kevin's cover design and plan to make one of his own to compete directly.


    In the end, we all like choice...

    If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you...
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    @kev, nothing wrong with you respectfully submitting competition within a product line... options are good. how many products on the market have similar - same products.... phones, tablets, TV's, Jean's, soup, milk, motor oil, etc.... the options are endless. Price point and functionality is the deciding factor. There are several differing varieties of aftermarket rooftops.... yet NONE offer a optional luggage rack design to go WITH these tops... catch my drift? Just a suggestion for future products. It would also clearly set you apart from the other tops.

    All statements, posts, and general discussions made on this forum by me purposely reflect my opinions and personal experiences. 8)

    Thanks for deleting my opinion! I did not say anything negative, just I though is resembled another manufactures top with a slight tweak. You can go ahead and delete this one also, but thanks for letting me know not do do business with you. It reinforces what I was thinking anyways. Total Bitch move!


    Edited by the advertising vendor ;
    @Cypressfunk13 , sorry you feel that way , your post was edited from an advertisers forum as it only echoed exactly what macaws and sideseatdriver were already saying , so I addressed those points in what I thought was a very professional manner , Should I have included you in that address , well maybe , but I thought the point of it all was addressing the issues ? then cleaning up the thread , at some point posters have to come to grips with what is necessary and what isn't on an advertisers forum .

    Edited 3 times, last by kev ().


    Quote from Guardian_Angel

    @kev, nothing wrong with you respectfully submitting competition within a product line... options are good. how many products on the market have similar - same products.... phones, tablets, TV's, Jean's, soup, milk, motor oil, etc.... the options are endless. Price point and functionality is the deciding factor. There are several differing varieties of aftermarket rooftops.... yet NONE offer a optional luggage rack design to go WITH these tops... catch my drift? Just a suggestion for future products. It would also clearly set you apart from the other tops.

    Thank you both @ericastar76and @Guardian_Angel @Ghost for having the courage to step up and speak your mind on what has seems to be a very controversial topic . It appears I have offended some and for that I apologise to those, but my business decisions , I stand behind.

    All. And in all I mean myself as well. I ask that we all let this die and let the performance and sales be what they are. I have been very absent from the forum for a while now. Driven by time and the increasing negativity it seems to drive.


    @kev is right and has a right to market his top. We all have a right to like or dislike, but need to keep it close to the core that founded this forum and family.


    Not the right place for this, but that is what I have to say.

    Proud Member of SOG!!!!!!!

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    ....


    EDIT: Don't think you would have "liked" my post if you understood why this forum came to be, it was due to censorship, post editing, and allowing vendors to control forum content elsewhere. IMO vendors should not be able to edit others posts, period. If you don't want comments or member interaction lock your forum and don't allow replies. Otherwise vendors should fall under the same rules as others, if someone is abusing your designated section or breaking forum rules contact a forum officer to have the comments removed or them blocked from your section. Allowing open, respectful conversation should be encouraged and no vendors contribution is worth loosing that.


    ......

    :REDSS: The ghost of SLingshot past ......

    Edited 2 times, last by Orangeman ().

    I come to this site for the friendships that have been made by person that have come from every corner of the country and all walks of life. Improving or changing things that have been invented in this world is what has made us evolve. I reallocate can't believe some of the comements being made by others. The hatred that is being shown is unreal from a group of people that come here to enjoy what has brought us together. If you look back in time at the creation of any item it gets remade and changed, sometimes for the good sometimes not. Look at the car or truck. Isn't it nice to have choices on brands and styles. Appliances are another, good thing they all don't look similar to each other. Imagine walking into the local appliance store and seeing a hundred tvs that were all rectangular and had screens and speakers on the sides wow how boring would that be or all the refrigerators were boxes standing on end and had doors. Come on people there are only so many ways to make things fit into our needs and the area above the seats in the slingshot only allows for so much. Look at the suppliers for shocks, are we not happy that more suppliers came on board to offer them to us. They all look the same from 20 ft away but when you really look they all offer choice. Give @kev a break he isn't asking you to not buy from @Ruptured Duck and has never said one negative thing about another vendor or product. He is offering a choice of another option. This forum is starting to act like the dark side and gang up on others when it's not needed.