UK_Paul's - Slingshot Build & Other Adventures -

Quote from UK_Paul

Only one SlingShot in Ireland right now...It's in the north and unsold. Nothing is yet in the Republic of Ireland, at this time.

It gets completed but the story will tell all, as it works it's way through.

It's now time for an explanation, as I understand it, of the distributor situation, in Britain. (If I get some of the information wrong, I apologise to Polaris Britain; but hell! It's difficult to get straight answers from them, in Britain, some times).

Firstly we have only ever had a maximum of five dealers, in Britain.
See Map:

It appears that Polaris are trying to create "sales areas" that the distributors can work in. Therefore they are spread around the UK. (OK nothing yet in Scotland, but the whole population of Scotland is only 5% of the total UK, so that's very understandable). Following that; one distributor has two branches. (That's the two in the SE of England). This laves three remaining distributors one a relatively short distance from Polaris Britain, one near Manchester and one in Northern Ireland.

As you will be aware, if you have followed the thread, so far. I had no reliance in the distributor, located near Polaris, after his loose talk about who he was supplying products to. I'll not name that distributor but it is easy to work out who it is, if you want to.

Another outlet covers two branches and the guys at "Krazy Horse" in the south east, produce some great work, with some great custom cycles and are pretty bam good on the technical side of things. They also distribute Indian (and Victory) motorcycles (also made by Polaris). I have only ever had good feedback about these guys and after meeting the boss, I'd happily recommend them to anyone. - Krazy Horse – The destination for petrol-heads -

The Manchester area has "The Rocket Centre" - Rocket Centre | Motorcycle Dealers, Lancashire - They sell a range of motorcycles and have some very plush premises. However the only Polaris product sold is the SlingShot. (I believe that they don't get the Indian & Victory as other dealers, of these products, are based nearby).

I'll be making my first visit to The Rocket Centre, very soon and I'm sure looking forward to it. I must comment that the very helpful response from Beth, on the service department's reception, she has been tremendous with her help and responsive attitude and efficient service. If rest of the company is half as good as her then they will be doing very well indeed. It is without a doubt the way she put over the first impression, of the company, that sold them to me. You normally only hear the bad things about people and its good to let people know when they do well. (Let's hope her boss gets to see this).

That laves the only remaining distributor in Northern Ireland. - All Spares ATV - The owner Lee is another great representative, for his products. It was Lee who sold the idea of a SlingShot to Elaine and I, in Ireland, last year. Unfortunately it appears that Lee and Polaris have now reached a parting of the ways and I'm disappointed that the sale of the SlingShot to Elaine and I did not help. My understanding of the situation is that: All Spares ATV sell (or sold) Polaris ATV's in an area where Polaris then opened a new dealer, for the same products. I think this created some tension, as the Polaris sales rep appeared to favour the other distributor. (But that's speculation on my part). When the SlingShot was sold to me from this branch, it would appear that the loose mouthed distributor (see coment above, about him), was upset that he had not made the sale and I suspect he started claiming the sale for himself. I suspect that this raised the temperature of relationships between Polaris and All Spares, but I'm unlikely to ever know if this is the case.

The sale, of the SlingShot' was completed and a while later I took delivery of the Vehicle. The following day (after delivery - not the sale, made some time earlier) a call was made to All Spares, stating that sales of SlingShots had been halted, by Polaris, due to the recall, that we are all very aware about now. They were informed that they had broken the contract between Polaris and themselves, for doing so, (even though the sale had been completed, well in advance of this time). Things appeared to escalate further and Polaris threatened to withdraw the distributorship. The next move came from All Spares and they said that they would happily drop all the Polaris products and walk away, from them.

So unfortunately that happened and Polaris lost a, dam good, distributor for the SlingShot, in N. Ireland. I may not have the full story and I may have some of the details wrong, but it doesn't look like anybody came out of this well and everyone lost. The distributor remains selling his other products and I understand (rightly or wrongly) that Lee has just achieved, an award for, the highest sales figures for Can-Am's in GB (and possibly Europe). Although it's coopetition (that is, Can-Am) for Polaris, it does look like they lost (or allowed to go) a potentially very good dealer. As I said no one wins with this.

Well that's the run down of all the UK dealers and a little history of them, as I see it, from a customer's point of view.

I've been doing some fine soldering on a multy layer, micro circuit board, this evening.
It's all going to integrate with some hardware that I'm hopefully installing soon.

I hope to have everything up and running, by the end of the month and when I do I'll start posting some pictures and information on out what I've done.

Untill then it will stay under covers, so just watch this space.

Quote from UK_Paul

Fault time:

-

-
This is me, at that location, trying to re-tune the radio to something other than, just the one local station that it could pick up.

Looks like I'll be asking for a fix soon. I'm sure the guys at Polaris Britain will do a good job at getting things working well. They certainly have proved great with any problems that the Victory ever had.

It's now been a couple of weeks that I have been waiting on a reply, regards the above extract, from Polaris Britain. I have contacted my dealer and they have (very efficiently) ask the questions and repeatedly chassed for a response. They have also forwarded the link, to the post on this page and my email about the fault to the technical department.
- The distributor is performing great - It's Polaris that is letting them down -

NOTING YET!
I hope that they sort things out quickly as my recall work will be done in two weeks time and if they have not got an acceptable solution, I guess that I will have to pursue Polaris Britain, under the "Consumer Rights Act" as the product appears to be "Not fit for purpose" (That's all UK legal stuff, in the parentheses'). I hope not to have to chase them down this route, but now that they appear to insist that all questions must go through distributors, they don't seam to respond very well anymore.

Historically, Polaris Britain have previously worked well, I hope that they are not loosing there touch now. I will have to keep you all informed as to how they perform.

Quote from philip_mustang

The usa radio's are always a problem in europe.
It was the same with my oem radio in my mustang and i've heard a lot of complaint about the same issue from guys at meeting with other american cars.
I heard it has something to do with the us model searching in another way than the euro ones.

Even our 2014 Ram has that issue. RDS doesn't function as it should either.
So I was expecting this for my SS and it looks like you just confirmed it

The problem that you mention is probably caused by the "steps" that radios tune by. This was more of a problem with older designed radios. I have checked the speck out on the SlingShot radio and it shouldn't have a problem with this, as it is designed to work to both US & European standards.

The technical bit:
- North American FM broadcast channels are on the odd 200KHz frequencies: (99.5MHz, 100.1MHz, etc.) In Europe, channels can be on any multiple of 100KHz, even or odd. -

If the tuner is set to work with either, (the SS one is) then things should be fine. It's just unfortunate that the radio & camera have a few problems, that perhaps shouldn't have got through quality control.

From my talks with Polaris Britain, prior to purchase, I was expecting one that worked, but it looks like I got one of the duds.

Let's hope they sort it out (or refund the radio cost & I'll work out a fix myself), with a friend, (from a previous life) that used to be one of the top top technical engineers, within, what was called RSRE, (Royal Signals & Radar Establishment) when I first met him.
- Royal Radar Establishment - Wikipedia -
He has recently had a stroke and we were re-united in hospital (during my recent visits). He is now looking for a project to work on to keep him occupied. (Who knows? Next, he'll be fitting guided missiles). We have talked about the possibility of setting up the SlingShot, together, as a seriously uprated version of an iBeacon,
- iBeacon - Wikipedia -
This would be complete with Wi-Fi & Bluetooth connection, so that the SlingShot can, in effect, talk to hand held devices and even automatically upload information, (like pictures, videos or even this thread) as people pass within 300-400 ft. of the vehicle. (It's the next thing that will be coming to us all, after QR codes).

But that's for the future.
First I need a radio that works...

Quote from dangerdarrell

When the radios we have get annoying enough we just replace them with an aftermarket one.

I drove 100+ miles today. No stations at all.

Perhaps I should just request a refund from Polaris Britain. - $2,200 USD - I belive, is the value.

Took the SlingShot out for it's first decent run today. It had a good blow out through the engine and is running "Sweet as a nut."

Even when I've taken it out and about on shorter runs I knew it would attract attention but I stopped for a very English - Cream Tea - mid morning. But what else would you expect from UK_PAUL?

A crowd gathered arround the SlingShot while I just sat, inside, on the warm, with my tea & scone, watching them. As time went on, people stood up from their tables and went to the windows.

I was most impressed when one couple, at the window, started to talk about it... The guy started telling his partner all about it. Well he thought he was. Then after a couple of minutes of B.S. from him. She then sad... "Don't be stupid. It's a motorbike!" I couldn't resist. I just had to speak up and say, before he finished dismissing her. "Excuse me; it belongs to me. It is; in fact a motorcycle, a 2.4 liter motorcycle... And; it goes like $1ht off a shovel." That shut him up.

As usual, on my return to the SS I had all the usual questions, but I'll remember the look on the ladies face, when I backed her up, in the tea room. Perhaps next time her partner will think before sticking his foot in his own mouth.

The rest of the run was just so much fun, I didn't want to go home.

No pictures this time as I just wanted to drive/ride. (What do we all say - drive or ride?).

Well I had hoped not to do it but...

Still no responce from Polaris Britain, regards the radio, so in the UK, under the "Consumer Rights Act 2015" I should expect the following:

"The goods should be fit for the purpose they are supplied for, as well as any specific purpose you made known before you agreed to buy the goods"

I spoke with Polaris Britain tec. department, prior to purchase of the SlingShot and directly asked about the radio/camara issues. At that time i was verbaly assured that the radio would be fine.

After my subsequent complaint, they have not yet responded back through my present dealer. (Not the dealer that sold it, to me, as they are parting or have now parted company with them).

Therefore, unfortunately and reluctantly, it may now be time to make a claim against Polaris Britain. I had expected a satisfactory solution or at least a reply by now. But nothing has come back to me. I suspect that it will now be a claim for the cost of the radio, as it does not for fill the required function, of receiving radio stations and is therefore "Not fit for purpose." UK law requires a fix or refund.

Radio Update:

I spoke with my dealer today, just to let them know that I'll be claiming against Polaris Britain, if they (Polaris) don't sort the problem with the radio out. I also emailed the distributor and included a CC to the Polaris' tec guy.

SUPRISE!

When I called the distributor, Polaris had called them.
Polaris Britain say they sent a mail to the distributor on the 8th but the distributor has no record of it. The distributor had also chased them for an answer, after that date. So if I was a gambling man, my money would certainly be on the distributor.

I have asked my distributor to ensure that Polaris are aware that I expect to receive a suitable outcome by the time of my departure, from the dealer's on the 28th of this month, after my recall items are dealt with.

We will all see what Polaris propose now, (or when the distributor can get a response).

Radio:
Still nothing through from Polaris Britain to the distributor.

Quote from Tripod

I'm becoming very sceptical as they said they sent a mail to the distributor on the 8th of this month, but don't appear to have re-posted it yet. I hope to get an answer before the SS goes in for the recall work later this month. B.S from Polaris Britain will not be an acceptable response, as they have had plenty of time to respond now.

I was expecting a prompt efficient answer, like they used to be able to supply but looks like they may be starting to slack a little now. I do hope this is not the case.

Well!
They could even have posted a letter to the distributor by now. This is not the type of support that either the distributos or we customers deserve. (I feel a leagal claim coming on).

UK_Paul's - Slingshot Build & Other Adventures -
On a brighter note than the dam radio:

Today I installed a couple of momentary switches, int9 the dash of the SlingShot. They are going to be wired through to some hardware that I intend to install next week. - I will reveal more then -

After fitting the switches I headed out for a short run around the area where I live.
Pictures below.

The busseling heart of the village (technically a hamlet) where I live. OK it's all a little too busy for me, in the middle of all this, so I live a little further outside this area.

Great veiws from this point just above the location of my home.

Quote from UK_Paul

UK_Paul's - Slingshot Build & Other Adventures Today I installed a couple of momentary switches, int9 the dash of the SlingShot. They are going to be wired through to some hardware that I intend to install next week.

The hardware will be all fitted in place this Thursday. If it's all fitted OK and working then pictures will follow.

It's all been done before, but not quite this way.

Radio continuation:

My dealer recently sent an update for me regards the radio. This is an extract from it.

"Hi Paul,
We've had a read through the troubleshooting information that Michael's sent, which has just linked us back to the recall that is active on some of the 2016 vehicles but not yours."

They continue:
"Now that we've been able to dissect all of the information, we think the best corse of action is to treat your slingshot as though it has the recall, so I've got the parts on order (the camera lines) and we'll submit a normal warranty claim with Polaris. "

WOW!
I don't think that I could possibly expect any more from a dealer.
However; it does look like Polaris are just pumping out a stock responce, to them. Let's hope that this solves the problem and if it does that Polaris deal with the claim correctly.
Big thanks, to the Rocket Centre, in anticipation.

Today's little addition:

I'd like to keep an eye on the battery level, in the SlingShot, so I decided to add a battery meter, so that I could always see wat was happening with it. I had looked at a number of options but, last week i added a couple of momentary, to the center console, lit with a red and a blue LED. To keep everything coordinated, i opted to go with a blue LED display of the voltage level.

The one that I decided to use was designed to run up to 24v so it would be fine for my application. It is also waterproof, so would be fine in the beautiful British weather. I have included a link below for the item available at $10 USD but i was able to pick one up for about half that price (deliverd) so you may want to look around for a better deal.
- Amazon.com: XCSOURCE Universal Digital Display Voltmeter Waterproof Voltage Meter Blue LED for DC 12V-24V Car Motorcycle Auto Truck BI313: Automotive -

I have wired it into a switched live, from the ignition system, so that it only comes on when the ignition is turned on. (It also allowed me to check that the radio was connected as it should be, when doing the job - See other postings).

Everything went together very easily. The only exception was that the threaded part of the gage is the same depth as the thickness of the panel that the gage is fitted through. To deal with this i drilled a 13mm dia. hole and fixed everything, firmly, with some 3M double sided tape, to wedge everything in place securely. The pictures don't do the job justice as it looks much better in the flesh. (Yes I will clean up the swarf, from the drilling soon).

Before installation, I had decided that I was not happy with the text above the display saying "VOLTAGE" but the "DC V" below, looked fine. To remove the printing that I didn't like it was a case of getting out the eucalyptus oil. This happily removed the print without damaging the translucent plastic casing that it was printed on.
That's a great tip, from my Australian wife, Elane

The result compliments the new buttons and the dashboard lighting style, very well and I'm very pleased with the results.