Fatal Roll-Over news -- Future recall?

    A couple of years ago I watched a dateline or 20/20 thing on seat belts. And they are mainly designed for head on. In the program they buckled seat belts in a couple different cars and trucks and hit them on the bottom side of the latch that comes up from under the seat. The part that would be sitting against your hip. They didn't hit it very hard and on most of them they would pop open. They didn't even hit it that hard. I was kinda shocked. Regardless prayers for the family.

    Quote from funinthesun

    The weak link in the drive line IS the rear tire. That's why some of us have had to go a little bit wider for the extra traction

    @funinthesun , I had the same question. I'm looking at putting a 20x12 wheel on the back with a 315/20 tire. What size did you go with and did you have to change the offset at all?

    :00000436:
    Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. - Bill Gates

    I took a new 2015 20" rear wheel (so it matches the fronts) and had a company that does wheels widen it 2 1/2". To keep the same offset, I added a 1 1/4" spacer and the wheel is centered. It's a 345/25/20 tire and it has less than 1/4" clearance to the rear coil spring, so depending on what you are using for a spring, a 12" wheel may be pushing the limit with a 345 tire. It SHOULD be ok with a 315 though (but I'm not making any recommendations on that)

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE

    Quote from funinthesun

    I took a new 2015 20" rear wheel (so it matches the fronts) and had a company that does wheels widen it 2 1/2". To keep the same offset, I added a 1 1/4" spacer and the wheel is centered. It's a 345/25/20 tire and it has less than 1/4" clearance to the rear coil spring, so depending on what you are using for a spring, a 12" wheel may be pushing the limit with a 345 tire. It SHOULD be ok with a 315 though (but I'm not making any recommendations on that)

    Thanks @funinthesun. So if I'm following it correctly, the end state is a 20x12.5 wheel with a 345/25/20 tire. Surprised it will take a 345, but nice to know. With the spacer you used, it kept with the same offset too. Now question is, I'm fairly sure I'm measuring an offset of +42 on the stock rim. I see a lot of people talking about a +45. a 3mm difference may make a difference if you are that close to the suspension.

    :00000436:
    Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. - Bill Gates

    Quote from SaltyClownNY

    Thanks @funinthesun. So if I'm following it correctly, the end state is a 20x12.5 wheel with a 345/25/20 tire. Surprised it will take a 345, but nice to know. With the spacer you used, it kept with the same offset too. Now question is, I'm fairly sure I'm measuring an offset of +42 on the stock rim. I see a lot of people talking about a +45. a 3mm difference may make a difference if you are that close to the suspension.

    NO! The stock sl rear wheel is a 20X9. After adding 2 1/2" to the width of the wheel, you have 11 1/2" not 12 1/2" and yes, the 345 does fit the 11 1/2" wide wheel and clears the aftermarket rear shock spring

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE

    Quote from funinthesun

    NO! The stock sl rear wheel is a 20X9. After adding 2 1/2" to the width of the wheel, you have 11 1/2" not 12 1/2" and yes, the 345 does fit the 11 1/2" wide wheel and clears the aftermarket rear shock spring

    Not sure what others have, but my 2017 is a 20x10 wheel. I was planning on putting a 20x12 on it...?
    I'm measuring by running a straight edge along the outside of one side to the other side. That wouldn't be considered a 9 even if they cut out the inside lip as there is no way there is an inch of lip in there. no?


    LOL... update... wow, I didn't even notice the size of the rim stamped on it. Saw it in my picture ... I'm a dork. Not sure how they measure it then. So I take it it won't fit a 12 inch and need an 11 1/2 then. Yes? I was hoping to get a 12 in there.

    I suspect this won't end well for us (sling lovers or polaris) today there was a demonstration in front of polaris HQ asking for the slingshot to meet crash standards .


    On local news they said that the family of the victim plus another 20 owners of slingshots filed a lawsuit against polaris.


    While I feel sorry for their loss I also feel disgusted at the lawsuit since i see it as another stupid frivolous lawsuit like the one that now forces every coffee shop to say that The Hot coffee is Hot.


    If you want a "safe" vehicle do not get a motorcycle or a trike or a sport anything.... I am tired of people making stupid choices and not wanting to take responsibility for them and always looking for someone else to bail them out.

    Is not that I am mean, I just don't sugarcoat what I say.


    I agree 1000000000000%. People ALWAYS looking for an easy way out.


    Sent from my SM-G955U using Polaris Slingshot Forum mobile app

    Quote from rnj12

    I agree 1000000000000%. People ALWAYS looking for an easy way out.


    Sent from my SM-G955U using Polaris Slingshot Forum mobile app

    I just hate the fact that one person has an issue or something fails once and it's the end of the world. YES, it is a tremendous loss for that family and everyone involved with the person who passed and I feel for them. But how many people die each year in an auto? I'm not discounting the tragedy, but just seems like everyone wants to take up arms and lets linch the responsible party. If they find negligence... OK. To my knowledge, they are saying this has happened once. Has there been others that anyone knows of?

    :00000436:
    Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. - Bill Gates

    And the day will come when something falls off a truck and kills a driver and they get sued for an open cockpit. There is some personal responsibility that must be there. The suit will tell though if there is negligence, but if this is the first and only case, I can't imagine it will move forward. Personally, I want a 4 point harness in mine, but the stock seems good for now.

    :00000436:
    Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. - Bill Gates

    Quote from SaltyClownNY

    And the day will come when something falls off a truck and kills a driver and they get sued for an open cockpit. There is some personal responsibility that must be there. The suit will tell though if there is negligence, but if this is the first and only case, I can't imagine it will move forward. Personally, I want a 4 point harness in mine, but the stock seems good for now.

    hm.... lawsuits are not about right or wrong or even the truth, they are about who has the charismatic lawyer who is able to sweet talk the judge into letting the suit exist and then convince the 12 people who were too dumb to get out of jury duty that even if the plaintiff did something stupid he/she should be compensated for it.


    So given that this is the system that we have in place, it is not a system that i can trust to do the right thing when it comes to cases like this because there is going to be a bleeding heart who is not going to get passed the fact that this "car looking thingy" is not safe during a crash,regardless of the fact that it was not meant to be "crash safe" to begin with.

    Is not that I am mean, I just don't sugarcoat what I say.

    First let me offer my sincere condolences to the family....


    Over my years of life I've done many stupid things that could have killed me, without a doubt.....and many people died doing the same exact things...


    Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you....some people are lucky and some not.


    Do motorcycles have crash tests? Would any two or three wheel motorcycle ever built survive a crash test?


    Since motorcycles are not required to have crash tests and the slingshot is manufactured and marketed as a motorcycle ...I think the point is mute.


    I want to see what the crash site investigators found during their investigation....I'm sure 99.9 % it was driver error...speeding, over steering, under steering...too fast for conditions...was alcohol or drugs involved? Was he sleep deprived? On over the counter medications? How much driving experience did the driver have? Show me his driving record. If he left his lane for whatever reason, the driver is at fault...he did not maintain control of his vehicle. Comes down to driver error.


    Unless a critical part of the SS malfunctioned causing him to lose control...


    We all know the SS will never pass a crash test...and as safe as it is with all the safety features built into it, it was never built to withstand a crash test...


    It has ABS, all wheel disc brakes, seat belts, traction control, all the required lighting, roll bars, a welded steel frame that surrounds the occupants. That is also the reason Polaris recommends wearing full face helmets...


    Two wheel motorcycles have disc brakes and lights and possibly ABS...


    Motorcycles do not have front or rear bumpers.


    Don't think you will survive getting t-boned in your SS, the odds are against you. Surviving a head on crash is probably highly doubtful...people don't survive them in cars.


    My reading of the article suggests to me he got squirrelly and left his land and was t-boned. I could be wrong...


    Since I bought my SS the first mods I did was to increase the visibility front and rear by adding many LED lights and light strips...you can never be too visible on a motorcycle. People can see me coming and that's what I wanted....very bright white LED lights make you very visable...


    You all need to develope a sixth sense as to what other drivers are going to do.


    I highly recommend that you drive your motorcycle like EVERY other driver is intentionally trying to kill you....EXPECT them to do stupid things in front of you. Too many a$$
    Holes are too busy talking and texting instead of driving...one of the main reasons I gave up two wheel riding. Plus you can never add as many lights to a motorcycle as you can an SS.


    I crashed a motorcycle in 1980. I was going too fast for conditions...I hit the loose gravel on the side of the road. I went into the woods. Flew over the handlebars...I'm alive...I couldn't ride for months...


    It can happen in an instant. It might not be your fault. It might be your fault...parts can malfunction.


    Tires blow out...I've had a tie rod break driving a car....not fun especially going around a bend with one wheel steering and the other flopping around like a fish out of water...


    I had a rear shock mount break, dig into the road, spin the back axle toward the back bumper, pull the driveshaft out, spin the car sideways into on coming traffic. Luckily I was only going 25 miles per hour...could have been fatal at 65 which I was doing just the night before that happened....I'm sure the car would have rolled over many many times...and ended with driver and passenger ejection...you just never know...