Anyone have any info on anything new for the 2020 Slingshot?

Quote from wjfyfe

Returning to the "motorcycle" frame of mind, with any new modifications, Polaris still needs to keep the SlingShot within it's weight restrictions to continue to have the freedom to manufacture the SlingShot as a motorcycle..............

Also, with any design or cosmetic change comes the added penalty of having to produce, and stock, those additional parts, then what happens to the overall cost?

Bill

I agree with Bill on the weight issue. I think the biggest challange with offering an automatic transmission will be the additional weight over the manual. If they had to put in a smaller battery to stay within the weight limits no telling what would need to be redesigned for the additional weight of the auto trans.

Rear exit exhaust. Best mod I made to mine by far. Got rid of most of the cockpit heat and fumes. The rear end angle drive may be a pain to some but after over 23k miles I get it. Look at all the after market industry that has started and benefitted. Be honest, it's fun to mod, add stuff and play with the SS. For some of us it is an obsession. Someone here once wrote about washing paper plates to save enough money for the next mod. A jest for sure, but a lot of us empathized. Shure, it has a few reliability (parts failure) problems but that is what warrantee's are for. It is a complex piece machinery. In it's price range nothing else comes close for this type and style of moto transport. An automatic transmission might open a new segment of drivers not familiar with third pedal driving as well as limited physical abilities. I'm sure the designers, engineer's and $'s people responsible for the present product have considered this. In my opinion the Slingshot is a masterpiece of deign and engineering. That's why I bought one. Simple...if you don't have a passion for one, no one is holding a gun to your head to buy one. If you bought one and don't like it. sell it. Just saying.

An Automatic might be nice - if it were automatic then my wife could - - - - never mind we dont need an automatic

Another side I've heard, a few attempted thefts have been thwarted by the left pedal and red flux capacitor button on the dash. The bulb in mine has stopped working so I don't' have to put up with the red glare at night. So no prompt on how to start it for the unknowing.

Harvey ( Bu11sh1t ) toured the plant a few weeks ago. Not sure the person that was giving his an extended tour knew for certain.... but he told him that there would be NO automatic from Polaris on the showroom floor in the near future, if ever. It added too much weight and the Slingshot is already close to the limit.

Quote from Goats_Hogs

Harvey ( Bu11sh1t ) toured the plant a few weeks ago. Not sure the person that was giving his an extended tour knew for certain.... but he told him that there would be NO automatic from Polaris on the showroom floor in the near future, if ever. It added too much weight and the Slingshot is already close to the limit.

considering they have had to make the battery smaller and even alter the frame on later models to accommodate the weight of the sling shade it would seem that dealing with the extra weight of an automatic transmission would be very difficult and if possible to do probably very expensive

One of the things that makes the Slingshot such an exceptional vehicle is its very affordable price - I am sure they could "improve" it and make it far more capable with things like a turbo charged motor with an automatic transmission and carbon fiber body panels on an aluminum frame. but whats the point if most of us could no longer afford it?

Whatever they might change I just hope they are smart enough not to price it out of the hands of people like me

Quote from rabtech

I am curious if anyone that has a inside connection has genuinely heard of any major changes coming in 2020 model.

If only we had 2020 vision

I'm hoping that they offer engine/transmission OPTIONS. The biggest problem I see is that there is no REAL difference between the base and the top of the line SLR LE. It has the same engine, same trans, same drive. Sure, you add a few accessories and paint colors, but we all know that ALL of those accessories are available aftermarket for much less $$. I could (and have) taken a base and made it look like the SLR with just paint and accessories.

But now think if you could choose between the current 4-cyl engine and maybe a V-6 (or V8! - hey , we can dream!)? Or choose manual vs automatic transmission? All those options are currently available on all other cars and trucks now. Why can't they offer that in a SS?

Right now, we go into a dealership and our only real choice is color (and the accessories that come on that color). That's why I haven't bought another one. Dealer even offered me good money for my trade in (in my avatar) but all I really would have gotten was a different paint color.

And BTW, I LOVE the front body panels. Yes, I agree about the option to remove the hood stripes. But I HATE the rear sharkfin. Take that off alone (yes, I know others have done it), and I might be getting the blue one. . . .

Quote from chavey2

But now think if you could choose between the current 4-cyl engine and maybe a V-6 (or V8! - hey , we can dream!)? Or choose manual vs automatic transmission? All those options are currently available on all other cars and trucks now. Why can't they offer that in a SS?

Already addressed:

Quote from Goats_Hogs

Harvey ( Bu11sh1t ) toured the plant a few weeks ago. Not sure the person that was giving his an extended tour knew for certain.... but he told him that there would be NO automatic from Polaris on the showroom floor in the near future, if ever. It added too much weight and the Slingshot is already close to the limit.

Bill

Weight my brother. He ain't heavy... 1745 max to maintain Mc rules and reg's. Go over and we will pay a SH!T load $'s more and have to deal with stuff like air bags, crash dummies, glass wind shields, doors, A/C, etc. Then we could rename it to Miata. What's the average owner age of a SS now? I would suspect 55 +.

Most of use where MC riders for many years and have gained the driving experience needed to stay wheels down when it comes to emergencies, stupid and inattentive sometimes reckless drivers out there and there's a S load of them. I am personally grateful to Polaris for the SS! I had to sell off my motor cycles due to bad hips (old age) and just wasn't enjoying the bikes like I did for so many years. I suspect theirs's many SS owners paddling away in the same boat.

Quote from tguy543

Weight my brother. He ain't heavy... 1745 max to maintain Mc rules and reg's. Go over and we will pay a SH!T load $'s more and have to deal with stuff like air bags, crash dummies, glass wind shields, doors, A/C, etc. Then we could rename it to Miata. What's the average owner age of a SS now? I would suspect 55 +.

Most of use where MC riders for many years and have gained the driving experience needed to stay wheels down when it comes to emergencies, stupid and inattentive sometimes reckless drivers out there and there's a S load of them. I am personally grateful to Polaris for the SS! I had to sell off my motor cycles due to bad hips (old age) and just wasn't enjoying the bikes like I did for so many years. I suspect theirs's many SS owners paddling away in the same boat.

Yes, but I still have the 2 wheeler also

Weight my brother. He ain't heavy... 1745 max to maintain Mc rules and reg's. Go over and we will pay a SH!T load $'s more and have to deal with stuff like air bags, crash dummies, glass wind shields, doors, A/C, etc. Then we could rename it to Miata. What's the average owner age of a SS now? I would suspect 55 +.

Most of use where MC riders for many years and have gained the driving experience needed to stay wheels down when it comes to emergencies, stupid and inattentive sometimes reckless drivers out there and there's a S load of them. I am personally grateful to Polaris for the SS! I had to sell off my motor cycles due to bad hips (old age) and just wasn't enjoying the bikes like I did for so many years. I suspect theirs's many SS owners paddling away in the same boat.

My Dad had 6 Goldwing's he had stored at police compounds around the world. After he retired he would fly to different places and trade RCMP hat's, ball caps and pins etc. with other police whom had the Let's ride bug. I'd get letters and pictures from places like Hong Cong, Italy Australia to name a few. At 76 (2013) he called me and told me he was coming to visit on the GW. I did my best to talk him out of it (on the GW) to no avail. He rode from Burnaby B.C. to LA and visited with his sister for a few days then off to Florida. He never made it. Somewhere in the Rockies he went off the road and into a ditch. The trailer he was towing buckled up and crushed him into the tank and windshield. He was air lifted to LA, stabilized and then airlifted again to B.C. where he died a couple of weeks later never recovering from his injuries. A year later Polaris introduced the Slingshot. I don't know if he would have traded but he would most likely of survived a similar crash. On one of his riding jackets he had a ONE MILLION MILE crest from HONDA MC division and tell everyone he was working on his third.

I miss the old fart. He was buried in Brighton Ontario Canada beside my brother With full RCMP Honour Guard and colors.

Quote from tguy543

My Dad had 6 Goldwing's he had stored at police compounds around the world. After he retired he would fly to different places and trade RCMP hat's, ball caps and pins etc. with other police whom had the Let's ride bug. I'd get letters and pictures from places like Hong Cong, Italy Australia to name a few. At 76 (2013) he called me and told me he was coming to visit on the GW. I did my best to talk him out of it (on the GW) to no avail. He rode from Burnaby B.C. to LA and visited with his sister for a few days then off to Florida. He never made it. Somewhere in the Rockies he went off the road and into a ditch. The trailer he was towing buckled up and crushed him into the tank and windshield. He was air lifted to LA, stabilized and then airlifted again to B.C. where he died a couple of weeks later never recovering from his injuries. A year later Polaris introduced the Slingshot. I don't know if he would have traded but he would most likely of survived a similar crash. On one of his riding jackets he had a ONE MILLION MILE crest from HONDA MC division and tell everyone he was working on his third.

I miss the old fart. He was buried in Brighton Ontario Canada beside my brother With full RCMP Honour Guard and colors.

At least he did what he loved right up until the end - - God bless! I hope I can keep moving and be so lucky

Quote from tguy543

My Dad had 6 Goldwing's he had stored at police compounds around the world. After he retired he would fly to different places and trade RCMP hat's, ball caps and pins etc. with other police whom had the Let's ride bug. I'd get letters and pictures from places like Hong Cong, Italy Australia to name a few. At 76 (2013) he called me and told me he was coming to visit on the GW. I did my best to talk him out of it (on the GW) to no avail. He rode from Burnaby B.C. to LA and visited with his sister for a few days then off to Florida. He never made it. Somewhere in the Rockies he went off the road and into a ditch. The trailer he was towing buckled up and crushed him into the tank and windshield. He was air lifted to LA, stabilized and then airlifted again to B.C. where he died a couple of weeks later never recovering from his injuries. A year later Polaris introduced the Slingshot. I don't know if he would have traded but he would most likely of survived a similar crash. On one of his riding jackets he had a ONE MILLION MILE crest from HONDA MC division and tell everyone he was working on his third.

I miss the old fart. He was buried in Brighton Ontario Canada beside my brother With full RCMP Honour Guard and colors.

Quote from edwardaneal

At least he did what he loved right up until the end - - God bless! I hope I can keep moving and be so lucky

I was gonna say the same thing. The simple fact that he did it for years and made the million miles tells you knew what he wanted and did it. I would be absolutely happy for him. My hope is that my family finds me in a camp chair with a drink in the right hand and a cigar in the left, with a 1/2 eaten box of donuts and my dog beside me.

But yes, some of us are ex-MC riders of a more mature age (Rode in my 20's, got out of them in my 30s' to late-40s for family, back into them now in my 50s). But I did sell my 2008 Victory Vegas (nice bike!!) to get my 1st SS. In my case, it had nothing to do with health, but simply the fact that I couldn't take any passengers/baggage on the MC with me. Yes, I could have gotten some bagger, but that's not my style.

I hope and pray they keep it rear wheel drive,.. it's fun, and NO automatic transmission. At least you need to have some kind of knowledge of shifting to drive it. I say everyone should learn to drive with a manual transmission, if not,.. then you don't get a license. Now I can see if there is some kind of medical reason. My hip and lower back are shot and could really use an automatic, but would never put it in. When I can't drive the sling,.. I'll drive a car with an automatic!

Quote from edwardaneal

An Automatic might be nice - if it were automatic then my wife could - - - - never mind we dont need an automatic

Teach the Wife to drive the Slingshot and you can ride 'bitch' the rest of your days...

Quote from EjFord

Teach the Wife to drive the Slingshot and you can ride 'bitch' the rest of your days...

Or she gets one too!

Granted, a Front wheel drive setup would have produced a simpler, less complex drive-train, but it would also have introduced a completely different set of driving dynamics. A significant portion of the Slingshot's driving dynamic is the ability to spin the rear wheel and drifting.