Posts by BKL

I miss the NoVA roads, like 688 off I66 down to 29/211 west of Warrenton. I also miss 619 from Independent Hill to Triangle. 218 from Falmouth to 301 and then up to Maryland to La Plata and 6 West to 224 to 225 to Indian Head Hwy up to 495 back over to NoVA. Most Texas roads around Houston are too flat and too straight. I need to ride about 40 miles away to get to some fun roads. I also miss riding from the Front Royal area over to West Virginia and down to the Green Bank Radio Observatory and back over to the Harrisburg area.
While I was stationed in West Berlin in the 1970s, I had a 1971 Fiat 850 Sport Coupe that was a ton of fun while getting decent mileage. At least it was fun until I blew up the engine! We shoehorned 6 people into it after a party once to get everyone home! I followed it up with my first new car, a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am 400 White w/red interior (unfortunately, I didn't order the Firebird decal). Mileage wasn't that great and neither was acceleration since it had a 2.41 rear-end, but it would cruise the Autobahn all day at 100 mph/3000 rpm! I should have sold it before we came back to the States as the German price was almost 2x what I paid for it thru the PX ordering service. I traded that in on a 1976 Ford Granada with the 351 V8 and four wheel disc brakes which I think was a test bed for the later 1977 Lincoln Versailles. I got a 1981 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Hardtop after that but then ended up with several minivans for kid's activities.
One of the things I like about the Slingshot is the 2.4L power, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't do better on the highway. The guy who just put in a high-revving Honda motor should be getting both performance and mileage, although the tendency to enjoy the performance does negatively impact mileage. It is possible to have fun performance and mileage, just look at the Mustang, Camaro or Corvette highway mileage with engines around twice the size of the Slingshot's. With the Slingshot's light weight and overall fun/performance numbers, I'd be happy if the Slingshot had highway mileage closer to 30.

I am one of the morons you all have been referring to. I enjoy driving my Slingshot and try to get in 3 local rides per week. That's how I've gotten almost 33000 miles in 21 months. While I find my Slingshot to be a sh..load of fun, I have never been happy with the mileage. After getting used to 50-60 mpg on my motorcycles, I was expecting slightly better mileage than the mid-to-high 20s I've seen, especially given the Slingshot's low weight compared to most cars that had the same motor.
Part of manufacturing and sales success is providing the customer what he/she wants. If we demand better mileage while also demanding increased performance, we'll eventually get it. Or at least we would if Polaris were a normal manufacturer who actually gives a sh.. about their customers beyond grabbing their money in the first place. I say this based on Polaris past performance and how they responded so well to early Victory supporters with their complaints (they DIDN"T). Of course, Polaris has now abandoned Victory completely! Polaris' casual attitude toward the right angle drive noise and proposed solution (from their 2015 survey) of considering selling a quieter drive system at our expense reinforces my opinion as to how much Polaris values us as customers beyond our initial purchase.

Quote from funinthesun

I drive at 40 mph a LOT. How else can I get from first gear to all the others?

Yeah, but it's sheer torture to drive at a consistent 40 mph in 5th gear for very long!

IF I can consistently drive around 40 mph, then I can get around 33, maybe even 35 mpg, but who the hell can do that for more than a few seconds/minutes!

The first 6 months or so of ownership, I got between 28 - 30 mpg (probably closer to 28). I then added a Twist Dynamics Top, the DDM Works Short Shifter and a Hahn CAI. My mileage immediately dropped to around 26-26.5 mpg. I can't wait to see what happens when I install my Hahn turbo!

Quote from Shatneyman

OK, I know it's a old thread, but I want to buy a CAI. I want a Hahn but can't find one, is Alpha a pain to put in? Don't forget, I have no skills.

IF Polaris ever sends my replacement swing-arm to my dealer, I'll be replacing my Hahn CAI with a Hahn Stage 2 turbo and will then offer the used Hahn for sale, probably at around half what I paid for it. As of earlier today, my dealer says not to expect anything from Polaris before the end of the month, probably later than that.
I don't know how the Alpha impacts airflow, but I know the Hahn has a definite kick starting around 3500 rpm or so. You can certainly feel it kick in!
Unfortunately, I have no idea how long Polaris is going to take to deliver my titanium swing-arm.
Here's the CS video showing the Hahn CAI install -

Here is a picture of my Hahn CAI in its current install. I replaced the hard rubber molding around the top of the airbox, but still have the original rubber molding in 3 pieces.

If anyone is interested in my Hahn CAI, once I've removed it, PM me.

My interest in running a Water/Methanol injection system is simply as a means of minimizing the chances of running lean. A few hundred spent on the injection system might prove to be cheap insurance against engine damage. I don't plan on pushing boost beyond basic system design of my Hahn Stage 2 system.

As I mention in my pdf on Insulating the Cubby Area, there are 2 push pins securing the dash that are located immediately under the 2 inner switch positions. after removing the 8 T40 fasteners, removing these 2 push pins and the wires connecting the switches will allow you to remove the dash for easy access to the starter switch.

While as a child, I would love to smell/sniff the leaded gas exhaust whenever the milk delivery truck came by, I'd have to recommend opening the garage door!

Great product placement on your part!

I'm not near my Slingshot at the moment, so this is from memory. Check this thread on disassembling the dash - Insulating the Infotainment Cubby Area From Engine Compartment Heat. Taking the dash apart gives the easiest access, but you should also be able to access the switch thru the Infotainment cubby opening.
I just checked my pdf instructions and the switch isn't pictured very well. Here is a picture from the parts diagrams -

The switch should pop out just like the other switches, but be careful as it costs around $50 to replace it! In my opinion, removing the dash and disconnecting the wires should make it easier to access the starter switch for removal/modification, but it can be accessed from the cockpit thru the cubby opening.

Tire size and availability both depend on which model and wheel size you have. For the Base Slingshot, the largest tire that will fit on the stock wheels is 295/30R18. If you want an inexpensive tire, check out the Nankang NS-20 from Discount Tire Direct. It comes in a 275/35R18 size which will mean you're doing around 66 mph at an indicated 65. If you want the widest tire solution at the cheapest total cost, check out the American Muscle 10th Anniversary Cobra Style 17 x 10.5 wheel and a Nitto 555 G2 315/35R17 tire. It's dimensionally almost exactly the same as the stock 265/35R18 tire, so the speedo is still reasonably accurate. The only drawback is the wqheel is only a +28 offset, so the wheel/tire is starts at almost the same position on the right as the stock tire, but it extends almost 30mm to the left, meaning the wheel/tire will be slightly off-center. Didn't bother me and I got my wheel from American Muscle for $149.99 shipped an the tire from DiscountTireDirect for just over $240 with pro-rated 3-year road hazard coverage or just over $200 w/o the warranty.
I posted about looking for a 17" wheel in this thread - Wheel/Tire question for Base Slingshot. I got a little over 10K miles on each of my first two Kenda Base tires (the factory and an aftermarket). I then tried a Sumitomo HTR Z III 295/30R18 and only got around 5K miles for my $270. I then got a Nankang NS-20 275/35R18 for around $120 installed thru DiscountTireDirect and installed by DiscountTire. I currently have around 5-6K miles on the Nankang. Looking forward to using the Nitto once I wear down the Nankang.
Most folks seem to look for larger wheels/tires. I wanted the largest tire at a decent cost, so I went with a smaller wheel and bigger tire.

Thanks for the update. I know Snow performance says to only buy from authorized vendors, and one of the complaints I read on Amazon was that Snow declined someone's warranty because they purchased it thru Amazon.

Quote from ericastar76

Protection level ~> EXPERT!!

Given the comments from some of our members, you just may need that when cruising the forum, let alone being in your Slingshot!

@bigdew, Just thought I'd drop back in and ask if you're still happy with your system? I've read several nasty reviews saying AEM systems were much more reliable and that sparked my return visit.

Interesting tow hitch.

I probably went a little overboard with my effort to insulate the Infotainment cubby area, but here's my thread - Insulating the Infotainment Cubby Area From Engine Compartment Heat. When you get down to it, to open the cubby area fro access from above, all you really need to do is remove the mirrors and the 8 T40 bolts/screws securing the dash top to the rest of the dash. The main thing you want to do is reduce the hot engine compartment air, as much as possible, from getting into the cubby area. The templates make it relatively easy to cut the pieces needed to close off and insulate the cubby area. If you don't want to use sheet metal as the backing of the heat wall, I'd recommend at least using some waxed or plastic-coated cardstock since either should be easy to cut and position, yet provide more durability than simple cardboard.
Assuming you can cut sheet metal, it's not too hard to cut a piece to mount the radio electronics on and mount it either horizontally or vertically. I prefer the vertical position as it allows for more air flow than mounting the electronics on the bottom of the cubby area.

Sounds like you have the Stinger accessory lights connected via the cigarette outlet. Did you use the always-on outlet? If so, having the lights connected via the cigarette outlet and not via the fuse box may somehow cause power from the always-on cigarette outlet to trigger the fuse box into thinking the power is switched on. That still wouldn't explain why the stuff eventually shuts down, though. At least that's my guess. I don't know that there is any connection between the always-on outlet and the switched outlet, but you never know with Polaris.

Last I checked I'm still male, but I thought I'd respond to your post anyway. Several guys have posted about people gawking and rear-ending other vehicles, so I don't think you deserve any blame as a female, although I imagine that might have contributed some, too. There does seem to be far more male owners than female.
Back when I rode two wheels, I had a Suzuki V-Strom 650, a bike normally ridden by taller folks (usually men) and I had the pleasure to one day pull up to a gas station and there was a woman refueling her V-Strom. She was the only woman I ever saw riding one and we had a nice conversation. She, too, was tall, around 5 ft give or take an inch or two.

I forgot to add that I lmost always ride after dark and it's not unusual to see a flash go off as a vehicle passes me or look over and see a phone peeking over the side of the door!

If you want more power while trying to preserve reliability, I'd be careful going over 300 HP with the stock motor. The 2007 or so motor had stronger rods and could handle more HP, but the rods in our motors are generally felt to be safe only to around 75 HP per rod or 300 overall. Anything more risks damage to the stock motor. IIRC, this was a topic of discussion on the old forum, aka The Dark Side.