Posts by wjfyfe

  • New electric 3-Wheeler

    $10,000 as a daily commuter? I like it!


    Bill


    Additional thoughts, going to their website there is a place to make a deposit, but I cannot find a link to contact them?


    Bill

  • helmet - do you use one?

    "I feel if I'm in an accident in my sling(knock on wood I dont) the sling will not stand up to a good impact vs another vehicle and therefore a helmet would not make a difference."


    With the pictures that I have seen so far of SlingShots that have been in an accident, I must say that I have been impressed with how they have fared, especially in how well the passenger compartment has remained protected and intact, much better than I anticipated or expected.


    Bill

  • MeanSling Hood Lift Assist on sale !

    Quote from Shatneyman

    I love mine, works great and well worth the money, great deal :thumbup:

    Maybe this is just me but I thought that I would just throw it out there where since we have installed the hood lift, when closing the hood all the latches have caught without failure. I could attribute this to the assist forcing the hood to close in an attitude that is more "flat"?

  • helmets - do you use one? and if yes what do you use?

    "Road debris is something I take very seriously. In the past when driving on the freeway I have had my car hit by a lug nut that came off of a big rig (made a huge dent) and I had an entire sheet of sheet rock/drywall flip up in front me when the car proceeding me went over it. It exploded like a big ball of snow when my car went through it. On top of this my wife had a large piece of wood come right through her front windshield. I wouldn't be caught dead driving my Slingshot on the freeway without a helmet even a small rock could be devastating if it hit you in the head."


    "...................though not before (her helmet) saved her from serious injury when road debris was thrown up and clobbered her just above her visor....................... I will agree with the sentiment that wearing a helmet should be by choice, but it was very fortunate that Justina chooses to wear a helmet for I could have very well lost her that day."


    Yep, and how about an added experience of where I happened upon a swarm of bees while riding, the front, wind screen and my helmet took hours to clean. I honestly do not know what to say to somebody that would actually laugh and make fun of somebody that chose to wear their helmet while riding the SlingShot?


    Bill

  • helmets - do you use one? and if yes what do you use?

    Justina currently wears a Sedici Sistema Carbon modular helmet. She originally had a Schuberth C3 Pro Women, but chose a different helmet later because the Schuberth proved to get uncomfortable on longer rides, though not before it did save her from serious injury when road debris was thrown up and clobbered her just above her visor.The lesson learned here was that not all helmets fit the same, not everybody's head is the same, so a rider should take the time to get fitted properly if they want a helmet to wear comfortably. I will agree with the sentiment that wearing a helmet should be by choice, but it was very fortunate that Justina chooses to wear a helmet for I could have very well lost her that day. I currently use a Shoei Neotec modular helmet. Sena SMH10 is the intercom that we use to comfortably converse noise free.


    Bill

  • Oregon

    It looks to be perfect riding weather for exploring the coast so thinking on heading over to the southern Oregon coast, or Crescent City, California region, either today or tomorrow?


    Bill and Justina

  • Eugene Oregon dealer no longer selling The SlingShot?

    A couple of issues have come up with the Grasshopper in which we would like a dealer to check out and presently the Salem/Portland area is the only game in town so are there any new updates on a recommended dealer? No matter how you look at it, it's going to be 4.5 hours or more each way and the wrong time of the year! :(
    Thanks,
    Bill

  • Todays Observations

    Yep, I got several thumbs up today on the rear fender and how it "finishes" the rear of the SlingShot. Thanks for the idea for an extension Flybuddy!


    Bill

  • Todays Observations

    I bundled up good this morning for a ride at 24 degrees with heavy fog.
    As soon as I got out onto the main highway I seriously considered
    turning right around and heading back home, for the highway was covered
    with a good layer of frost. Well, I fought off that urge with
    curiosity winning out of finding out just how well the new tires would
    do in such conditions so I continued on. If I really got on it the rear
    tire would definitely break loose much more easily than on dry pavement,
    but keeping it easy down the highway at the speed limit was
    anti-climatic with no surprises. In fact, the only thing that was only
    mildly a nuisance was the wind screen being fogged over. Overall it was a
    very enlightening and enjoyable ride!



    Bill

  • Drive belt wear and other tidbits about the belt

    After 2.5 years of ownership here are our personal observations. Changing the lube in the angle drive made very little to no difference in sound level. Very early on it became obvious that the warmer the belt became, the longer the SlingShot was ridden, the quieter that it would became. When driven on a dirt road the tone would change and it would become louder, back on pavement it would quiet down, scrub the belt and it would become quieter still. Riding in the rain makes it quieter. Every time it was returned from the dealer's shop where the belt had been manipulated the tone would be different. I spent several days playing adjusting the position of the belt on the sprockets and found that even as little as an 1/8th of a turn of adjustment can affect the tone of the belt.


    Our conclusion is that we leave the tension near factory specs where .60 inches is easy to measure. Belt cleanliness is the easiest way to keep the SlingShot quieter. Otherwise, as far as adjusting the position of the belt, each SlingShot appears to have it's own personality that needs to be sought out depending on the individual owner's priorities.


    Bill

  • Todays Observations

    I thought that maybe somebody here may be interested................


    I took the Grasshopper out on a lil round robin jaunt of about 75 miles today and would just like to share some observations.


    First is that I was riding in a mixture of rain/sun and I now have good news and bad news about the new BF Goodrich tires. The good news is that I have most definitely gained confidence again in riding the Grasshopper in cooler weather and on wet roads where the added traction is quite noticeable. The bad news could be that I have gained confidence again in riding the Grasshopper in cooler weather and on wet roads.


    Secondly, this was the first real ride after installing the new Stealth fender and there is a wee bit of disappointment there where the fender will most definitely help in keeping rocks and other debris from beating up the rear panel, but it did very little in keeping the rear panel and top deck any cleaner when riding in the rain. Though, I believe that I did pick up a lil speed with the added better aerodynamic look of the back end over-all?


    Thirdly, some good news is that by taking the time to fine tune the adjusting of the rear belt can most definitely result in a quieter machine. I have come to the conclusion that maybe much of the bad rap attributed to the angle drive has actually been for noise coming from the belt.


    And finally, somewhat related to the first topic, I need to share that for the first time the Grasshopper caused me some problem with local law enforcement where I was warned maybe, just maybe, I may want to slow it down a wee bit in the future on the twisty roads!


    Bill
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  • Not Going To Riding For A While

    If I understand the traction control correctly it works by applying the brakes and/or shutting down the engine. If either of the front brakes had been applied it would have jerked the steering wheel. If the rear brake had been applied it simply would have slowed down, as with the shutting down of the engine, it simply would have slowed down. From the evidence given here traction control cannot be the blame.


    On another hand, on hard acceleration I have had the back end break loose and start to wander,even on dry pavement, (my fault!), During acceleration I have hit a patch of gravel or an oil spill, same result, maybe my fault maybe shit happens. Anyways, all of these sound much more like what happened here?


    Bill

  • Not Going To Riding For A While

    With our experience so far, when it gets wet we have come to treat our SlingShot on the highway similar to other short-wheel based vehicles we have owned, namely Jeep, Blazer, Bronco, Scout, but thankfully the lower center of gravity of the SlingShot helps keep the shiny side up.


    Bill