Posts by Gadgeteer

Quote from Gadgeteer

To put that number into perspective, my Blue Fire LE, delivered back in May was #7176, if I'm reading the VIN correctly. If so, then 7k equals about 95% of all units produced to date.

Ok, looks like I was not reading the VIN correctly. I was told the last 4 digits are the serial but according to official standards, the last 6 digits are reserved for the serial number on all vehicles. I can confirm since my old SL, from 8/2015 was #107763 and my new LE is 117176. General consensus on the SS forums seems to agree that the 1st digit can be ignored, for now, since it is pretty unlikely that the factory as pumped out 100,000+ units. Therefore mine is more likely the 17,176th, so 7k would represent closer to 40% of total production. This is all still assumption since we don't have a lot of facts to work with.

Just thought I'd share. I hate to leave things unresolved or misleading.

Quote from V-SHOT

Hmmm...
I might just have stumbled on to something!!! Whatcha' think???? And none of this "John, you are too old for this crap", either!!!!

@V-SHOT, if you're seriously considering this, I highly recommend the one made by Nitrinos. I got their Neko (cat-ears) helmet for the Mrs. and, except for the ears creating some extra drag, she loves it. I had them do a custom paint design that I created and it came out great. They're in Ukraine, so communication and delivery takes a little longer than usual, but I had a great experience working with them.

Quote from MiM

Apparently only about 7k of us need the brake recall. . .

Recall: Polaris Slingshot

To put that number into perspective, my Blue Fire LE, delivered back in May was #7176, if I'm reading the VIN correctly. If so, then 7k equals about 95% of all units produced to date.

UPDATE (from post #168): Ok, looks like I was not reading the VIN correctly. I was told the last 4 digits are the serial but according to official standards, the last 6 digits are reserved for the serial number on all vehicles. I can confirm since my old SL, from 8/2015 was #107763 and my new LE is 117176. General consensus on the SS forums seems to agree that the 1st digit can be ignored, for now, since it is pretty unlikely that the factory as pumped out 100,000+ units. Therefore mine is more likely the 17,176th, so 7k would represent closer to 40% of total production. This is all still assumption since we don't have a lot of facts to work with.

Just thought I'd share. I hate to leave things unresolved or misleading.

Quote from Carbon_One

Myself (and everyone else I'm sure) I'd like to know what changes, if any, is done to the swing arm. Bearings, beefed up, etc. I would think accessories attached to the swing arms remain the same.
I reserved my place in line for the recalled parts at my dealer yesterday. They also said their inventory on hand is on a "no sales" position until all recalls are done on them. So will dealers get first shot at replacement parts over previous owners? This may be why we're being told February. Anyhow food for thought.

Dealers will probably fix in-stock units first since they are on a no-sale status. They are losing money on units they can't sell, so I would expect unsold stock takes priority.

Quote from Red

On another note, does anyone know what size socket the double nut uses? I'm going to modify my axle nut lock to dress up the double nut.

Confirmed; double nut is 1 3/4". I just measured it on mine.

Quote from ethermion

Huh, crickets.

Food Lion, 408 Gordon Ave, Gordonsville, VA 22942

I'll be there 11:00 a.m. on Sunday...

...
@V-SHOT, @TheRock, @Jdin, @3rdwheel, @WraithSS, @lrobbi, @Trucon01, @Webweaver1021, @Cameron Roberts, @Andy Hatch, @Hpocus, @MACAWS, @Gadgeteer, @DocG

Pass the word. And, promise to not talk about things from Booze & Blues that I don't remember, in front of my wife. Please, pretty please.

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The Mrs and I are a "maybe." We had planned to work on some long overdue projects around the house this weekend, so it will depend on how much progress we make today.

Quote from Jonathan Thompson

I have a warranty and it's a valid extended warranty, I am just surprised it's not through Polaris and was wondering if RPM ONE is any good and can I cancel it before my 2 year warranty is up and get my money back. I guess a conversation with my dealership is in order.

$1236? Damn! Coleman Powersports (Woodbridge, VA) charged me $1900 for the RPMONE ext. warranty on my 1st SS. Fortunately, I got the Polaris factory ext. warranty on my new SS.

Anyway, when I wrecked my 1st SS back in May it was only 9 mos. old and Coleman confirmed that, yes, you can cancel anytime before the RPMONE plan goes into effect and get a refund. HOWEVER, if the cost was added to your loan financing, the refund goes to the loan company and it is applied to the principal on the loan. So, to get another ext. warranty, you'll probably have to pay for it out of pocket.

The factory will have no record of a 3rd party warranty. It works kind of like health insurance, so you will need to give the dealer your warranty plan info. When you have a warranty repair done, the dealer sends the bill to the plan provider (in this case, RPMONE) not Polaris. Don't be surprised if the dealer tells you that you will be liable for any costs not covered by RPMONE.

Yeah, the bearing issues are still happening, but on the upside, it seems like most of the replacement bearings are fairing better that the originals.

Just to be clear, for other readers, the noise from the bearings is different than the gear noise. The gear noise in more pronounced when coasting or decelerating while the bearings noise seems to be more pronounced on acceleration. Also, the clicking mentioned by @dangerdarrell is one of the most common symptoms of bearing failure. So, in general, if you have whine with clicking, probably bearings; if you have whine and no clicking, probably gears and/or dirty belt.

One other tip worth mentioning, with regard to dirty drive belts; do not use belt dressing. I've never used it, even on my Harley, so I don't really know what it does, but Polaris specifically states not to use it. If they went to the trouble to put it in writing, it's probably for good reason and better to follow their recommendation. Just my 2 cent's worth.

Quote from Seelion

So... did this resolve the whining noise ?

Depends on what you mean by 'resolve.' Changing the gear oil to a quality brand, especially one formulated to quiet noisy gears, definitely reduces the whining to tolerable levels. Unfortunately, all gears make noise, some make more than others. With the close proximity and little or no sound dampening, you're going to have some noise. On my previous SS (early 2016), the gear oil made a huge difference because the whine was pretty bad, especially at highway speeds. On my current SS (late 2016), the whine was milder and the gear oil did not make as much a difference, but it was still noticeably quieter. Oil level also makes a difference. My current unit has a minor leak in the right-angle box (scheduled for service, next week) and I know the level is getting low when the whining gets louder. Top off the oil and the whine diminishes again. Not the safest way to gauge the oil level, but it works for me.

Ok, y'all are scaring the crap outta me with these tick stories. I remember when I was a kid I spent summers at my dad's place, running around the WV mountains with my step-brothers. We didn't have much choice since we were exiled from the house after breakfast (rain or shine) and forbidden reentry until dinner, unless absolutely necessary. Not as cruel as it sounds; five boys, 100+ acres of rolling mountain meadows and woods, big covered front porch, barn, garage, tree house, etc. Anyway, every evening the 'rents would give us a thorough inspection and one or more ticks, each, was pretty common. One time, they even had to pull one out of my ear canal. This was back in the seventies and I don't recall ever hearing about Lymes or any other tick-borne diseases back then. Getting a tick in my ear wigged me out a little, but what you guys are describing is really making me scared to go near the woods ever again. Yikes!

Dang. I was getting all excited about another track day, but after thinking about other stuff that needs my attention (and funds), I think I'm going to sit this one out. Winter is coming and I'd be better off spending that money on better tires before the weather gets much worse. Besides, with NCBike being relatively straighter than Summit Point, my stock LE would just be getting in the way of all you folks running turbochargers.

I'm still interested in the Skip Barber idea and I'm hoping we'll have another chance to do Summit Point next spring.

Thanks for the pump suggestion, but I already tried that. They work better than nothing, but they're still messy and cumbersome. I decided to try the garden sprayer and I have to say it works way better. Here's my setup:

I got the sprayer ($10) and brass compression elbow ($5-6) from Home Depot. I cut off the nozzle from the wand and a stub of the remaining tube for the elbow. You could probably bend the tube enough to get it in, but installing the elbow is definitely worth the effort The elbow included small ferrules that slide inside the tube for the compression connection. The tube is really hard and a bit too small, so I used a heatgun and an awl to stretch the end wide enough to get the ferrule started into it. Then I used a hammer to seat the ferrule all the way in, tapping lightly to make sure I didn't mushroom the end of the ferrule.

Once the compression nuts were tightened up, I dumped in a bottle of RP 75-140w and pumped up the pressure. After that, it was just a matter of point and shoot. Zero effort (using the trigger lock) and practically no mess. I thought the flow rate was going to be slower, but it filled the right angle drive in less than 5 minutes. For less than $20, you can't beat it.

Quote from MACAWS

Not to deflate the challenge because I am all in for track day.

But I can tell you that a bone stock sling can keep pace with a modified sling on a road course. It is all about driving.
But the best part of track day is learning what you and your machine can do. By the end of the day and 6 or 8 sessions you will leave with a much better understanding of both.

Now besides track day - is anyone up for taking some driving lessons? Like maybe Skip Barber or another school?

I'm in for a track day, as long as I can find track insurance. The last time I had to hold back because I couldn't find coverage. I really wanted to try drifting that long wide curve before the strait. As for Skip Barber School, that would be frickin' awesome,. Even more so if they offered a 3-wheeler class.

Macaws is right on the money about running the track. Sure, it's a little invigorating to pass someone, especially those cocky Invader drivers , but we're not racing, so passing others is not the goal. Tickling the limits of your vehicle and driving skills is the real goal and that alone can dump enough adrenaline in your system to make you giddy. That was one of the reasons I stopped running after the second round. I was too wired to risk another run without track insurance. I wasn't worried about hurting myself, I was worried about hurting my SS and anyone else if things went sideways.

While we're on the topic of changing the gearbox oil, does anyone have suggestions for getting oil into the box? Whenever I try to put oil in, I have to wrestle with tubing (slippery and constant kinking) and oil trickling out of the fill hole (and down my arm) even though the box is not yet full.

I've considered using a fitting that screws into the fill hole, but I'm concerned that it won't allow air to escape which could put excess pressure on the seals and possibly blow one out. Thoughts?

UPDATE: Looks like I may have found an answer to my question. Digging around on the web, it looks like a garden sprayer will do the trick. Wish me luck.

Quote from rabtech

Give it 1000 miles and drain the final drive and fill it with 75-140 royal purple gear oil....

I don't know how much dirt on the belt matters, but I do know that rabtech's suggestion is effective. Change the final drive (right-angle gear box) oil and it will make a noticeable difference. I don't know how much the brand matters, but many folks swear by Royal Purple (RP), so that's what I've used in the past. I've also used Lucas 85-140 which works well too.

Before I trashed my red SL, I started working out my own fender, from scratch. I've been meaning to get back to it since I got my blue LE SL, but I've been busy with other stuff. Anyway, here's pics of a mockup I made out of cardboard. Hope to have a hard prototype soon.

Obviously, I'll also need to relocate the license plate, most likely to the underside of the fender.

No shame, man. You made the right call. Count me in for the another go at - as long as you don't mind a little rain.

“And as he drove on, the rainclouds dragged down the sky after him, for, though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a Rain God. All he knew was that his working days were miserable and he had a succession of lousy holidays. All the clouds knew was that they loved him and wanted to be near him, to cherish him, and to water him.”
― Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

I agree with the suggestion that it is all about your attitude. If you act like prey, you are prey. The easiest way to win over any biker is to give their ride an approving gaze and a compliment. Toss in a question to set them at ease, like "Nice paint! Is that custom or factory?" It works when someone asks you about your SS doesn't it?

For me, it's a bit easier. Being a Harley rider, I've accumulated a crap load of H-D tees and I'm often wearing one when I'm in the SS. Whenever anyone points at my shirt and asks if I ride a Harley too, I just say, "Not since I got my Slingshot."

Quote from ethermion

Next time, leave earlier. Next time, not so hot. I could not drink water fast enough. Next time, more efficient pit stops. Both of us where chatty with absolute strangers about our rides. A no-no for such a ride. As is a Walmart visit, dude...

And 2x check the weather. At abort time, we were 150 miles from Virginia beach, with the storm right in our face. I called no way, and I think I was right.

You were right on all counts, but in my defense, I've never done a ride like that and as I said, I wasn't aware we were operating under tight constraints. Let's chalk it up as a learning experience. I know I learned a bunch.

Also, the Walmart stop was a necessity. If we were in a larger group, I would have gone on my own and caught up with the pack further down the road. The long sleeve shirt reduced dehydration and kept me cooler, extending my endurance. The Tylenol kept my headache (due to fatigue, exposure, and lack of sleep) at bay, and the seat cover saved my back. In my previous SS, all that was kept on-board, but I hadn't transferred it to the new one yet. At least I didn't insist we stop for ice cream.

Ah, now I get it! Stumbling on to this thread, the day after the ride, explains SO much. All this time I assumed the ride was a lark; I didn't realize it was a semi-official mission. I've been in such a fog over the past few weeks, so I'm pretty much living moment-to-moment with very little fore- or after-thought. All I could put together was, "Ride? Sure! 1000 miles? Hmm... 18 hours? Uhhh... ok." Granted, the "uhhh" part took a couple days to work through my brain, even with ethermion's "persistent encouragement." In the end, I figured if it got too rough... meh ...we could kick back, cut it short, whatevs. I guess it's true; ignorance IS bliss. In the end, it was an interesting challenge and I'm glad ethermion talked me into it.

I did cross the 900 threshold, but after we parted ways, I was honestly considering taking a roundabout way home to squeeze in those last 100. Fortunately, except for a brief stop, I went straight home. I was awake, but I wasn't fully aware that my vision was getting laggy (light trails and ghosting) until I walked in the house.

Quote from rabtech

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The engine they have now IS currently being produced and we all know it's a fact that it will run with an automatic transmission. So I can see it being a valid engine for a while longer.
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Quote from Orangeman

That information is not accurate .....

GM stopped production of the LE5/9 in the US a few years back ....

.... the motor is still in full production and continues to be OEM for GM models outside of the US ...
.

rab & Orange,
Thanks for setting the record straight on that. Leave it to some misinformed idgit to go spreading wild rumors without doing their homework.

Not too surprising that they're changing the motor. I think I read somewhere that GM stopped production of the LE5 a couple years ago. If that's accurate, then the motors in our Slings are essentially GM surplus. Perhaps Polaris got a killer deal on those engines, which helped keep initial production costs down. So, if they are running out of surplus, replacing them with newer GM motors is probably too cost prohibitive. Of course that is all speculation, so don't hold me to it.