I’ve seen the occasional Polaris Slingshot around, mostly at rental places in touristy locations, and have been curious about what they’re all about. It’s legally a motorcycle, but it has the controls of a car. In addition to my motorcycling experience, I’ve also had a first-generation Toyota MR2, a Subaru BRZ, and three Mazda Miatas, so I’m certainly a fan of small sports cars, too. I was curious about where along the spectrum from “motorcycle” to “Miata” the Slingshot fell. When Polaris offered me one on a two-week loan, I took them up on it to find out. The Ozarks of Arkansas, where I live, would be the perfect playground to try it out, as well as an excuse to revisit my favorite motorcycle roads for the first time this year.
For all the detailed nitty-gritty about the Polaris Slingshot, I recommend you read Mike’s article about the one he had last year. My general experience was quite similar to his, and I agree with him on many points, so I won’t repeat what he had to say here. I will say that rather than his top-of-the-line Roush Edition (this year the Slingshot 10, celebrating the model’s tenth anniversary, is the top model), mine was a second-from-the-bottom Slingshot SL, with a current MSRP of $28,299. It had the 7-inch Ride Command infotainment system familiar to Indian riders, but features like navigation and Apple CarPlay are reserved for higher trim levels. This also meant no Brembo brakes and a slightly nerfed engine tune down to 180 hp from the Roush Edition’s 203. I also asked for, and received, the five-speed manual transmission rather than the “autodrive.”
For legal reasons, the Polaris Slingshot is absolutely, positively a motorcycle. It has fewer than four wheels, so it has to be, right? Polaris strongly recommends wearing a full-face helmet while operating one, and required me to as part of the loan agreement. So I had to take the Slingshot to a popular motorcycle destination, the Oark General Store and Cafe.
The Pig Trail and Oark Cafe
Right along the Trans-America Trail, the cafe is a popular destination for adventure riders and Harley dudes alike. The menu is short, the food is excellent, and the pies are amazing. Coming from the north, I took most of the Pig Trail (now wide open without construction) and turned left onto Route 215 to get there.
Here, it became quickly apparent that the Slingshot experience is that of a back-to-basics roadster, not a three-wheeled motorcycle. With a steering wheel, three pedals, a manual shifter, and seat belts, it’s the driving experience of an open-top roadster, not the Can-Am Spyder, which shares its wheel configuration.
You sit deep inside the Slingshot rather than on top of it like a motorcycle. Its minimal 5.4-inch ground clearance makes it feel like you’re driving a go-kart and going three times as fast as you really are. That, plus the particularly open nature of the Slingshot (there aren’t even any doors), makes you rather vulnerable to getting struck by road debris as you cruise along. I was thankful to be wearing my helmet as Polaris required, as insects and road debris bounced off it. One pebble even hit my wife’s helmet so hard that I heard the impact through our Cardo communicators. (Speaking of which, I’d highly recommend helmet communicators of any brand for the driver and passenger of a Slingshot. Once you leave town, you won’t be able to hear each other speak over the open cabin’s wind noise.)
The Arkansas Dragon, Route 123
I am fortunate to live in an area where pretty much every major road is highlighted on the Butler map of the Ozarks. Even a simple run up Route 23 to Eureka Springs is one of my favorite trips, though I doubt the crew in town for the Spring Fling Rally would appreciate the Polaris Slingshot. But from the moment I knew I would have it, I knew one road I had to drive with the Slingshot: Route 123 south of Mt. Judea, also known as the Arkansas Dragon.
We had a fun, spirited trip out Route 74 to Jasper, where we stopped for lunch at the Ozark Cafe (not Oark). It’s clearly another popular motorcycle destination, given that all the parking out front was taken up by motorcycles, and we had to park the Slingshot along a side street. We didn’t mind. The food was delicious and the portions quite generous, leading us to stash our leftovers in one of the small storage compartments behind the seats. Then we continued east until we intersected Route 123 and turned south toward the twisties.
I found that putting it in Slingshot mode, rather than comfort mode, actually made it easier to drive. While increasing throttle response to be more immediate and sporty, it also reduced the level of steering assist, firming up the wheel. With only 2.5 turns lock-to-lock, the steering is extremely responsive, but the stiffener steering let me enjoy that without turning into the corners too quickly. Comfort mode is great in town, but anytime you’re not loping along slowly, you want to be in Slingshot mode.
I had to build up my confidence in its cornering ability with a single rear wheel, but the fact that it’s a meaty 305/30R20 like you’d find on a Corvette gives it judicious amounts of lateral grip. The only direction where grip is lacking is under acceleration, where it’s easy to light ‘er up even with traction control fully enabled (whoops). But even pushing it through the most twisty section of the Arkansas Dragon, the Slingshot never put a foot wrong, despite the odd number of wheels. I never felt braking to be lacking, either, despite the SL trim not having the Brembo brakes of higher models.
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