Polaris Slingshot Test Ride Drive

By: LincoLn infieLd

I’m all the time asking Monty Hendrix of Indian of

Greensboro to put me on the latest greatest Indian models when they hit the show room, and he always comes through. I’ve ridden everything Indian Motorcycles has come out with other than the newly redesigned 2021 Indian Chief. This time when I called for the hook up, Monty told me he had something else in mind. “How about a ride in all new, second generation 2021 Polaris Slingshot”, he said. The Slingshot, hmmm, I dunno man. I’m a motorcycle guy all the way, but why not try something new, right? Monty said he wanted to get a chance to say that the Polaris Slingshot was NOT a motorcycle and wasn’t trying to be a motorcycle, but it can be a lot of fun to drive. So, we set a date and I got down to researching the Slingshot, so that I knew what I was looking for when I got in the cockpit.

The numbers on the Slingshot are no joke and I was almost instantly looking forward to this demo ride. Monty never does anything halfway, so he had a Slingshot R lined up for me, which is the top of the line Slingshot for the demo. Right out of the box, the Slingshot R features Polaris’ 203 HP Prostar 2.0L 4 cylinder engine, weighs just under 1,700 lbs. and goes 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds. Honestly, do you need anything more than that to get the hair standing up on your arms? I figured that was all I needed to know, and they would fill me in with the particulars when I got down to Indian Motorcycles Greensboro. After Essa got my info and set me up with the paperwork, Monty and Morgan gave me the tutorial on the Slingshot. These guys really know their stuff and no questions went unanswered. One of the advantages of the Slingshot that Monty was quick to point out was the side by side seating. Making note that you wouldn’t ask your buddy to ride on the back of your motorcycle with you, but you can totally take them for a spin in the awesome side by side bucket seats. It’s a solid point, for sure.

The Slingshot features a Proximity Key with Keyless pushbutton start that brings the engine and the instrument panel to life. Digital gauges in front of the comfy leather wrapped steering wheel for speed, rpm and other normal readouts is accompanied by a 7” Ride Command Display that features multi-touch, Apple CarPlay®, Navigation System and backup camera and most importantly, Bluetooth connectivity. Once the engine was running, I was hooking the blue tooth up to my phone so I can listen to MY tunes while I was cruising’ around. The Slingshot R comes in both Manual and “AutoDrive” configurations, Slingshot I was demoing was an “AutoDrive”. Which is not quite an automatic transmission, it’s a Hydraulically Actuated Automated Manual (AutoDrive) 5 Speed Synchromesh w/ Reverse. Basically, it will shift for you, but Polaris equipped it with paddle shifters on the steering wheel as well, so you can take control of the transmission. I pushed the “D” drive button and gave it some gas. I was told to take it easy and go around the block a few times so I could get used to it before I cut it loose. The Slingshot accelerated smoothly and although it will shift for you, ran much smoother when I used the paddle shifters to run through the transmission myself. I cruised around downtown Greensboro for a few minutes, it was a beautiful day, and the Slingshot got the attention of many of the diners that were enjoying their lunch al fresco. Well, it was either the Slingshot or its incredibly loud sound system but either way, they were lookin! I took to the highway once I had the controls down so I could open it up a little and see what she could do. The open air cockpit puts

you 5 inches off the ground, but the independent, double wishbone suspension really handles all the bumps and dips well. I ran up through the gears and was quickly out in front of the pack. while I didn’t get up to the 125 mph the specs say the Slingshot is “limited” to, it was almost like the rest of the traffic didn’t know we were racing. The seating was comfortable, there was plenty of foot room and the stereo was loud enough to hear at triple digit speed. I exited the highway and went for some curvy county roads. Again, the Slingshot handled everything I threw at it. It has a very comfortable drift feeling when in the curves, unlike the pull you feel in other vehicles. Man, I was having too much fun with this thing!

It was time to get down to business and find a nice place to take some photos with the Slingshot. This led me to my next discovery. If you park the slingshot, be prepared to talk to people about it. Wherever I parked the Slingshot drew a crowd of spectators. What do you expect? this thing is pretty bad ass looking. The front end design is like the next generation bat mobile. The back end comes to a point and features an open single rear wheel with a belt drive running a 305 / 30R20 tire. the particular model I was driving was grey and stealth blue with blue metal flake in the grey paint. The sun was out and was really bringing the metal flake out.

I returned the Slingshot to Indian of Greensboro and gave my report to Monty. Honestly the only thing I didn’t like about the Slingshot was that although the seats were very comfortable, it was a hot day, and my back got sweaty. The good news is, that Polaris offers an air condition / heated seat upgrade that should take care of that. Oh well, I guess I have no complaints at all! My professional opinion is that you really need to go to Indian of Greensboro and test drive a Slingshot. Will it replace your motorcycle? Absolutely not, but it will be an awesome addition to your garage. I could totally see myself taking my wife out for a spin and enjoying the hell out of it. I will have to go back to get a shot at riding the 2021 Indian Chief, and believe me, you will see an article on it soon!