Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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22 UCW DECEMBER 16-22, 2015 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 4624 BRAGG BLVD. 12.20.15 12.20.15 12.20.15 3pm DECEMBER 20 • EMPLOYEE AND FRIENDS PARTY at legends pub. Call 867-2364 for information. DECEMBER 31 •NEW YEAR'S EVE BASH at legends pub. Call 867-2364 for information. JANUARY 17 • 5TH ANNUAL POLAR RIDE at Fort Bragg Harley-Davidson. Registration at 8 a.m. $35/ person. Kickstands up at 10 a.m. to the Richard Petty Museum. Meet Richard Petty and others. Tour the race the house where Richard grew up, Lunch, T-shirts. For more information, email Prochem89@yahoo.com or call 850-3298. PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse group of patriots from every state that come together to honor fallen soldiers at funeral services across the country. Visit www. patriotguard.org for more information about the group. Advertising to Grow Your Business www.upandcomingweekly.com For effective advertising call 910.484.6200 today! Is it automobile, a motorcycle or The Batmobile? That was what I thought when I first saw the Polaris Slingshot for the first time. Everyone has a hard time describing this machine, including the law. In October, North Carolina House Bill 6 became law and defines it as an auto-cycle. The bill describes an auto-cycle as a three-wheeled motorcycle with a steering wheel, pedals, seat belts, anti-lock brakes, air bags and completely enclosed seating that does not require the operator to straddle or sit astride. My first close look was at Baker American Motorcycles on Hope Mills Road. It is a brilliant piece of engineering. The Slingshot is manufactured by Polaris Industries. It has a tilt-adjustable steering wheel, side-by-side bucket seats and it does not lean. Three- point seat belts are fitted, however, it has no airbags or crumple zone, and the driver and passenger must wear motorcycle helmets in North Carolina. It has no roof, doors or side windows. A small windshield is an optional extra on the base model and fitted as standard on the SL model. Steering wheel, gear stick, brake, clutch and throttle pedals have a conventional automobile layout. Storage space is more like that of side bags on a motorcycle but are out of sight behind the seats. There is enough room behind both seats to store helmets if you wanted to keep them secure and out of sight when your not driving. There are options for additional space. The Slingshot weighs 1,743 pounds and is powered by a 2.4 liter inline four engine derived from the GM Ecotec. This engine was formerly used by GM in the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky sports cars. The engine produces 173 HP @ 6200 RPMs. It has a 9.77 gallon fuel tank and is advertised for 37 mpg. A few weeks ago my friend Tom Saunders pulled up in his Slingshot. My friend Bob and I looked over every inch. The engine is a 2.4 liter, inline four cylinder car engine (2384 cc), derived from the GM Ecotec. The seat looks as strange as the car but is very comfortable. Tom's Slingshot was equipped with Bluetooth technology for a great sound system. The back side is very high and you have to use the backup camera to drive in reverse. Tom was nice enough to let me take his new pride and joy out for spin. At first, I was a little curious about how it would drive. As soon as I started to accelerate, my excitement grew. I could tell this was a solid driving machine. As I went through the gears and wind started blowing against my face I knew I was in trouble because now I want one. With it's low profile frame, I was only a few feet off the ground. The ride gave me flashbacks of being with my friend Lou when we spent a day at the beach playing on go-cart, except now I was driving at 55 mphs. Although H.B. 6, now makes it possible to operate the Slingshot without the need for a motorcycle endorsement, auto-cycles must still comply with federal safety requirements for motorcycles. Riding the Slingshot brings new opportunities to people that have always wanted a motorcycle and sports car in one package. I know a lot of people that can no longer ride motorcycles because of health or age problems. This auto-cycle will give them that opportunity to experience the thrill of open air riding with the comfort of a car. I expect that in the near future, auto-cycles will become a booming business and we will see more companies coming out with their own versions. If there is a topic that you would like to discuss you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE! The Slingshot by JIM JONES JIM JONES, Motorcycle Enthusiast, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200 The Slingshot is part car part motorcycle.