This thing looks like it would be a really nice track/AutoX toy.
three wheels. 2 in the front and one in the back. 1700ish pounds and 173 bhp from a chevy ecotech 2.4 engine.
the numbers make it seem like it would be a blast to drive.
what say the hive? serious fun? or serious headache to try to figure out?
I think most car performance driving events require 4 wheels, and motorcycle events similarly require 2 wheels. I don't think it really has many options to play with, other than just being it's oddly large looking self on the street. Being rear wheel drive with only 1 rear wheel, maybe see if any drift organizers would let it enter?
The SCCA says no to three wheeled vehicles, so there's that... I think they would've been a lot cooler and faster if they had just put an extra wheel in the back while keeping the weight the same.
I personally don't like them . I think they look hideous, especially from the rear, like they forgot to design the back end. Just IMO, of course
hrm. that seems a little unfair to not be allowed into racing venues.
it seems to me that they would be just as stable as a 4 wheeled vehicle. a guy came into our store today with one. he had just got back from a tail of the dragon trip. he said that it handled better than any car he had driven and had no oversteer tendencies.
two wheels in the back and one in the front has proven to be unstable, but the other way around has proven to be excellent. oh well.
until rules are changed it seems like this one will have to stay out of motorsports.
All of the negatives of a motorcycle and none of the positives of a car.
In reply to Daeldalus :
There is a kit to convert it to 4-wheels, no idea the quality of it or the engineering though. With the kit it may possibly be allowed in one of the Mod classes, though most of those classes have some very specific rules regarding length/width/powerplant, etc.
From what I can tell, they're not really designed for motorsports. Mostly just a a fun toy to carve up canyon roads. They seem extremely expensive for what you get and I'd rather put that money towards an ND or Abarth Spyder.
In reply to jfryjfry :
I think it looks to be the other way around. it is waaayyyy safer than a motorcycle. full seats, seat belts, encapsulated around the driver. but you keep the blazing speed and open air driving experience of a motorcycle.
well i guess that depends on your version of the what the positives of a car are. but for motorsports purposes i think it retains all the positives of a car.
I like my Exocet alot more than my neighbor's Slingshot, but I might be slighly biased 
In reply to Daeldalus :
There's nothing "unfair" about Polaris choosing to build something that has long been explicitly prohibited by many organizations. Regardless of 1F2R or 2F1R, trike stability is more design critical than with a 4 wheeler, and I imagine few organizations are interested in the responsibility (or liability) of trying to determine their track safety on an individual basis for what few of them are sold.
A mid 14 second quarter mile is hardly the "blazing speed" of a motorcycle, and the driving experience is for more akin to a minimalist roadster (Lotus 7, Atom-esque, etc) than a motorcycle...Just without the extra rear wheel to help put the power down or keep the rear in line.
I like weird, I don't like this. This is too weird. I agree with the previous posters. Just my opinion.
In reply to Driven5 :
I don't think they built it for motorsports at all, but that doesn't matter.
it is unfair for a vehicle to be banned only on the perception that it might be unstable without any real data.
they used to ban trucks outright but now they measure their stability and decide whether it is suitable to race. it could be done the same with these. will they? no. should they? probably not. but the fact remains that they could do it and choose not to because it would inconvenience them. their choice is reasonable and safe but definitely not fair.
Apparently we have different definitions of what constitutes fairness.
In reply to Daeldalus :
Advantages of bike: blazingly fast, narrow and able to squeeze her tight openings, easy to park in the small spots or off to the side...
Advantages of car: Quick and easy to drive (no helmets required), completely contained and safe relatively speaking, storage space for bags tools golf clubs etc.
in Cali at least you have to wear a helmet to drive the thing like a motorcycle but you can't lane split like you can on a bike
These are built the way they are because of the federal regulations. Being classified as a motorcycle there are many costly test and certifications that they don't have to meet. As soon as you have four wheels it's a whole other ball game.
einy said:I like my Exocet alot more than my neighbor's Slingshot, but I might be slighly biased
Oh, are we doing this? Okay - I like my Midlana a lot more than an Exocet or Slingshot, but I might be biased.
I much prefer the T-Rex. See them occasionally in Vermont .
IMHO, three wheels is the wrong answer to just about any question where performance is a factor.
Slingshots also look pretty cheap up close... think ATV fit finish, colored plastic.... And they're incredibly wide for what they are: 4" wider than a C7 'Vette... A full foot wider than an NA miata... 
In reply to jfryjfry :
in Cali at least you have to wear a helmet to drive the thing like a motorcycle but you can't lane split like you can on a bike
I saw some shiny happy person trying to split traffic during rush hour in one of those recently. He got nowhere fast, and it was hilarious to watch. It became a game for the commuters to box him in. They would open a gap almost big enough, then close it up. Everyone was in on it, it was the most cooperation I've ever seen during my commute.
In reply to Boost_Crazy :
I LOVE seeing that type of cooperation on the road (as long as no one is in real danger obv). I've seen it done in traffic for shiny happy people taking the brakedown lane while we just had to sit there be obey the law.
So... I'd have to make a lot of money to be able to fit that in my budget. It's incredibly limited and about the most niche-market vehicle I can think of without doing anything better than what I could build could do for less money.
my cousin has one, I have yet to ride in it, but he loves it. He bought it due to eyesight. He has almost always been nearly blind as a bat (coke bottle glasses) and riding a motorcycle was just too dangerous with such a limited field of vision that glasses give him. While still not the safest vehicle on the road, other drivers perceive it as a "car" and notice it long before they can acknowledge a bike.
No personal experience with them, but a motorcyclist friend took one out for a test drive and said it was a lot of fun. They're basically a toy for the street - but there's nothing wrong with that. A lot of the experience is sitting low down to the ground in an open vehicle, where it feels fast even if you aren't necessarily going fast. The whole deal with three wheels is it's legally a motorcycle, which gets them around having to meet all the DOT requirements of a four wheeled car.
Don't these have a track width that is wider than a vetter? I don't see ease of parking as something that goes with these. I think they are interesting vehicles that would be fun to drive/ride around in. Don't buy one for anything other than fun on public roads. I would spend my money elsewhere, but that is just me.
It's not for me, but I won't look down on them.
10K to convert it to this. That includes labor at the shop.
My real question is what happens when you convert it, is it still a motorcycle. Is it now a car and need to conform to different rules. What is it on paper.
In reply to wearymicrobe :
It's plainly a sidecar. Yeah. That's the ticket.
That actually looks pretty good. Wanting for fenders, but still, good.
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