You could argue that Polaris Industries has been going down the tubes for quite some time now when it comes to motor vehicle sales. Faced with an unflattering economic situation, the company seems to have turned to the less explored area of motor cycles.
And Hit The Mother Lode While At It
If you have seen someone taking a Polaris Slingshot for a spin through the neighborhood, then you know what I’m talking about. It is an exciting piece of work that looks like something that would come out of the creative combination of a dune buggy and a Batmobile. The Slingshot has two wheels at the front and one at the back. The passenger seats are a side-by-side affair and the coc pit has been exposed a little to give the ride an aura of space and independence.
It Comes With A No Small Level of Confusion
Slingshot likes to see itself as a three-wheeled motorcycle. However, a lot of people out there simply do not know where this creative entrant into the market fits. Basically, the unit brings together the freedom and flexibility of the conventional motorcycle with the classy feel and stability of the car. Many states are choosing to classify it as a motor cycle because it comes without airbags and falls short of automotive safety requirements. In South Carolina, they call it a passenger vehicle. In North Dakota, they are so thoroughly lost for names so they go with the term ‘unconventional’. Still, other areas call the contraption an ‘auto-cycle’.
It is not just an obsession with names or flair for the dramatic; you see, every class of vehicles out there needs its own set of licenses as well as requirements for different levels of personal safety.
A Growing Market
You would think Polaris are the only ones taken in by this new craze. However, other players are making forays into this market. Bombadier Recreational Products, operating out of Canada, has come out with the Can-Am Spyder. Campagna, yet another Canadian outfit, is also making play for a place in the market with the t-rex motorcycle. Magic Bike is a company specializing in the second hand market of t-rex motorcycles:
http://www.magicbike.net/t-rex-motorcycles-for-sale/
There is a buzz going in the market about these new designs but history tells us that this is not exactly an ‘invention’ but more of a balloon effect. The Morgan Motor Company of the UK, for example, has been churning out these Units for over a century now. Comediam Jay Leno actually has one of those, a 1932 Morgan Supersports
Three-wheeled motor cycles are a great investment because most of the time their value goes only one way; up.