Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
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More lenient licensing opens autocycle market to larger pool of potential buyers
What has three wheels, looks like the Batmobile, turns heads, goes fast and won’t require drivers to have a motorcycle endorsement on their license as of July 1?
If you guessed “autocycle,” call your banker and reward yourself by purchasing the latest in recreational vehicles for people with healthy stashes of disposable income. Priced between $20,000 and $30,000, autocycles combine the open-air thrill of driving a motorcycle with the not-gonna-tip-over safety of a passenger car. Manufacturers and dealers expect we’ll be seeing more of them on Florida’s roads in coming months. “Everywhere you go it gets a lot of attention and it’s a lot of fun to drive,” said Steve Vega, sales manager at Broward Motorsports-Hollywood, among the Florida dealers
expecting sales to jump after the motorcycle endorsement requirement goes away.
Enacted during the most recent legislative session, the revision to the state’s new law made Florida the 43rd state to reclassify its driving requirements to recognize the vehicle’s status as something between a motorcycle and passenger vehicle. Overnight, the change will increase the number of prospective buyers from 680,600 Florida drivers with motorcycle endorsements to 14.6 million with standard operators’ licenses, according to numbers provided by Polaris, one of the nation’s largest-selling autocycle manufacturers.
Best known for making snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles, motorcycles and ultralight combat vehicles, the Minnesota-based Polaris brought its autocycle, the Slingshot, to market in late 2014, and in 2015 began working with individual states to update their laws, said Josh Fulkerson, senior director at Polaris’ Slingshot division, in a telephone interview.
By approving the changes, states are acknowledging that autocycles are driven more like cars than motorcycles and drivers should be allowed to drive them with a standard operator’s license, Polaris said in a news release.
Autocycle drivers don’t straddle the seat, steer with handlebars, shift gears like motorcycle riders, or lean into turns. It makes sense not to require the two days of training required to get a motorcycle endorsement, Vega said.
Other motorcycle-specific aspects of Florida law will remain in place for autocycles, said Beth Frady, communications director for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Autocycle riders age 21 and younger must still wear helmets, while riders older than 21 can leave their helmets at home as long as they carry at least $10,000 in medical coverage for injuries sustained in an accident while riding one of the vehicles. Drivers and passengers must be restrained by a safety belt, or, if applicable, a child restraint device, Frady said.
The term autocycle emerged out of the revisions to states’ motor vehicle laws. The vehicles are also known to dealers and enthusiasts as roadsters and reverse trikes — so called because unlike traditional three-wheelers, these are configured with a single fat wheel in the rear and a pair of wheels in front so they can be steered like cars.
Also like cars, autocycles have steering wheels; foot-controlled clutch, brake and gas pedals; seats for a driver and passenger; antilock brakes; a reinforced steel frame; three-point safety belts; and electronic traction and stability control.
Slingshots come standard with GM 2.4-liter, inline four-cylinder engines that provide 173 horsepower, and a fivespeed manual transmission. Higher-priced models come with windshields, navigation screens with turn-by-turn directions, plus Bluetooth and USB ports.
They max out at 120 mph but feel unmistakably powerful accelerating from 0 mph, said Michelle Montalvo, a sales representative at Broward Motorsports-Hollywood.
“You feel like you are driving aggressively with the wind in your face, but in bucket seats that are very comfortable,” Montalvo said.
According to sales manager Vega, “What makes it so much fun to ride is its five-speed transmission. You do have to shift gears. You can feel the power go to the wheels.”
Other autocycle manufacturers include Vanderhall Motor Works, based in Provo, Utah, and Campagna Motors, based in Quebec.
Comfort and stability are two of the autocycle segment’s main selling points, and its target market is a consumer who seeks those qualities and can afford the hefty price. That generally means adults age 30 to 50, Montalvo said.
Banks are willing to set up financing lasting 36 months, 48 months and 60 months, but unlike standard car loans, most want about 30 percent down — a tall order for many younger enthusiasts, Montalvo acknowledges.
Typically, Broward Motorsports-Hollywood sells four to five Slingshots a month, and the dealership expects to sell at least twice that many after the new law takes effect, she said.
Slingshots are sold in 26 dealerships in Florida and 430 across the U.S. and Canada, Fulkerson said. In addition to Broward Motorsports-Hollywood, Slingshots can be found at Broward Motorsports of Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, Indian Motorcycle of Fort Lauderdale, and Indian Motorcycle of Miami, according to the Polaris website.
Vanderhall sells at those Broward Motorsports locations plus others in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Tequesta. Campagna Motors’ T-Rex and V13R models are available at TrexCite in Davie.
Autocycles max out at 120 mph but feel unmistakably powerful accelerating from 0 mph, said Michelle Montalvo, a sales representative at Broward Motorsports-Hollywood.