Connecticut is the latest state to deny the Polaris Slingshot the ability to be registered as a motorcycle. Which makes sense, since it's not a motorcycle.
The company trotted out its 173-hp reverse trike to the Connecticut DMV headquarters in Wethersfield hoping to get the green light after it was already denied once. Instead, the agency reaffirmed it's original ruling that the Slingshot can't be "classified or registered as a motorcycle."
The reason for the denial – aside from the blindingly obvious – is that the definition of a motorcycle by the Connecticut DMV excludes vehicles with an enclosed driver's seat and an engine that's covered. The Slingshot runs afoul of both.
"It is the consensus of the DMV that this vehicle closely resembles an automobile in appearance, and is equipped (brake, clutch, accelerator, steering wheel, four-cylinder engine, seat belt, gear shifter, etc.) and handles like an automobile rather than a motorcycle," wrote DMV senior attorney Sharon Geanuracos in a letter to Polaris and obtained by the Waterbury Republican-American.
The reasons for the denial in Connecticut are slightly more grounded in common sense than those used in Texas. In that case, the state ruled that because the trike doesn't have a "saddle" it couldn't be registered as a motorcycle.
Connecticut suggested that rather than trying to shove a three-wheeled vehicle into a two-wheeled hole, Polaris should consider legislative options.
"I don't think this will be a problem," said Damon Libby, a local Polaris dealer. "We have the backing of several senators and several representatives. It might take a little time, but it will come about."
Polaris is sticking to its designation – including this fine print on its site, "Slingshot is a three-wheeled motorcycle" – despite contradicting the literal dictionary definition, below: