03-03-2025
'Slingshots' banned from Main Street during Bike Week in Daytona Beach
Slingshot drivers got an unpleasant surprise on the opening day of Bike Week in Daytona Beach on Friday when they tried to cruise down Main Street like they have done at past rallies.
But this year, it was a no go: Slingshots, which are a three-wheel cross between a car and a motorcycle, aren't allowed on Main Street while the thoroughfare is closed to regular traffic during Bike Week.
Cars and trucks are not allowed on the road while Bike Week is in session. The event continues through March 9
That was a shock to members of Coast to Coast Slingshots, said the group's president Beth Davis.
'Everybody is extremely disappointed and a lot of us didn't find out until we made the trip down there,' Davis said. 'I don't know what we are going to do in the future.'
She added that group members may not return to Bike Week or Biketoberfest.
'I honestly think after this year there is not really any reason to go to Daytona Bike Week if we are not going to be allowed to be part of it,' Davis said.
She said Slingshot owners have been coming to Bike Week and Biketoberfest from near and wide for past events.
'We had no issues, no problems. We enjoyed it. We walk Main Street, we visit the venues, we go to the vendors, we spend a lot of money,' Davis said.
Slingshots is marking its 10th anniversary this year. The vehicles can cost from $24,999 to $38,999, according to the Slingshot's website.
The website states that a regular driver's license is all you need in most states to operate the machine. In contrast, Florida also requires a motorcycle endorsement on a driver's license to ride a motorcycle.
The Daytona Beach Police Department had not responded to an email from The News-Journal as of Sunday morning asking why Slingshots were no longer allowed on Main Street.
But a News-Journal reporter asked some officers working Bike Week on Saturday why the Slingshots were prohibited on Main Street.
Their answers varied.
Some officers said that the Slingshots are wider than three-wheeled motorcycles, also called 'trikes.' That extra width means that the Slingshots might hit one of the hundreds of motorcycles parked on either side of Main Street during Bike Week, according to police. Besides the initial accident, the crash could lead to a domino-like tumbling of parked motorcycles.
Others said Slingshots are classified as 'autocycles,' not motorcycles. Slingshots are neither cars or motorcycles, but have elements of each, although they're tagged like a motorcycle.
Police also said the ban was implemented following the terrorists attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day.
Security measures at this year's Bike Week have been increased following that attack, including meridian barriers designed to stop vehicles. The barriers are on loan from the Volusia Sheriff's Office.
Whatever the reason, Slingshots have their purist biker detractors, such as Kenneth Rollag.
Rollag started a petition last year to ban Slingshots from Main Street during Bike Week, just like cars and trucks are banned. Rollag wrote that he is a motorcycle enthusiast and claimed that Slingshots and similar machines were 'disrupting' the atmosphere of Bike Week, which is supposed to celebrate motorcycle culture. He wrote Slingshots have features like side-by-side seating and a steering wheel like a car.
'Let us uphold what makes our beloved Bike Week special by ensuring it remains an event for true motorcycle enthusiasts,' the petition states.
The petition gathered 31 signatures.
However, Davis acknowledged that bikers have complained about Slingshots.
'I know there's been a lot of complaints: the motorcyclists don't like the Slingshots,' she said.
She said there was an incident at last year's Bike Week when a Slingshot hit a motorcycle parked on Main Street. Davis said the motorcycle was not parked properly.
'We did see one of the Slingshots, because they are a little bit larger, hit one of the motorcycles,' Davis said. 'It really wasn't the Slingshot's fault. It was the motorcycle that was too far in the road,' Davis said
The News-Journal talked to a handful of bikers along Main Street on Saturday and none of them said they had an issue with Slingshots.
Sam Acquaro, of Port Orange, was sitting on his motorcycle watching the rumbling parade of chrome pass by. He said he had no problem with Slingshots, comparing the machines to three-wheelers, including Can-Ams.
'All it is, is just a longer version of a Can-Am," Acquaro said. He added that if they ban Slingshots they should ban all three-wheelers.
Alberto Lamberty of Ocala said as bikers grow old they sometimes need some additional wheels. He said he was 75, had had open-heart surgery and could no longer ride a two-wheel motorcycle. In order to ride safely, he had two additional wheels added to the back of his Honda Goldwing. He had a problem with the Slingshot ban.
'That's not fair,' he said.
Davis of Coast to Coast said the group usually has 60 Slingshots that make the trip from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach for Bike Week, while another 60 or 70 roll in from Orlando and beyond. She said Slingshot owners are older and mature.
She said she is relieved that a gathering of Slingshot owners in Daytona Beach on Saturday, March 8, was not planned on Main Street but rather at Triton Powersports on Ballough Road.
Davis said that if the Main Street ban stays in place, her group may not return to Bike Week and Biketoberfest.
'If this is going to continue to be the plan we are probably not going to do it,' she said. 'They are losing a lot of revenue.'
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Slingshots banned from Main Street for Daytona Bike Week
