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The Ascot-Pullin 500 was a motorcycle made by Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles in Letchworth, Hertfordshire in 1928.[1] As an updated version of the Pullin motor bicycle of 1919,[3] the Ascot-Pullin 500 overhead valve single was the first time hydraulic brakes were used on a motorcycle.[4]

Ascot-Pullin 500

Right side of a 1929 Ascot-Pullin 500
Manufacturer	Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles
Production	1928–1930[1]
Predecessor	Pullin-Groom
Engine	496 cc (30.3 cu in) air-cooled OHV single
Top speed	70 mph (110 km/h)[2]
Power	17 bhp (13 kW)[2]
Transmission	Three speed chain final drive
Suspension	Pressed steel girder front, rigid rear
Brakes	Drum front and rear
Weight	330 lb (150 kg)[citation needed] (dry)

History

In 1919, British inventor Cyril Pullin and Stanley L. Groom produced the Pullin motor bicycle,[3] a wheeled machine that included a novel two-stroke engine and extensive manufacture use of steel pressings that anticipated developments by British motorcycle manufacturer Ariel Motorcycles in the late 1950s and Japanese motorcycle manufacturers in 1960s.[3] The bicycle was patented in 1920.[3] Since 1920, Pullin had been working with Stanley Groom to develop and patent a two-stroke motorcycle with a unique design of pressed sheet metal frame and forks. After working on a range of other inventions including the Ascot, Pullin teamed up with Groom again to further develop their ideas and patent the Ascot Pullin motorcycle, with a four-stroke rather than two-cycle engine.[5] At a time when manufacturers were taking a very traditional approach to motorcycle design with conventional frames and engine layout, Pullin and Grom were keen to create an enclosed feel by mounting the engine horizontally within a pressed-steel frame. As well as the hydraulic brakes, Pullin also designed a telescopic centre stand and an adjustable windshield, complete with a windscreen wiper and rear-view mirror, as well as a fully enclosed chain and interchangeable wheels.[2]

With estimated 17 bhp (13 kW), the Ascot-Pullin was capable of 70 mph (110 km/h), but approximately 400 to 500 were produced, so few survive to this day.[1][2]

Pullin's influence can be seen in the emergence of the Ariel Leader and the Vincent Black Prince thirty years later, which both developed the enclosed concept in an attempt to attract a wider range of customers. As with the Ascot-Pullin, however, the fully enclosed look has never really led to high volume sales but instead attracts a niche market.

At present, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recognizes that the first hydraulic brakes on motorcycles occurred in 1952.[6]

See also

• List of motorcycles of the 1920s

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ascot-Pullin 500.

• Ascot-Pullin at Grace's Guide to British Industrial History

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