| Ascot-Pullin 500 | |
| Manufacturer: | Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles |
| Production: | 1928–1930 |
| Predecessor: | Pullin-Groom |
| Engine: | 496cc air-cooled OHV single |
| Top Speed: | 70mph |
| Power: | 17bhp |
| Transmission: | Three speed chain final drive |
| Suspension: | Pressed steel girder front, rigid rear |
| Brakes: | Drum front and rear |
| Dry Weight: | 330lb |
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,[2] the Ascot-Pullin 500 overhead valve single was the first time hydraulic brakes were used on a motorcycle.[3]
In 1919, British inventor Cyril Pullin and Stanley L. Groom produced the Pullin motor bicycle,[2] 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.[2] The bicycle was patented in 1920.[2] 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.[4] 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.
With estimated 17bhp, the Ascot-Pullin was capable of 70mph, but approximately 400 to 500 were produced, so few survive to this day.[5]
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]