Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

manufacturer founded by

Cyril Pullin Cyril Pullin (18 August 1892 – 23 April 1973) was a British inventor, engineer and motorcycle race driver. His inventions contributed to the rotary engine and the helicopter. His son was the pilot for the first successful British helicopter ...

as the Ascot Motor & Manufacturing Co Ltd. at

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

in 1928. An inventor and winner of the 1914

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

, Pullin had been developing ideas for motorcycle designs since 1920 with Stanley Groom, and had patented a

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

motorcycle with pressed sheet metal frame and

forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ei ...

. After leaving Douglas the first time, Pullin worked with Groom again to refine his ideas and develop and patent the Ascot-Pullin motorcycle. Fewer than 500 were built and sales were poor, resulting in the company's liquidation in 1930.

Ascot-Pullin 500

Pullin was an innovator and the

Ascot-Pullin 500 The Ascot-Pullin 500 was a motorcycle made by Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles in Letchworth, Hertfordshire in 1928. As an updated version of the Pullin motor bicycle of 1919, the Ascot-Pullin 500 overhead valve single was the first time hydraulic brak ...

OHV An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located bel ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

had the engine horizontally mounted and enclosed with a pressed-steel frame. As well as the first use of

hydraulic brake A hydraulic brake is an arrangement of braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing glycol ethers or diethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling mechanism to the braking mechanism. History During 1904, Frederick ...

s on a motorcycle, Pullin also designed a telescopic centre stand and an adjustable windshield with a windscreen wiper and rear-view mirror, as well as a fully enclosed chain and interchangeable wheels.

Powerwheel

The Ascot-Pullin name was revived in 1951 by the

Hercules Cycle and Motor Company The Hercules Cycle and Motor Company Limited was a British bicycle manufacturer founded on 9 September 1910 in Aston in England.Company registration 111679: Companies House – http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ The name Hercules was chosen for ...

, a division of Tube Investments, who commissioned Pullin's new invention, the "Powerwheel", a , , single-cylinder

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and i ...

. The prototypes were scrapped after the company decided not to proceed with production, but a sectionalised example survived together with most of the drawings, and an industrialised version was developed for the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...

Sources

External links

Ascot Motor and Manufacturing Co
at ''Grace's Guide'' to British Industrial History
Ascot Pullin
at ''Grace's Guide'' {{British motorcycle manufacturers Motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom