Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

manufacturer founded by Cyril Pullin 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 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...

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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 and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the e ...

, 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 Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a f ...

motorcycle with pressed sheet metal frame and

forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from 'pitchfork') is a Eating utensil, utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with whic ...

. 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

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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, Frederic ...

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 its ...

. 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 on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

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