Pulse autocycle on Bring a Trailer is one of around 326 built, and has a tandem two-seat layout
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- Pulse autocycles were built by the Owosso Motor Company from 1985-90.
- The fiberglass airplane wannabe is powered by a 400 cc Yamaha twin.
- It has four wheels: two primary wheels and one on either side for stability.
US Navy recruitment jumped 8 percent in 1986, the year the original Top Gun movie came out, but only a handful of those that applied would ever make it to become a real-life Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. For everyone else there was always the Pulse autocycle.
Billed as a Ground Cruising Recreational Vehicle (GCRV) the Pulse, like its Litestar predecessor, had genuine aero pedigree. It was designed by aircraft designer Jim Bede, whose tiny Bede BD-5J appeared in 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy.
More Plane Than Car?
Unlike the miniature 007 machine, the Pulse couldn’t fly and didn’t have a jet engine. Instead, it got a rather less exotic Yamaha 400 cc parallel twin motorcycle engine, and the two winglets served as housings for what you might describe as training wheels.
They kept the fiberglass-over-steel Autocycle upright in corners and prevented it from falling over when stationary, though only three of the wheels are ever in contact with the ground at the same time.
Related: The Carver One Was One Third Motorcycle, Two-Thirds Car And 100% Nuts
Flip up the aircraft canopy and you’re presented with two seats arranged in tandem-style, but an aftermarket three-spoke car steering wheel where you might hope to find a yoke. A stick by the driver’s right elbow controls the six-speed manual transmission, and there’s an electric reverse unit.
A Rare Survivor
This example is number 162 of around 326 built between 1985 and 1990 and comes from the first year of Pulse production. After only two years it was put into storage, where it stayed for the next three decades, emerging in 2019 when it was sold to its current owner, who added the LED lights.
Since Jim Bede dreamed up this weird mashup of car, bike and plane we’ve seen similar creations that also tilt, to give more of a Top Gun experience, but this still looks like a fun toy for the right person, and a reminder of the many weird fuel-saving vehicles that came out of startups across America in the 1980s. You can view the full Bring a Trailer listing over here.
