1987 Owosso Motor Car Company Pulse
Image: http://www.hemmings.com/images/pulse.jpg
Although it looks like a not-yet-completed airplane, this automotive
offering was first designed by Bede Aircraft Corporation of Medina, Ohio,
in the early 1980s as the Lightstar, and was built by that company until
the early 1990s. In the late '80s, Owosso Motor Car Company of
Owosso, Michigan licensed the design from Bede and offered it for sale as
the Pulse, as depicted here. Owosso referred to it as a Ground Cruising
Recreational Vehicle or autocycle, because of its excellent motorcycle-like
performance and closed bodywork.
Among its attributes were a co-efficient of drag of .112, three optional
powerplants and five or six-speed transmission, depending upon the engine
used. Though it features four-wheels, the outer two (8-inch-diameter) are
outriggers, with only one contacting the ground at rest or during low- and
moderate-speed turns. The framework is of welded steel tube construction,
with a fiberglass body shell. An integral roll bar situated ahead of the
driver provided ample rollover protection and it could be operated with the
canopy closed or slid back and open. The interior accommodated a driver and
passenger seated in tandem, with just under six cubic feet of storage space.
With its engine selections motorcycle-derived (Yamaha 400-cc
two-cylinder, 66-hp V-4 500-cc, and 85-hp 1100-cc horizontally-opposed
four-cylinder) one would expect the controls also to be motorcycle-like,
but that was not the case. Instead, a standard round steering wheel,
right-side mounted shifter and clutch, and brake and gas pedals were used.
The claimed top speed of the base two-cylinder four-stroke with six-speed
transmission was 105 mph at 10,000 rpm, while fuel mileage was a miserly 70
miles per gallon. Both the 400-cc and 500-cc engines drove the rear wheel
via a chain with tension adjuster, with the 1100-cc offering a driveshaft
linkage to the rear wheel. Front and rear wheels were 13 inches in
diameter, mounted on trailing arms and damped by Gabriel hydraulic shock
absorbers. Braking was accomplished with hydraulic discs mounted at the
front and rear wheels.
Though a helmet was not required because of the canopy and roll bar, a
motorcycle endorsement on one's license was, because it was classified as a
motorcycle under federal regulations, and was registered and insured as
such. Some 300 Owosso Pulses were built before the company ceased
production due to a lack of funding.
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