I just spoke with a dude who drove this back to Revival

"phenotyp" (phenotyp) 04/15/2019 at 21:00 • Filed to: TWO..NO...FOUR WHEELS GOOD?, Revival, Motorcycles

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After following him down the block. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is literally around the corner from my studio. They just put on another !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! show this weekend, but I didn’t get to go this time.

It’s pretty much a scooter-powered Cessna 150, but eternally grounded to the ground . Hilarious. I appreciated that he gave me a moment to chat.

random001 > phenotyp 04/15/2019 at 21:09

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I love this.

phenotyp > random001 04/15/2019 at 21:15

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It’s 100% terrible as a vehicle. But it sure is fun to look at. The dude who was driving it was pretty exhausted in every sense of the word.

random001 > phenotyp 04/15/2019 at 21:18

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I believe everything you said.  And I still love it.

phenotyp > random001 04/15/2019 at 21:26

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Me too.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > phenotyp 04/17/2019 at 12:35

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I bet it gets great gas mileage though.

phenotyp > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/17/2019 at 12:47

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Except that you have to be full-throttle all the time, and have a 2-gallon gas tank.

Mercedes Streeter > phenotyp 04/17/2019 at 13:04

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While turning 250cc scooters into enclosed autocycle things is popular, the Litestar actually uses motorcycle engines...unless this particular example has been swapped.

Lets get the name settled first. There were about 366 of these things made between 1982 and 1990 in Scranton, Iowa and in Owosso Michigan. The original design was by Jim Bede who also designed the Bede line of airplanes. The first 40 were called Litestars. For business reasons, the name of this vehicle was then changed from Litestar to Pulse. About 325 vehicles were manufactured under the Pulse name. The Litestar/Pulse Registry has located about 100 of them by 2005. Where are the rest of them? Who knows?

A Pulse is a motorcycle. It rides on 2 main automotive type wheels and tires. It has a small 8-inch outrigger wheel on each side, so it actually has 4 wheels. Because it only has one of these outriggers in contact with the road at any time, it is classified in most states as a 3-wheel motorcycle. Its a fairly large vehicle with a 120-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 192 inches and weighs about 1,000 lbs. It seats 2 people, one in front of the other and has a small package shelf behind the passenger seat.

It has a either a ‘butterfly’ type steering wheel or a round steering wheel like a car, with clutch, brakes and gas pedals on the floor just like a car. It has windshield wipers, signal lights, and almost everything found on a normal car. The gear shift is located on the right armrest and shifts sequentially just like a motorcycle. First gear is straight back once and the other gears are found by pushing forward for each shift, just like a motorcycle. The brakes and master cylinder are automotive type. The fuel tank is in the rear and holds about 3 gallons.

It has a 6 inch dia. Steel tube as the main frame with a motorcycle engine and transmission in the rear. The front fork is a leading link design somewhat like an old BMW motorcycle. The body is fiberglass with a steel roll bar and plastic canopy. Most windshields are safety glass. A few early Litestars had plastic windshields.

The speedometer and tachometer are from the donor motorcycle. A gas gauge and voltmeter have been added.

Most Pulses came with a 400cc air-cooled Yamaha engine with 6 speeds and chain drive. Some came with a water-cooled Honda Goldwing engine with shaft drive. A few early Litestars had a Honda 450cc motorcycle engine. Some owners have removed the original motors and installed other more powerful engines from Suzuki, BMW, Kawasaki or Honda. One owner has installed an electric motor.

phenotyp > Mercedes Streeter 04/17/2019 at 13:08

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Pretty sure it hasn’t been swapped *yet*

Snuze: Needs another Swede > phenotyp 04/17/2019 at 13:20

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There’s a house about 2 miles up the road from my folks where, for as long as I can remember there were 2 of these sitting in the carport/driveway.  I haven’t been by that house in probably 15 years, but next time I’m up that way (probably this weekend) I’m gonna drive by and see if they are still there!

phenotyp > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/17/2019 at 13:34

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No shit!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > phenotyp 04/17/2019 at 13:56

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Yeah, now I’m curious. I always thought they were wild looking, but I don’t know if they ran or anything. I just check the Pulse/Litestar registry that Miss Mercedes linked and I didn’t see my hometown listed, so they are either not on the registry, or sold. I did see that there are a crapton of them in MD. I will do more investigations and report back with findings.

I wonder if they are still there if t hey ’d be open to offers on one...

phenotyp > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/17/2019 at 14:01

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Yeah, get some pictures and ask some questions!