Pulse 500

Pulse 500

Manufacturer	Muz
Production	2001
Class	500 cc
Engine	Swissauto two-stroke V4 500 cc
Related	Muz 500

The Pulse 500 was a racing motorcycle that competed in the 500cc World Championship in 2001, entered by the Pulse GP team.

The Pulse GP team was formed by Dave Stewart, ex-team manager of BSL. Stewart had left BSL at the end of 2000 with the intention of setting up his own European-based GP team the following year.

The team purchased the Muz 500, a two-stroke V4 machine which had competed in the 1999 500 cc Championship. The machines, while fast and showing potential in 1999, had been technically unchanged since then and as such were two years behind the opposition in development. The Pulse team was also severely underfunded and with no major sponsor, so no pre-season testing or development work was carried out on the bikes.

Riders

• Mark Willis (AUS)
• Jason Vincent (GBR)

Having worked with Mark Willis on the BSL, team manager Stewart offered him a seat on the Pulse. The second rider was Jason Vincent who had spent several seasons in the 250 cc class, finishing 11th in that class in the previous year. Both riders faced an uphill struggle with the Pulse however, and were usually relegated to the back of the grid. Development of the bike was practically stagnant: plans were made to replace the original Mikuni carburettors with Keihins, but this never happened.

The bike scored world championship points only once, when Willis finished 13th at the 2001 Italian Grand Prix. Vincent, though consistently a better qualifier, had a best race result of 16th for Pulse, but finished 13th at that year's British Grand Prix on a Yamaha, substituting for Garry McCoy who was injured.^[1]

The team withdrew from competition after 9 of the season's 16 races due to financial issues.

Results

2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Rider	Bike	JPN	RSA	ESP	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	VAL	PAC	AUS	MAL	RIO	Pts
Mark Willis	Pulse 500	Ret	20	19	Ret	13	18	16	19									3
Jason Vincent	Pulse 500	Ret	DNS	18	Ret	Ret	16	Ret		16								0

Specifications

Pulse 500 Specifications
Engine Type:	2-stroke water-cooled V4
Displacement:	499.27 cc
Max Power:	200 BHP @ 12500 rpm
Carburation Type:	4 Mikuni carbs
Ignition:	CDI digital
Clutch:	Dry multiple discs
Transmission:	6-speed cassette type
Final Drive:	Chain
Frame Type:	Twin spar aluminum
Suspension:	Front: Inverted telescopic Rear: Ohlins mono shock
Tyres:	Michelin
Wheel:	Front: 3.5 x 17 inches Rear: 6.0 x 17 inches
Brake System:	Front: Carbon composite disc (320 mm), Nissin 4 pot calipers Rear: steel disc (220 mm)
Overall Length:	2040 mm
Overall Width:	490 mm
Wheelbase:	1410 mm
Weight:	129 kg (without tank)
Fuel Tank:	35L

References

1. McLaren, Peter (9 July 2001). "Vincent: It's been a hell of a weekend". Crash.Net. Retrieved 13 September 2021.

• Motorcycle Yearbook 2001, Jean-Claude Schertenleib 2001, Chronosports
• 500 cc qualifying and race results 2001