James R. "Jim" Bede is an aircraft designer, who is often credited with the creation of the modern kitplane market. He has designed well over a dozen aircraft since the 1960s, but a string of business failures have kept most of these designs out of widespread use. Bede was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from West Technical School in Cleveland in 1952 and attended Fenn College and the University of Wichita receiving his Aeronautical Engineer Bachelor of Science Degree in 1957. In 1961, he formed Bede Aviation with his father James, in order to produce a kitbuilt aircraft of his design, the Bede BD-1. After Bede Aviation collapsed, Bede took on a number of engineering projects under Bede Design.One of the first was a project with his cousin to produce a car. Simply called the Bede Car, the design used an 80 hp motorcycle engine driving a ducted fan for propulsion. Built primarily from fiberglass on aluminum, the car was to have weighed just under 1,000 lb, less than half that of a normal four seater built of steel. The advantage to the design was a claimed 120 miles/gallon fuel economy. They intended to introduce the car starting in 1982, but the prototype unit proved the concept infeasible. The engine had very low power at low speeds, so low that it could not even roll up an inclined driveway for parking without "gunning" it. The economy ratings also seemed hopelessly optimistic, based on fuel flow rates of the engine without the actual car. Another automobile project followed, this time a smaller motorcycle-like vehicle. The prototype was based on a production motorcycle, but "stretched" and surrounded with a fiberglass shell that looked somewhat like the BD-5. During its long gestation period it was known as the Autocycle or BD-200, and later as the LiteStar and Pulse. About 347 of these were produced and sold between 1985 and 1990 in Owosso Michigan by the Owosso Motor Car Company. The first 21 were called Litestars and then the name changed to Pulse. The Pulse you see here is number 323. In 2008 this Pulse had nearly $5,000 worth of work done to it to bring it back up to driving condition. The bike was nearly completely refurbished and mechanically freshened. The fiberglass body is free of any notable damage and looks great. The red paint has a nice finish with no damage to the tinted canopy. Inside, there's seating for two with a full array of gauges. The seats are both in very good condition with no rips or tears. The same goes for the carpet. There has been a Kenwood AM/FM/CD player installed along with speakers on either side of the cockpit. This Pulse is powered by a 1200cc water cooled four cylinder out of a motorcycle. The rear wheel is driven by a drive shaft. The bike fires up with a turn of the key and goes down the road with a surprising amount of power. These are incredibly fun vehicles and will draw more attention and questions than you can possibly imagine. The mileage shows 4,473 and is actual for the bike. The VIN number is 17JTW15G6KM000323 and is being sold on a clean Mississippi title.