| Designer | Massimo Tamburini | Premiere | |
| Production period | 1973 | Production number | 1 |
| Power | 53 KW (73 PS) | Displacement | 497 ccm |
| Topspeed | Weight | Leergewicht 135 kg | |
| Price | Colour | grün | |
| Technical basis | Paton 500 |
The company Paton was founded in 1958 by Giuseppe Pattoni and Lino Tonti. Both had previously worked for the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Mondial – Pattoni as a chief mechanic and Tonti as a designer. After Mondial withdrew from racing at the end of the 1957 season, the two founded their own company to continue competing in motorsports. The name Paton is derived from the first letters of the founders‘ names, Pattoni and Tonti.
In 1973, the year Massimo Tamburini first gained attention in the racing scene with the HB1, Pattoni commissioned him to design a frame for the 500cc Paton two-cylinder four-stroke engine.
As with the HB1, Tamburini built an open-bottom frame made of chrome-molybdenum steel, using the engine as a lstressed member. However, in this design, the steering head was reinforced for greater rigidity. While the HB1’s steering head was welded to the frame using five tubes—two from the front engine mounts, two from the side frame rails, and one central upper tube running from above the engine to the rear frame—the PB1’s steering head was connected with six tubes. Instead of a single central tube over the engine, the PB1 featured two upper tubes leading to the rear frame, which were welded to the side frame rails. The two tubes connecting the front engine mounts were designed with conical, bolted joints, allowing for quicker engine installation and removal.
In the 1973 racing season, Luigi Anelli competed in the first races with the PB1 in the 500cc class, still using drum brakes. It wasn’t until the 1974 season that a Ceriani fork and a Honda twin-disc brake were installed. With this setup, Armando Toracca participated in the Italian Championship and finished the season in third place, behind the dominant winner and 15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini on a Yamaha V4.
Paton remains active and successful in motorsports to this day. In 2024, Michael Dunlop won the TT on the Isle of Man in the „Supertwins“ category riding a Paton S1-R.