This is a Marusho Magnum Electra and if you’re like me you’ll say, “It’s a what?” Well, the name sounded Japanese, so I pulled down my copy of Japan’s Motorcycle Wars and sure enough, there was a reference to the Marusho Automobile Manufacturing Company and a note indicating they made about 1000 motorcycles. There was little else for detail, so Google to the rescue and I found the Marusho / Lilac Motorcycle Register.
It seems this was one of the many lesser known Japanese companies producing motorcycles for a while, before the big four took over, and the vast majority ended up in the USA. What at first seems like something impossible to restore, is really a somewhat reliable bike that is easy to fix up since disassembly is simple, the parts are pretty basic and you can substitute parts from Honda, BMW and Ural to make it a a runner. You won’t find many of these around, but, because most all of the parts still in existence are in the States, you won’t be importing some exotic NOS pieces from Japan, and that’s only if you need any hard to find parts at all.
Unless you’re a person who likes old and rare Japanese motorcycles, you probably won’t be interested in this one, but if you are, it’s nice to know these are still floating around, and they’re pretty inexpensive, too. It might make for an interesting project.
It’s for sale on eBay. Sold. $3,250.00
kim says
Try googling ‘BIM motorcycle japan’, and you’ll see another boxer that looked very much like a BMW.