Marusho Magnum Memories

A reader shares his uncle’s Marusho Magnum boxer twin that he owned in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Reader Contribution by Denis Matuszak
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by Denis Matuszak

This photo shows my uncle posing on his Marusho 500 Magnum boxer twin with his girlfriend (now wife) in April 1969. He rode, fixed and owned many different bikes including Triumph, BSA, Ducati, Harley-Davidson Hummer and others in his younger life, but I think this was certainly the rarest bike he ever owned. He did not put many miles on it and eventually sold it to an older gentleman in the early 1970s. I was in my early teens and recall sitting on it in his garage, imagining what it would be like to ride it. It really was beautiful, and it was one of many bikes that fueled my desire to own a bike someday. He told me that only about 600 of these were imported to the U.S. He bought it from a local Honda dealer who was thinking about adding the Marusho line to his store. I do not know how many he sold, but when my uncle bought it, he included all of the special factory tools with the sale!

In 1971 I was 15 years old and had money burning a hole in my pocket for a new Honda CB100. My dad said that as soon as I earned a driver’s license, he would allow me to buy a bike as long as I could afford it. My uncle offered the Marusho to me for $550. A dream come true! Unfortunately, I turned it down on my dad’s advice because, after all, where would I get parts and service for this now orphaned brand of bike? I ended up buying a brand-new CB125 for the same price. I often wonder, what if I had bought it and kept it? I am now retired and going on 62 and ride a 1972 Honda CB750 and a 2005 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra.

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