Marusho/Lilac was a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer that was constantly under the shadow of Honda. After peaking in the late 50s, the company went bankrupt in 1962. The company was brought back to life just a year later, free of debts and configured to specifically target the American market with a 500cc twin engine – quite large displacement for Japanese firms at the time. As they had no experience building engines this large, the Marusho Magnum 500 was powered by a copy of the BMW /2’s 500cc engine to help speed up development, though only some internal parts were interchangeable. Some riders believe that the Japanese ‘copy’ was actually a better bike in nearly every way, though I can’t say I’m a fan of the tank styling. For more information, head on over to the Marusho/Lilac Registry. This example has just 8,200 miles and looks to be in excellent shape in the optional candy-apple red. Find this Marusho Magnum for sale here at Michael’s Motorcycles in St. Louis, Missouri for $9,800.
