spudly

Just acquired this bike from the original owner who bought it around 1984. The only info I can find online about Marukin is from a post by T-Mar (expert and encyclopedic, as always!) stating that they contract manufactured bikes starting in the bike boom years. And most of them seem to be low/entry level, but this one, with Tange #2 tubing, Suntour Pro dropouts and pretty nice lug work, looks to be a step up. So who might have actually made it? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have a similar bike, pics would be great! And general thoughts on Tange #2 tubing (e.g., vs Columbus SL which shares the same thicknesses) would also be appreciated. (I have a Tange #1 bike that rides very well, but haven't ridden a #2 bike - and still too snowy and salty in my neck of the woods to ride this one yet.)

Some bike details: the serial number of the bike is H4D0016. The original owner worked in a bike store at time of purchase and swapped out the (Suntour, I presume) brakes and seatpost for Campy GS. The headset is Suntour Superbe and the bars/stem are SR Royal (I like the curve of the bars). The bar tape was a two color (yellow/purple?) wrap that has morphed over the decades into the present candy red. The original owner said he had ridden it fewer than 100 miles, and aside from a few marks and the wear on the seat and chainrings, it looks almost NOS.

non-fixie 

I've no answers to your questions, but the bike reminds me of the Akibo I picked up last year. Tange 2, Campagnolo ends and serial number 5. More pics and a bit of information are here: What can you tell me about my Akibo?

T-Mar

The serial number, in conjuction with the frame features, points to a 1984 model. The serial number format resembles that used by Hodaka, though they typically have one more character in the number string at the end. Hodaka is probably best known for making many of the Bianchi models in the very late 1980s and early 1990s. However, those models were from Taiwan. I believe the earliest Taiwanese Bianchi models that I've seen from Hodaka date to 1987. It's possible that Hodaka was originally located in Japan but it could also be a different company, given the slight difference in the serial number format.

Mr. 66

What a fabulous bike, congratulations on your pick. I like the Tange 2 that my Sekai 2700 is built with.

This was a crispy ride 40 mile in 20' last week in the Blue Mountains.

spudly

Nice pic! Can you post a close-up of your bike? My Tange #1 bike is a Sekine and it also rides wonderfully.

madpogue 

Wasn't there a Japanese company named Hodaka that made mopeds in the '70s? No idea if it's related/relevant to this Hodaka.

OldsCOOL

I recall Hodaka making MX/Enduro bikes in the early ‘70s. One of which they called the Combat Wombat.

Kabuki12

I rode a Hodaka Ace when I was into motocross and I put a Super Rat cylinder head on it for whatever reason. Then the Womat came out and they were even quicker. My Ace 100 would take off so fast that I had to sit up on the gas tank to keep it from flipping. I have no id ea if they did mopeds or bicycles but they were pretty cool .

T-Mar

Thank-you for posting this lead. Bicycles and mopeds/scooters/small displacement motorcycles were complementary product lines in many companies, such as Bianchi and Motobecane, so it's a definite possibility. However, inital reseach indicates that the Hodaka motorcycle company of Japan went out of business circa 1978-1980. Also, I can find no mention of the company being involved in bicycle manufacturing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodaka_(motorcycle)
Hodaka History - home
https://octanepress.com/content/hodaka-final-years

RustyJames 

Since this thread has drifted quickly - PABATCO, the importers of Hodaka motorcycles - was based in Athena, Oregon (as mentioned in one of the articles) which is truly BFE. As I recall, the name was an amalgam of Pacific Basin Trading Co. How a VERY rural area became an importer of Japanese motorcycles still has me scratching my head. Maybe there was a brief fling with bicycles since the motorcycle thing didn’t work out?

Back to the Tange 2 bike….

juvela

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Hodaka anecdote -

one early Sunday morn about 1980 was browsing the aisles at a San Jose California flea market when encountered a juvenile Torpado frame which had been rattle canned flat black and hand painted on its downtube in silver roofing paint was the phrase "Hodaka Rules The Track"

it was without its fork and the only remaining fitting was a cottered bottom bracket assembly with one crank arm yet affixed

carried it home and sent the frame out for a sandblast after which gave it a nice paintjob with Dupont Centari

it was built with the Agrati "BRIANZA" pattern lug set - the one with all the cutouts, and was set up for internal cable routing; looks to have been made somewhere between the late fifties and mid sixties

chose a metallic garnet for the main colour and did all of cutouts in yellow

it looks to have been built for a wheel size such as 550A; have never run across a suitable lightweight road fork made for a compatible wheel size so yet it hangs in me racks lo' these forty odd year later...


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T-Mar

That sounds about right. I don't remember the exact BSD size but 550/22" was a common bambino size. I recall Bozzi offering 22" wheel models through Tom Avenia under both Frejus and Legnano branding. However, I'm wondering if it might not be 550C, as I believe that is the 22" tubular equivalent and I imagine there was a fair sized Italian market for Pee-Wee aged racers in Italy who aspired to be the next Coppi, Balmamion or Motta. I believe the difference in brake reach between 550A and 550C would only be about 10mm.

juvela

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thanks so much T-Mar

have never made any measurements

could tell by eye that it takes a wheel smaller than the junior/juvenile "24" "road machines

the OEM chainset is clearly single plateau so am thinking it was likely a derailleur three, four or five speed drive train, has internal cable routing

one way of confirming its Torpado-ness is the serial placed on the side of the seat tube and beginning with that small triangular symbol; do you know what the triangular symbol is intended to indicate?

have had several Torresini prodotti come through but the symbol is too small/indistinct to make any sense of

thank you again

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T-Mar

There's a character inside the triangle that appears to be a stylized "T", so I've always assumed that it represented Torresini, the manufacturer.

seedsbelize2

What a great thread!

Mr. 66

Oh gosh, that one, the 2700 I call the Silver Surfer. It came equipped with Diacomp G, now Royal Gran Comp calipers, now with AGC levers replacing the red dot levers. This bike probably came with Suntour Gvt luxe rear derailleur, had Superbe Pro, now with old Suntour Cyclone front and rear, still has the Superbe shifters. Originally 27" Araya wheels were gone by the time I received, had Super Champion 27" on Normandy high flange, now sports Campy Victory hubs on Ambrosio Elite 700 rims. SR Forged stem, with Specialized flared bars. The paint is good but the decals are gone, but the adhesive remains were enough for me to identify.

The Sekai is at the family get-a-way, I can't photo at this time.

Sk8erByker

Yours looks like mine! My serial number is H4D0033. I got mine when I had my bike shop. Someone happened to be driving by the shop on the way to take this beauty to the scrap metal drop off. Thought we may give him a few more $$ than they would. I was happy to take it off his hands. His story was that his father passed away several years ago & he was cleaning out the storage shed. This one was a wall-hanger in our shop for 10 years or so.