In a lot of my posts, I talk about the history of BMW motorcycles. Sometimes though, we can see actual history in these machines. One such bike is the R51/3.
After the war, the Allies obviously had strict control over much of Western Germany, which included the economy. It was a difficult time for the world, and especially German car and motorcycle manufacturers. Even the Porsche family spent time in jails in France as war criminals. Interestingly enough, many designs from BMW from before the war made their way into British cars thanks to the War Reparation Board. Even if you had a decent design from before the war, it’s likely the allies still controlled your factories. After the war, the reeling German economy wasn’t allowed to produce motorcycles. This ended in 1947, when the ban was partially lifted to allow motorcycles under 250ccs. This meant BMW could start producing the R23 again, assembled with leftover parts from before the war. The R24 followed. When the ban was lifted in 1950, BMW produced the R51/2 for a year with leftover designs from before the war started. This bike eventually evolved into the R51/3, a 500cc design that made 24 horsepower. That’s the bike that you see featured here.
This bike is black, has pin stripes, and Denfield seats. So in many ways it looks like an early BMW with the exception of the Earles Fork that wasn’t produced until 1955. However, there are two key differences that differentiate this bike from later models. The first is the crazy exposed drive shaft. I hate to think about how BMW learned this was a terrible idea. The second crazy feature is the jockey shifter, which exists even though the foot shifter had already become standard.
The reserve has not been met, but Hagerty says it’s worth somewhere between $7,500 in fair condition to $16,000 in concours. Find it with bidding up to $6,700