Beschreibung:

The first R51 Twin was shown on the front cover of the German magazine Das Motorrad just before Christmas 1949 but it was only during 1950 that it became available to private customers both in Germany and abroad and, as the designation implied, it was based on the old pre-war R51. BMW regained a prominent position in the International motorcycle market with this model, but an up dated pre-war design was not enough and it was a temporary solution. A new ohv twin made its first public appearance at the Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1951 but again it was not a great improvement. It was designated the R51/3 and this enabled the factory to make further developments leading to the introduction of a new generation of machines including the R67 and R68. The R51/3 has a bore and stroke of 68 x 68mm and is of 494cc overhead valve flat twin configuration with a top speed claimed at 87mph. This example has lain unused for many years in a shed. Fortunately it has remained mostly complete but it will require a complete rebuild.