BMW R51/3

A 1952 R51/3 — note the half-width brakes before 1954

1951 R51/3 at the BMW Museum

An R51/3 has eight round cylinder fins (left); the R67-R67/3 have nine larger and pointed cylinder fins (right)

Note the exposed driveshaft and plunger rear suspension

The BMW R51/3 was BMW's second post-World War II 500 cc motorcycle, following the briefly produced R51/2. It featured a flat-twin engine and exposed drive shaft.^[1] In 1951, the R51/3 succeeded and modernized the 1950 R51/2, which was essentially a pre-war design that was produced after the war. The 600 cc R67, R67/2, and R67/3 series and the more sporting R68 model also followed the R51/2.

History

Following World War II, Germany was precluded from producing motorcycles of any sort by the Allies. When the ban was lifted, in Allied-controlled Western Germany, BMW had to start from scratch. There were no plans, blueprints, or schematic drawings. Company engineers had to use surviving pre-war motorcycles to create new plans. In 1948, it introduced the 250 cc R24, which was essentially a pre-war R23, complete with rigid rear end.

When larger machines were permitted, BMW introduced its R51/2 in 1950, a model that was in production for only one year and that was essentially a pre-war BMW produced after the war. The R51/3 was then introduced in 1951 for a production run of four years.

The 600 cc R67, sister model to the R51/3 and almost identical visually, was also introduced in 1951, but it went through two revisions. The more powerful R67/2 came out one year later and was replaced in 1955 by the R67/3, which was in production through the 1956 model year.

In 1952, BMW introduced the 600 cc R68,^[2] which produced 35 hp (26 kW), had a compression ratio of 8.0:1.

Technical data

Front view of an R51/3

See also

• History of BMW motorcycles
• Motorcycle fork
• BMW R68
• List of motorcycles of the 1950s

References

External links

Media related to BMW R51 at Wikimedia Commons