Germany · 1951–1954

BMW R 51/3

A familiar chassis hid a newly designed boxer engine: the R 51/3 put a central camshaft at the heart of BMW’s postwar 500.

Sport touring motorcycles

1951 BMW R 51/3 displayed at Techno Classica Essen. Representative restored exhibition specimen; original market and restoration accuracy are unverified.

Right side · Photo shows 1951 BMW R 51/3 displayed at Techno Classica Essen. Representative restored exhibition specimen; original market and restoration accuracy are unverified.. 1951 BMW R 51/3 displayed at Techno Classica Essen. Representative restored exhibition specimen; original market and restoration accuracy are unverified.
BMW R 51-3 motorcycle 1951 - 3.jpg · Th-Photos · CC BY-SA 3.0

Auction-based estimated value

Research pending

A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.

Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.

A place in vehicle history

More than a set of wheels.

The R 51/3 appeared at the 1951 Amsterdam Motor Show. BMW kept the R 51/2 chassis but redesigned the engine, including its valve drive. The catalogue records production through 1954 and points to the model’s performance in the 1951 Six Day event as part of its sporting history.

Look a little closer.

The camshaft did two jobs: it timed the valves and drove the magneto.

Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.

New timing, familiar surroundings

The R 51/3 retained the preceding model’s chassis, so much of the engineering change was inside the engine. BMW replaced the two chain-driven camshafts with one central camshaft. Its history places the magneto drive on that shaft and the dynamo at the front of the crankshaft, reorganising several functions together.

Source: BMW Motorrad · 1950s ↗

One model name, changing details

A series can evolve while keeping its name. BMW’s model history dates the duplex front brake to 1952 and full-hub brakes to 1954. The factory repair manual also separates the 1951 first-gear ratio from the 1952 arrangement. Those later improvements should not be silently assigned to a 1951 R 51/3.

Source: BMW · Motorräder: Serienmodelle 1923–2004 ↗

Where these facts come from

Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed 2026-10-02.

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