1953 BMW R51/3

My name is Bart Grelinger and I have been fascinated with mechanical motion for as long as I can remember.  My family won a Grand Prix minibike in a raffle when I was 8 and I was changed forever.  I started working on a farm at age 10 becoming very comfortable working with tools in my hands.  This early job also helped me purchase my first used motorcycle at 12, a Honda CB160.  I removed the fenders and my first dirt bike was born.  I may have left the small town for the bright lights of the city, but my tools and motorcycles moved with me!  The openness of the road always reminded me of the farm and allows me to leave life’s stressors far behind.  My wife and I still ride regularly but not as far as we used to.  Maintenance of our motorcycles has always been a form of therapy for me.  Not unlike my patients, if you pay attention and listen carefully, they will tell you exactly what is going on.  Between you and me, motorcycles generally are more straightforward.  I have owned almost too many motorcycles to remember, and they all still bring a story and a smile to my face.  Last fall I was given a chance to crew for several riders on the 2021 Motorcycle Cannonball.  It was truly a revitalizing experience.  The Cross Country Chase allows 3 of my motorcycles the chance to live again like the day they rolled off the showroom floor – as a daily rider!  None begging me harder than my 1953 BMW R51/3, as it was born for endurance racing.  I cannot wait to share the road with other riders and their machines looking to stretch their legs and let this old iron shine again.