BMW CLASSIC
PROF. DR. GERHARD
KNÖCHLEIN AWARD

Bob Henig receives the Professor Dr. Gerhard Knöchlein BMW Classic Award

When he was a kid, Bob Henig was drawn to anything with a motor. Initially it was a go cart he built with a three horsepower Tecumseh motor. 

Then there was a minibike, and while in high school, a friend taught Bob how to ride a 250cc Suzuki. Sadly, as much as Bob loved to ride, his parents forbade him from buying a motorcycle of his own. Shortly after moving away to college, Bob was the new owner of a brand-new Suzuki TS 250 and a dog, the other thing Bob’s parents forbade him from having. It was from the seat of that Suzuki that Bob saw much of the eastern United States, while camping and backpacking over the next couple of years. 

Thinking the Suzuki was too small, friends convinced him he needed a bigger bike to carry more gear, so in 1976, Bob found a 1972 R 75/5 that needed a little love. Though the bike only had about 11,000 miles on the odometer, it had not received the care it needed, but once in his garage, Bob nurtured the bike and brought it back to life. That R 75 now has more than 160,000 miles on its odometer, as it took Bob across much of the United States and to many BMW motorcycle rallies in the years that followed. “It’s been a great friend and opened the door to something I never could have imagined,” Bob said. 

In his early 20s, Bob was working as a freelance photographer and owned a small home improvement company. One day, a customer riding a BMW stopped by after seeing Bob’s R 75 parked out front. Discovering they both shared an interest in BMW motorcycles, the customer invited Bob to his first BMW rally, the Square Root Rally hosted by the BMW Bikers of Metropolitan Washington. Though he didn’t know anyone there other than his new friend who had invited him, Bob soon got to know many others in the BMW riding community and realized he had found a home. Later that year, Bob also attended the Four Winds Rally in Pennsylvania, the Finger Lakes Rally in upstate New York and the BMW MOA National Rally in Vermont, where he joined the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America. “That first year of attending BMW events introduced me to a whole new group of people,” Bob said.

Bob’s rally attendance grew significantly over the next few years until a crash on a slightly modified R 90S forced him to change careers. That’s when Bob began buying used motorcycles and motorcycle parts, and by the winter of 1981, “Bob’s Used Parts” opened and Bob began traveling to motorcycle events and selling parts out of the back of his father-in-law’s van.
Before long, his collection took over both his basement and his garage. When that happened, Bob built another garage for Bob’s Used Parts and it continued to grow and grow. In 1981, Bob’s Used Parts morphed into Bob’s BMW, his dealership located in Jessup, Maryland.

Bob Henig describes himself as a patient collector, a good caretaker and a curator who, for decades, has sought out and collected BMW motorcycles and components. Developing his museum of BMW motorcycles and artifacts grew from his collection. Originally Bob displayed his collection of BMW motorcycles wherever he had space and bikes could be found scattered around his dealership floor, the mezzanine, in his office and even hanging from the ceiling. Recently, Bob’s collection of prized BMWs moved across the street from his dealership into Bob’s BMW Museum, a 4,200 square foot facility and home to more than 100 early and rare BMW motorcycles.

Bob enjoys sharing what he’s collected, saying, “If I could not share with friends, customers and new acquaintances the motorcycles and all that accompanies them, I doubt that the collection would be the size it is.” 

Some of the unique motorcycles in his museum include a streamlined R 75/5 Bonneville that won its class two years in a row with a certified speed of about 133 mph. His oldest bike is mostly original and was once owned by Dr. Peter Adams, former president of the U.S. BMW motorcycle importer, Butler and Smith. The bike is one of perhaps the 65 or so known remaining R 32s out of the 3,000 or so produced.

Other unique BMWs includes a 1987 R 80S¬, the very last R 80 build by BMW in Germany and built for a BMW automotive executive who specifically requested the very last bike off the assembly line of that model. There are also BMWs ridden by racing legends, including Gary Nixon, Bart Markel and Dave Aldana, and limited production models as well as exotic customs. Other items on display include a beautiful BMW Isetta 300 mini car, motorcycle memorabilia, wall art, advertising, trophies, special parts, accessories, period riding gear, factory cut-away motors, rare signage, workshop tools and much more. 

Admission to Bob’s BMW Motorcycle Museum is free and is open to everyone most Saturdays and by appointment.

In addition to being a longtime supporter of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America, Bob is also a SafeMiles Champion, pledging $10,000 to the BMW MOA Foundation, and is a Charter Lifetime member of the MOA. Together with his wife Suzanne, Bob gives both his time and money to many charitable causes in his area including the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, The Arc of Howard County, Grassroots Crisis Intervention and the Howard County Police Foundation. In addition to his busy schedule with his BMW dealership and museum, Bob is a frequent visitor at both club and BMW MOA National Rallies, where he shares his vast knowledge of the marque.

Congratulations Bob!