NOW SOLD
Gone to Poland
1960 Nimbus motorcycle + Sidecar, engine is inline 746cc 4 cylinder
It is currently on the Belgian register, having been on the Danish register where Nimbus motorcycles were made until 1959. The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that I have shown a date of 1960. The documents state the date of first registration was July 1960. I imagine that it sat in a showroom for a few months before first sale.
I am offering this Nimbus motorcycle on here on behalf of a friend in Belgium. I will be happy to answer any initial questions. If you wish to take it further, I will put you in touch with the owner.
This motorbike is in excellent running condition. I have a video of it running. It purrs away, as you would expect an inline 4-cylinder engine to do. It revs cleanly. Because of the shaft drive design, it is very smooth. In fact, it is ideal for touring.
The current owner is offering it together with a right-side sidecar. It also comes with a pillion seat to match the rider’s saddle.
This Nimbus motorcycle is an older restoration machine. It presents very well, but it has been used. So, it’s not a “show pony”.
A little history on the Nimbus motorcycle design and production.
Nimbus is a Danish company. They began as far back as 1905 with electric motors. A few years later, they began producing electric vacuum cleaners. Like many manufacturers of the day, they moved into motorcycle production.
In 1919, the first Nimbus motorcycle arrived. As they already had a factory producing vacuum cleaners with pressed steel, it seemed only natural to them to create a motorcycle using pressed steel. Almost all other motorcycle manufacturers used steel tubes for the frame but Nimbus designed a frame that used flat steel strips that were welded together.
This innovative design wasn’t the only unusual element for a motorcycle in 1919. It had sprung suspension at the front and rear.
Just as motorcycles were reaching a peak of popularity in 1928, Nimbus ceased production of their motorbikes. They claimed that they were unable to manage full-scale production of vacuum cleaners and motorcycles. To date, they had made about 1300 motorcycles.
5 years later, they realised the error and opened a production facility dedicated to the new motorcycle. The “Nimbus II” was born. Production then ran from 1934 to 1959, with the possible exception of a few years in the early 1940’s. They must have made the right decision to bring it back into production. 12,715 were sold from 1934.
The “Stove Pipe” Nimbus motorcycle for sale with side car
The new version of the Nimbus motorcycle kept the pressed steel design, along with the unique fuel tank which is commonly referred to as the “stove pipe” because of the shape. However, it had many upgrades. The cylinder block was now ribbed for better air cooling. It now had an OHC arrangement and was driven by the crank through the dynamo and using sets of bevel gears.
To hear it run and rev, you would think it was a modern inline 4-stroke. This Nimbus motorcycle is a real touring machine. It produces 18 HP @ 4,000 RPM and is a smooth ride when you are touring, but sporting when you need it.
Owning a Nimbus motorcycle
They are easy to maintain and the spares situation is excellent. They have a good following in Europe.
Price:
The price is €10,500. As this website can’t cope with more than one currency, the indicated price in GB Pounds is just that, indicative.
Viewing:
Located in Belgium. Please contact me first.
UK club:
If you are in the UK, you might wish to join the Nimbus owner’s club
