Nimbus (motorcycle)

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Stovepipe Nimbus with sidecar

The Nimbus was a Danish motorcycle produced from 1920 to 1957 by Fisker and Nielsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), also known as the manufacturers of Nilfisk vacuum cleaners.

Two basic models were produced, both with a 750 cc four cylinder engine.

The first Nimbus had an air-cooled four-cylinder inline engine and a power output of 21 hp, transmitting its power to the rear wheel through a shaft drive. Its top speed was around 85 km/h with a sidecar fitted.

The first was manufactured during the 1920s, and had both front and rear wheel springing and a very characteristic spine frame giving birth to its nickname "The Stovepipe".

The later model C (also known as "the bumblebee") was produced in large numbers from 1934 onwards. It had a completely new designed ohv and ohc engine and a frame made from steel bar instead of the metal tube found in most motorcycles of the period. Apart from BMW, it was the first motorcycle to have telescopic forks. Many of these machines saw service with the Danish postal service, army, and police. Few were exported.

Although many details of this model was developed during its lifespan (for example from hand to foot gear change), the basic design was never updated and, as interest in motorcycles declined in the late 1950s as a consequence of the availability of cheap cars such as the Volkswagen Beetle, production ceased.

In the 1950s some work were done to develop new models (a four cylinder with a rotary valve and carbon seals! and a two cylinder, neither of which reached production).