Description
Nimbus 746cc Four Military Motorcycle Frame no. 13847 Engine no. 11595
The result of diversification by the Danish vacuum cleaner manufacturer, Fisker & Nielsen, the Nimbus motorcycle first appeared in 1919.
Unusually, only inline four-cylinder models were built.
These were of advanced design, using shaft final drive and pressed steel frames right from the start of production, and pioneered the use of the telescopic front fork in the mid-1930s.
The early models featured a distinctive tubular spine frame that doubled as the fuel tank, soon gaining the nickname ‘stovepipe’.
Motorcycle production was suspended in 1928 to enablethe company to concentrate on producing its Nilfisk vacuum cleaners, and when the new Nimbus appeared in 1934 it was with a power unit that showed strong motor-industry influence, being constructed along car lines with integral crankcase/cylinder block in cast iron and a detachable alloy sump.
The cast-iron cylinder head was topped by an alloy housing for the single overhead camshaft, the latter being driven by shaft-and-bevel gears.
A single-plate clutch transmitted power to the three-speed gearbox.
Foot change for the gearbox, a beefier front fork and larger brakes had been added by the end of the 1930s, but from then on the Nimbus changed little until series production was ended in 1954, once again to free up resources for the vacuum cleaner business.
An additional few machines were assembled from spares between 1954 and 1959 but none have been made since then.
Production was always on a limited scale, but such is the quality of
the Nimbus that many remain in service today.
One of the last batch manufactured, this Nimbus Four previously formed part of Bletchley Park’s collection of military vehicles.
Restored over the past five years and in generally good working order, the machine comes with restoration photographs and dating certificate .