You don't see many of these about: anyone guess what it is.
- Thread starter Devon
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ghiribizzo
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I'd never seen one running till this Summer on the way to Sweden. In Denmark, over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday I must have seen over 30. Most with sidecars but all in excellent condition.
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I forgot to mention I was actually in Denmark on my travels. Here’s why: I was motorcycling in Portugal in 1986 and became friends with a Danish couple, Hans and Mona, travelling on a FJ1200. The Danes, a couple of other mates and myself travelled back across Portugal, Spain and France on the way home and we have stayed mates ever since. I generally visit Denmark for a beer most years and Hans has also visited England most or every other year since 1987.
When I first started going to Denmark I seen a Nimbus and vowed I would own a Viking bike one day. The Stove Pipe Nimbus was made from 1920 to 1928 but the Bike I was interested in was made from 1928 to 1960. The factory handmade an average of 300 bikes a year and never really changed the design because they could sell every bike they could make. A huge bonus is the bike has a small group of passionate owners in Denmark with all the spare parts available. I have seen the occasional Nimbus come up for sale in the UK but they always seemed in poor condition and pretty expensive. Having sold a couple of M/Cs and with the money burning a hole in my pocket, I phoned Hans and asked him to check out what M/Cs were for sale in Denmark as it seemed to be a case of now or never. He checked out a few Nimbus and eventually came across ‘Steen 10 Nimbus’ with a 1948 for sale about an hour from where Hans lives in Branda, Jutland.
The bike was exactly what I wanted so I jumped in the Van and headed for Denmark. I didn’t take any cash along as I thought I could go to the bank and take out Danish Krones on my cards. Unfortunately, there is a limit of about £250 cash withdrawal per card in Denmark so Hans went to his bank and used most of his and his Wife’s savings to buy the bike saying I could pay him back by Bank transfer when I got back home to England.
‘Steen 10 Nimbus’ had to go to the Danish equivalent of the DVLA and take his name off the registration document and report it was being exported so a new Registration Doc could be issued showing the frame and engine number there and then.
This was on a Friday and all that was left to do was load the Nimbus into the van and spend the rest of the weekend drinking beer and visiting friends before heading home on the Monday. The journey to and from Denmark is about 1000miles each way from Devon and I reckon fuel and channel crossings set me back about £500.
Once back in the UK all I had to do was order a ‘Used Vehicle’ import pack from the DVLA, insure the Nimbus temporarily (I got 14 days cover) on the engine and chassis number, trailer the bike to get it MOTed and then take the Insurance, MOT and Danish Registration Document along with the completed Import Forms to the DVLA office in Exeter. Normally a new Reg. Number and tax disc is issued at the office but the girl I dealt with wasn’t sure if Denmark was in the EU (when no taxes are payable) and if the Danish Registration Document was correct so she had to send it all up to Swansea for the M/C to be registered.
Yesterday the UK Registration Number and Tax Disc arrived in the post and all I had to do was phone the insurance company and insure the bike on the new Reg and order a Number Plate to fit to the bike. The DVLA gave the bike 936 YUM which is OK but I am not sure YUM sounds serious enough for the Mighty Nimbus…………… or maybe it is.
Soooooooo today I was able to take the Mighty Nimbus out for a spin. I have never ridden such an old bike before, starting is a doddle: turn the petrol on, put the choke lever on, pump the throttle a couple of times, use the kickstart and away she goes: it makes you wonder why starting old Brit bikes require tickling the carb and leaving flooded petrol everywhere? The handling is, erm……….interesting, the braking is erm………interesting, the 3 speed gearbox is, erm…………….very interesting, I tried various styles of changing gear and found double de-clutching the ‘smoothest’ way. The bike trundles along at 50mph no problem. The Nimbus is nicknamed the Bumble Bee in Denmark and I can quite see why: it really does sound like a very large Bumble Bee when you are on board. It goes very well and the engine pulls strongly up to about 55mph, the bike will go faster but it isn’t recommended for any length of time. If I had to sum up how the Nimbus rides and goes I would say she feels similar to a souped up Honda 90 which, imho, is quite a good thing. It is perfect for small roads and a hoot to ride really. I won’t go far this Winter but come the Spring………..
The Mighty Nimbus
750cc inline four
The seats are sprung with big rubber bands and are more comfy then they look, not quite Corbin but OK. You can adjust the bouncyness by moving your weight on them: the further back you sit, the more you bounce
The Bike had its original historic Number Plate in Denmark which showed a hand with an eye in the palm. Apparently this symbol was unique to the Copenhagen Police (the bike was first registered in Copenhagen) who were an independent force back in 1948 and were in charge of issuing Number Plates. It is probably meant to represent the strong hand of the Police watching out for You but it seems a bit Masonic to me.
Anyway, that’s the story so far. Just need some sunshine now to do some Happy Nimbus-ing
Can't put my finger on WHY, but i think this is a VERY handsome bike......it reminds me of a proud old Hector dog 
With that flat plate construction Andy, does it rock a bit?
Feels like the engine would almost sway in its cradle.
With that flat plate construction Andy, does it rock a bit?
Feels like the engine would almost sway in its cradle.
Can't put my finger on WHY, but i think this is a VERY handsome bike......it reminds me of a proud old Hector dog
With that flat plate construction Andy, does it rock a bit?
Feels like the engine would almost sway in its cradle.
The frame looks like it is from a recycled garden gate Bill but it feels quite rigid during ordinary riding. The whole package actually works quite well, I can see why they left the design as it was after doing 30 miles on her today.
Deleted account 211025001
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That's beautiful Devon, really beautiful!
Andres
Andres
Thank's Andres, I have sold a few things lately and it means I am fortunate enough to get a couple of the bikes I have wanted for a while. The Nimbus really is a lovely little machine, even seeing the valves operating when the engine is running is a pleasure
Golom would say breadses
steveindenmark
Registered user
I have lots of photos of the Nimbus bikes. Being Danish made, they are obviously very popular in Denmark. There is a very active club here and guys are still using them to RTW without any problems.
Steve
Steve
Another nice Nimbus. Sorry about the girl with the tats in the way
Does she get more bouncy the further back you go as well?
Good story, I thought the first line would be "as soon as I got home I transferred the money" but maybe that Nimbus is as free as a cloud.
ahutcheon
Registered user
Saw a well used (and far from clean) Nimbus parked at the side of the fire brigade stand at the Brighton gala day a month or so back. That's Brighton down the coast from Dunedin, NZ. Looked like somebody had ridden it there as transport, hadn't seen a polishing cloth this decade.
Apropos nothing except that it was 'cos of this thread I recognised it. No pictures 'cos I had pedalled down to see what was going on and didn't even have a phone with me. Great to see the old thing still being used.
Apropos nothing except that it was 'cos of this thread I recognised it. No pictures 'cos I had pedalled down to see what was going on and didn't even have a phone with me. Great to see the old thing still being used.
Last edited:
deaninkl
Registered user
a few months back (somewhere) I came across a blog of an old Aussie guy who was riding one of these from Oz to the UK, I think he is currently still on the road. The bike was an oily rag, but he'd had no mechanical problems between Oz and India, of course every day he tinkered with something..but it was working fine. I'll hunt the link out if I can.
