Are you familiar with Nimbus? In this case, we’re not talking about the electric autocycle manufacturer, but the 20th century motorcycle manufacturer. Like so many early motorcycle manufacturers, the roots of what eventually became Nimbus began their growth in other sectors first.
While Ducati may have started with radio equipment, Nimbus started life as Nilfisk. That firm was an electric motor and vacuum cleaner concern, and one that took its name from the surnames of its two founders, H.M. Nielsen and Peder Andersen Fisker. As motorcycles began to rise in popularity, Fisker hopped aboard that shiny new vehicle train in 1918 and developed the first Nimbus motorcycle prototype. Fast forward to 1934, and the company would go on to introduce its most popular and long-lasting model, the Type C.
The shaft-driven machine started out making around 18 horsepower, eventually rising to the lofty heights of 22 horsepower in later iterations. Top speed was 75 miles per hour. The Nimbus Type C proved popular in military and governmental use, as contract vehicles with the Danish post office, army, and police forces. At the same time, it was also a solid all-around bike for civilian use within the country—but the company decided not to export it elsewhere, so that’s where its popularity (mostly) remained.
Gallery: Nimbus Motorcycles Denmark
It’s 2023, though—and if you think that everything old is new again, well, that’s because sooner or later, it probably will be. Unsurprisingly, Nimbus is remembered fondly by many fans in Denmark, as well as collectors elsewhere—because if there’s one thing collectors and enthusiasts love, it’s when a bike really makes you work to get your hands on it. Telling some collectors about a rare bike that you can only see once a year on a remote mountaintop somewhere is almost like catnip. It should come as no surprise, then, that Nimbus bikes have a select group of fans outside of Denmark, too.
Nimbus Reborn
Back in 2014, a Danish entrepreneur named Claus Støvlbæk Clausen practically saw it as his duty to honor the Nimbus name by reviving it as a proud symbol of Danish innovation, as well as its technological and design heritage. He told the Copenhagen Post that he first got the idea where most people get their best brainstorms: In the shower. So, he phoned up Nilfisk-Advance, which owned all the rights, and inquired as to what it would take to purchase them.
In a prime example of not giving up, he found that Nilfisk-Advance had plans to sell them to someone else—but fortunately for Clausen, that deal ended up falling through. After subsequent meetings, Clausen soon found himself coming away with exactly what he’d hoped for: shiny, complete Nimbus trademark and technology rights.
While he’d initially hoped to secure funds from investors to begin rolling out new Nimbuses as early as 2015, that plan didn’t materialize. Still, as we’ve already seen in this story, Clausen was determined to make it happen, even if it took a little longer to accomplish. He called on the design firm 3Part, and through their collaboration, this electric design came into being. Drawing upon the character of the Type C but reinterpreting it as an electric bike was a priority.
“It is with great humility and respect that we have agreed to be birth attendants in the development process, which will lead to a relaunch of the Nimbus motorcycle,” 3Part founding partner and CEO Simon Skafdrup wrote.
“I compare it with standing with the potential some Italians saw years ago, with grabbing the original FIAT 500 drawings and bringing the model back into the present. Incidentally launched in a pure electric version recently. There is a strong DNA and countless design details to take as a starting point, so our role on the design team may be more to select, focus and refine than it will be to find something new,” he continued.
Both a Nimbus electric motorcycle and a Nimbus electric bicycle are currently planned by the firm, with the motorcycle to hopefully begin production in or around 2025. There’s also been talk of a sidecar, as was previously in use with the Type C—but so far, no designs have been released regarding that development. As and when we learn more, we’ll of course be sure to keep you updated. What do you think of what you've seen so far?
