There were lots of design features that made a Nimbus pretty special besides being Danish like an inline 750cc four-cylinder mounted longitudinally in the flat metal strapping (or what appears to be metal strapping) frame. Actually, there’s a lot of flat metal used throughout the bike instead of castings or tubing including those wild handlebars that were probably never conceived to be wild, but are anyway. For a motorcycle that first went into limited production way back in 1920, there were a few other little items we take for granted now like a driveshaft and a hydraulic fork, but there’s something else that take the Nimbus just a little over the top, but in a good way.

  That little something else is not unique to this brand, but it was probably a lot longer lasting design signature than anybody else’s. For you fans of open primaries, this is right up your mechanical alley and it’s something that takes me back to a plastic model I built in the ‘60s, Revell’s fantastic Visible V8. That little mini V8 unlocked what was going on inside an engine to my ten-year-old mind with it’s transparent block and heads allowing you to see the parts in coordinated motion doing its version of a water ballet. If you haven’t figured out what I’m referring to on this bike, well I won’t pass judgment, but I will point out it’s the open valves sticking out of the head. Firing this baby up and watching the rockers, springs, and valves do their little dance is mesmerizing.

   John is not the only Nimbus freak out there as approximately two-thirds of the total 12,000 produced are still either on the road or in museums and collections worldwide. This favorite bike of sidecarists (another total form of motorcycle freakdom for another day) was not only easy to work on, reliable, and strangely, with parts readily available, continues to have a loyal following of fans that’s stronger than when this bike was still in production. Hey, even big time Harley dealer and unapologetic speed freak, Mark Barnett, fell under the spell of eight valves-a-dancing and had one around for novelty use. There was never a time that it failed to gather a huge crowd whenever it was running in the dealership like it was some kind of motorcycle porn. I guess watching a naked valve train do its thing is not something you see everyday. If you ever get a chance to see the dance yourself, you might just become a Nimbus fan too.