The James motorcycle
by Steve Myatt

The James motorcycle - or the company insisted on calling them, the 'Famous James' - was one of the mainstays of the British bike market. Steven Myatt met up with an enthusiast who knows them better than most.

A haunted motorcycle? Yes, a haunted motorcycle! It's been exorcised though.

Meet the James Gang; a bunch of desperadoes – albeit charming desperadoes – who will stop at nothing to acquire, preserve and restore machinery made by the eponymous Birmingham manufacturer, and research any and every detail of the firm’s history.
First up there’s Mike Berrie – an engineer by trade – and his mate Wayne. Then there’s Mike’s girlfriend Loretta Jameson and, just there for the ride and the sarnies, Mike’s mum. Between them they’ve probably done more than anyone to bring old James bikes back to life, and keep the marque’s spirit alive. They scour the known world, picking up whole bikes, bits of bikes, bits of bits, or just documents and information – anything which relates to the James Motorcycle Company.
The firm was founded in 1896, by one Henry William James of Sparkbrook in Birmingham, and his business partner Charles Judson – who was a wholesale fish merchant. Henry was universally known as Harry. The following year an investor’s deed was drawn up and the other investing directors were an accountant, a solicitor, and a solicitor’s clerk (curiously).
A new face came to the board room soon after; Fred Kimberley, who pioneered powered bicycles within the company, and would soon take over the running of the firm.
The first powered bike dated from 1901 but in later years the company celebrated 1902 as the start of its ‘real’ bikes. A one horsepower Minerva engine was bolted into the bicycle’s frame and that drove a fiction roller which made contact with the rear wheel just under the saddle. A lever lifted the roller to disengage the drive. The next model was powered by a 500cc (!) Werner engine turning a v-section final drive belt. This was the ‘Safety Model’ which was in production by 1910.
Like so many other West Midlands-based motorcycle manufacturers, James grew in both size and reputation through the first half of the Twentieth century – and unlike many others still made push bikes. The company’s niche was to be economical but reliable commuter machines (though with some pretensions towards touring – especially as they also made sidecars). The firm soon adopted Villiers engines, and these reliable and hardy power-plants were to be their mainstay for many years.
The bikes were promoted during and after WWII with a cheery chappie called Jimmy James, who beams out of period adverts. Dressed in sensible trousers (with turn-ups, of course) suede lace-ups, chunky gauntlets and a long stripy scarf, he can go anywhere and do anything now that’s bought a James. The ads included some memorable straplines, such as ‘Won’t Win The TT!’ and ‘Will Do All That The Heavier Machines Will Do – Except High Speed.’ Refreshingly honest.
Even earlier the company’s marketing chap decided that just being called ‘The James’ wasn’t nearly good enough, and gave the range instant authority by cheekily renaming the bikes ‘The Famous James’. And so they remained.
The company was good at publicity; they were keen to enter their bikes in reliability trials (and publicise the results) and eagerly accepted challenges to prove their claims for the bikes’ fuel economy.