James started out as a bicycle firm in Birmingham England, founded by Harry James in 1880, moving to a larger premise in 1890 and going public in 1897. Their first motorcycles in 1902 used Belgian Minerva and FN engines, but they made their own engine in 1908 and their own two-stroke in 1913. They started building four-stroke singles and large V-twins in the 1930s but went back to lightweights before the war. Production continued into the 1960s, based on two-strokes, notably the 250cc Commodore and the twin Superswift. They built the first internally-expanding brakes in 1908.The wheels look good and are wrapped with older 3.25 - 19 Dunlop tires that do show there age and some minor cracking. The current mileage shows 16,007 and we are not certain on how accurate it is. The VIN number is AS0074. The bike is being sold on a Missouri title. James took over the Baker motorcycle company in 1931 (its founder built the first Villiers engines). About 300 Model ML (Military Lightweight, 125cc) James were used on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. About 6,000 motorcycles were produced in WW2 for the Allies. After the war, they reverted back to Villiers engines. The company was acquired by AMC in 1951 (47?) and ceased production in 1964, disappearing when AMC folded in 1966.