Vintage Thing No.90 - "Jimmy" James 500 vee-twin

At first I thought this was a very rare Husqvarna vee twin but then I saw the tank badge.

I've just got back from this year's Goodwood Revival and this machine is the one that made most of an impression on me, despite the great and the good and the presence of many other thoroughbred racing machines.

This James vee-twin was propped up outside one of the "member's only" pavilions that blight the Goodwood Revival for the ordinary enthusiast. I stopped and stared and so did another chap in RAF uniform. He had a two-stroke James and an MAC Velocette and this machine had stopped him in his tracks. neither of us was aware that James had ever made such a machine and it occurred to me that maybe it was a "special" using a JAP engine. The only thing was, it looked like a production bike and had that well-used and well-loved patina that you can't fake.


As soon as I got home I did some ferreting around in the Boogie Wundaland archives (this is a joke name I'm a punk rocker really) and found out that this was a gen-ooo-ine "Jimmy" James vee twin (Jimmy, Jimmy, ooh!).

Best of all, these engines were designed in house by the James Cycle Company, which explains the lack of any JAP logos. These little vee twins - they displaced 499c - were successful in speedway and trials, becoming highly regarded by a select few, which included VMCC luminary Titch Allen, but they never really captured the public's imagination and the decision to concentrate on Villiers two-stroke powered lightweights saved the company during the lean years of the thirties.

I find it interesting that the man behind this policy of switching to proprietary Villiers two-stroke engines was  F E Baker, designer of the Baker motorcycle, which was bought by James in 1930. He was also a pioneer engine manufacturer with interests in Beardmore and Precision engines. Maybe he had learnt the futility of engine manufacture. Posterity showed, however, that from a business point of view he made the right decision.

Patina!

This overhead valve design has its roots in vintage side valve 500 vee twins. By 1929 they had four speed boxes but for some reason reverted to a three speed in 1930 with the four speed as an option. The whole thing was James designed and built apart from the carb and magneto and therein lies its charm and vulnerability in post depression Britain.

Being too much of an oik to get on the other side of the picket fence, I cunningly used my digital camera to thwart the establishment, outwit the bowler-hatted bouncers and get this shot of the drive side arrangements of this lovely old bike.

The overhead valve vee twins were discontinued in 1932 although the side valve machines soldiered on until 1935. Both types shared a bore and stroke of 64 x 77.7mm, dimensions that were shared with the ohv and sv 250 singles. I admit to not knowing when these vintage machines were introduced but they were in production in 1929 and carried the model designation of B1 in 1930, C1 in '31 and bowed out in 1932 as a D1, which suggested strongly to me that they were made for four years.

Wadding on the lower frame rails might suggest an oil leak but also that it was ridden to Goodwood.

The more I look at the engine its vintage architecture becomes apparent and I agreed with my fellow admirer that this was the bike that I like to take home the most, despite a plethora of very nice Tritons.

But I would like to know the design story behind this and the overhead valve four stroke singles such as who designed them, why were they like this and how were they built. If I'd built my engine it would have Robert all over it but the "Jimmy" James is more discreet - too discreet even.