The James Cycle Co Ltd., Greet

Greet, Birmingham

Greet is a historical area in south Birmingham, England, around modern Sparkhill.Now a name obsolete in addresses, Greet, meaning "gravel" ", was one of the medieval manors around Birmingham on the eastern gravelly slopes of the sandstone ridge which runs through central Birmingham...

, Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England, was one of many famous British cycle and motorcycle makers centred around the English Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

, particularly Birmingham. Most of their light motorcycles used Villiers

Villiers Engineering

Villiers Engineering was a manufacturer of motorcycles and cycle parts, and an engineering company based in Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, England....

 and later AMC two-stroke engines.

James was taken over by Associated Motor Cycles

Associated Motor Cycles

Associated Motor Cycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded by the Collier brothers as a parent company for the Matchless and AJS motorcycle companies...

 in 1951 and combined with Francis Barnett in 1957.

James were prolific bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers from 1897 to 1966, when they became casualties of the decline in the British motorcycle industry under pressure from Japanese imports.

Models

James produced the 98 cc Autocycle

James Autocycle

The James Autocycle was a 98 cubic centimetre, two-stroke, autocycle manufactured by the James Cycle Co from 1946-1953.A pre-World War II design, the autocycle continued in production through late 1953 with a Villiers Engineering Junior De Luxe 98 cubic centimetre engine in a typical autocycle frame...

, 125 cc Comet and Commodore, a number of Captains, Trials and Scrambles bikes.