Make: JAMES
Model: CAPTAIN
Registration: 268 XVY
Engine Size (cc): 197
Year of Manufacture: 1954
Date First Registered: 25/06/1954
Current V5: YES
Location: PICKERING
Guide Price: SUBMIT BEST BID
You can view from: Monday 27 January - Tuesday 4 February 2025

Current V5 present. Paperwork includes a previous V5 and a folder of invoices.

The highest bid at the end of the auction will be submitted to the vendor for their consideration.

The vendor has provided the following:

The vendor of this 1954 James Captain is the Bangers & Cash Restoring Classics team. They write:

James is one of the oldest British Motorcycle Marques, in fact the company was founded in 1880 to build a Penny-Farthing bicycle! So when such a rich piece of history was going under the hammer in Mathewsons back in February 2024 we thought it might be a good one for us to take on and breathe some modern life into it…despite Derek’s warnings.

We took it away for the fair price of £1500 and sent it to our 2-wheeled wizarding friends, Rob Carter & Brian Gould who have taken on a decent selection of bike restorations so far for us. Though this one seemed a little trickier than most and the restoration process rang true of ‘the more you look, the more you find’, it probably would’ve been easier to look the other way in the first place.

Though not ones to be defeated, work continued for a long 9 months on the bike and what we have now is a very lovely, shiny, usable James Captain.

Work included:

• Full strip down of the bike - bare metalling the frame, swinging arm and stand (it had lots of paint layers from previous lives)
• Forks out and rebuilt bearings
• New oil in the forks
• New battery
• New chain
• New inner tubes and rim tapes
• Full wheel rebuild with new spokes handmade (big wheels!)
• Reproduction tail light
• New front number plate
• Tank, mudguard and tool boxes painted in two-pack
• Frame forks painted into original cellulose like new
• Reconditioned seat including all new sponge and seat cover
• Rechromed handlebars, levers, headlamps surround, kickstart and gearchange
• New front pipe and silencers made by Armours in Bournemouth
• Rear section wiring loom
• Full service new plugs and ht caps
• Full rebuild

We have not MOT’d this vehicle and would suggest for the new owner to do this before riding it on the open road for peace of mind.

Please Note: We take great pride in restoring our vehicles but they are classics and will no doubt have imperfections. Please do your own checks before bidding.