Sorry for such a long post. First time I've used Jim Haeseker for his motor services on my boy's 2020 125sx. Thought I'd leave my impressions. I've used Eric Gorr and Max Power before on restorations (05 RM144 by gore) and s 112 Supermini build (Max Power) that ripped.
Motor had 90 hours and was getting tired. Sent it off for a full overhaul. He did crank, all bearings and seals, reeds, top end, some power valve mods, carb overhaul and set it up for the RK Tek insert and 100 octane we run. Goal was good power and 20 hour pistons. He recommended against porting with the stock carb (runs well thanks to AJ's jetting thread here) cause it can make it harder to jet. Run a Keihen if you want to port.
Got it back in 5 weeks. Sent Dec 7th, got it January 12th. We talked several times during the build, and he helped me save about $500. Said no need to replate, and let me buy my parts local (no sales tax and I have a buddy at the shop) een giving me an accurate list of all the OEM parts he needed. Described what he found, made sure he understood where I wanted to go, was very thorough in his approach. Clearly a busy guy with A1 3 weeks away, he still took time to call ME when he had a question.
Super well packed, it'd all been vapor honed and looked awesome. We installed it last weekend, broke it in per our usual (2 heat cycles, then a light load ride around the neighborhood) and took it to Woodland MX today to test it. Whole bike had been framed and had fresh bearings and suspension too so real breakin rider!
Boy came back and said it was really snappy. I watched and it was. He hadn't ridden in 6 weeks so it was a little tough but by session 3 he was starting to groove on it. Bike sounded really crisp and it was making a lot of good power. I'd call it a mild mod motor. Very impressed so far by the whole experience. We will see how it holds up.
Solid review. Thanks for the feedback. I definitely am considering using them for my motor, I live about an hour and a half from their shop. How was pricing if you don’t mind me asking? Reasonable?
are pics upside down here a thing? 0o
Something’s changed. Posted 100s of photos here never had this happen. They are fine on my phone and laptop.
I’d say so. $85/hour shop rate. That’s less than some local shops charge for hack work. I do 95% of my own work so am a bit tight. This was worth it.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
In the last few days, quite a few pictures have been appearing upside down for some reason.
No idea what's causing it, but I don't think it's a user error. If it was just the one member, maybe, but it's several members.
Australian IP address?
I will chime in as I had Jim (Haeseker Racing Engines) rebuild and mod my 22 KTM-150 motor mid last year and have loved his work, attention to detail and how he takes the time to speak with you and figure out what you are looking to achieve. My buddy Pasha also had Jim do one of his KTM150’s for the recent Motocross Action 150 Shootout, plenty of additional Haeseker details in the shootout. I will also say that Jim does his mod motors with a focus on ridability and reliability, not a violent or explosive powerband and motor that needs to be rebuilt constantly.
I was super impressed with the motor and the overall clean running and expanded power throughout. The bike now has better bottom end and pulls to the moon without the flattening out that it previously had. The midrange is strong like it was stock but just more crisp throughout with a bigger hit which works great for the hills of Glen Helen. We are also running the Lectron Billetron 38 carb with great results and easy adjustments. I have raced with his motor at Glen Helen for a couple of the Pasha 125 rounds as well as in Idaho at an NGPC Grand Prix round with simple gearing and carb adjustments.
Again, my experience has been great and I can’t say enough good things about Jim as he took the time to call me before, during and after to get my feedback and input on how the bike performs.
Attention to detail in spades!!!
Jim is one of the best in the industry
What was the total for the rebuild if you don't mind sharing?
MXA did a cool shootout test for Pasha....building 3 KTM 150s all with identical parts. Only they used 3 different engine builders (but still using same internals)
Haeseker, Varner and Twisted Development.
Really cool article.
Call it $2k all in with shipping. More than half was parts as every bearing and seal was changed, plus a rebuilt 21 crank (Crank works in AZ - another great shop I've used multiple times). Jim put just less than 10 hours of labor on the worksheet so $800 or so there in that total.
Spent another $400 with Ride JBI to have the suspension redone. It's always the choice right - do you spend $2500-3000 on a full framed rebuild, or just buy fresh. We really like the 2020, it's been super reliable, and with this we will get another (final) year out of it before he goes to a 250. Dropping $7500 on a new 23 wasn't in the cards this year. We ride/race for fun not cause we think we are "pro" material.
Like I said, I do 95% of my own work. With 8 bikes in the garage I can't afford shop work. So I'm tight when it comes to sending things out for work, but in this case I feel I got what I paid for and I'm happy. We are racing it this weekend so we'll see how it works for real.
That doesn't seem bad at all, and looks great to boot lol. Sweet setup thanks for sharing
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen Jim or he’s worked on one of my bikes but, ironically, I found one of his old business cards the other day when I was cleaning out the garage and was wondering how he is doing.
I’m pretty sure it was right around the time he moved into his Academy Dr. shop and after I picked up the bike my dad had to explain to me what the word “meticulous” meant. 😂😂
My point is just that his quality of work now is probably as good or even better than it was then. I can’t imagine there is a work product much better than his, especially for how reasonable the price is.
Haeseker is the best as far as I'm concerned. Been using his services for many years, and he continues to step it up.
He's extremely anal about building motors that last, and his pricing is excellent, as well as communication and turn around time.
You know, for the first time ever, I am thinking of paying someone and this guy has good reputation in my local Bay Area, nor cal.
Thanks for sharing some positive experiences
This thread delivers. Good on him for being great a his craft and great with customers too.
Anybody used him for an Austrian 65? My son wants to try to qualify for mammoth this year..if he does I should probably get his cyl ported at least.
Pit Row
Little follow up after a race weekend with 8 motos in 2 days. My boy ran Schoolboy 2 and 125 Open as usual. On Sunday it was REALLY cold to start (26) so I went way big on the pilot (35) and main (520) to protect the motor. It ran flawlessly all weekend and made very good power. In moto 2 Sunday, they gated 125 Open with 250Int on one drop, 18 riders. JB beat all but 2 of the 250s so the bike is plenty fast. He has some advantage with 10 years race experience and a killer power-to-weight ratio (he's 110 lbs) but still, there were plenty of fast 250 guys out there and the 125 had no issues on the start or keeping up, on a sand track.
It's at 4 hours so this week I'll check the plug, retorque the jug and head, and do a compression test. Hope to get 20 hours out of the piston, and all season out of the motor.
I would have given Jim my business on a previous bike that I ended up selling. He was helpful when I called asking about my Yz running weird with all kinds of jetting changes.
Turns out, you can buy a nice looking and 'fully rebuilt' used bike with a fake Eric Gorr cylinder, so do your diligence boys
His engine pictures on Instagram never get old. That hourly rate is extremely reasonable, and he does Stankdogs engine work so you’re getting someone with a pretty proven track record for two strokes.
Yeah, his work with Stankdog was one reason we chose him. He knows the Austrian motors mild to wild. We lived near Sutter Creek for many years and he is well-known in the area, but this is the first big bike I've needed done. Never saw the reason to spend the $$$ on 50/65/85s at our level. It was worth it for the 105 Supermini I had Max Power do, and they did great work too, building a real powerhouse that changed how my boy performed.
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