This is a standard JIMS polished 6-speed transmission going together in the assembly department.

JIMS precision grinder, grinding bearing dimensions on a transmission countershaft. What appears to be water splashing down is actually machine coolant keeping the part and machine cool.

JIMS only uses custom-ordered American steel, poured to their specifications. These are blank gear forgings staged to go into a machine.

JIMS Automated milling department. This is 1 of 2 Toyoda Milling centers that can operate unmanned. This photo illustrates JIMS motor manufacturing.

ost Harley-Davidson riders, and certainly most Harley mechanics, are familiar with JIMS. Since 1967 this Camarillo, California, company has supplied what’s needed to not only keep a Harley running, but keep it running strong. The JIMS FatBook listings run for two full columns in the index, listing everything from tools to transmissions to just about any engine part you can name. And the good stuff keeps coming.
     Jim Thiessen, a machinist from the aerospace industry, started the business that bears his name in capital letters when he and his friends went looking for parts for their Harleys and couldn’t find what they needed. Setting up shop in a small industrial building and using surplus equipment he bought in Los Angeles, a manual mill and a manual lathe, Jim started making crank pins and sprocket shafts and pinion shafts. It wasn’t long before word got out that these replacement parts were available, and more than that, they were high-quality, better than stock. Before long JIMS started making specialty tools for Harley-Davidsons, too, things like cam bearing pullers, shift-fork alignment tools and the like. A few of the original parts distributors of the day, guys like Gary Bang and Tedd from V-Twin, took note and asked for all these things, too. The JIMS product line, such as it was back in the beginning, was built on quality and word-of-mouth.
     Today JIMS is just a little bit bigger, and the quality is better than ever. That little start-up operation now occupies five buildings and employs 135 people. Jim Thiessen’s picked up a few new machines along the way, as well, things like a 24-hour-a-day robotic palette changing system put online primarily to produce JIMS new complete engines. JIMS makes a whole line of transmissions now, too, and of course there’s that assortment of specialty tools, just like in the beginning.      This is still a family run business, too. Three of Jim’s kids now work in the business, right alongside their dad.
And JIMS is a racing company, proudly sponsoring the AHDRA’s Pro-Fuel and Jr/.Sr. Classes. No surprise there. Almost from the start Jim Thiessen used the track as a test bed, as the company motto attests. “From the track...To the street!” isn’t just a phrase in Camarillo. A big portion of JIMS R&D is done on the track, testing and evaluating new parts for everything from street motors to nitro-swilling Top Fuelers. As they say, “When the smoke clears and the clock has broken a record–you can bet that JIMS was somewhere behind it!”
     You can count on JIMS being somewhere behind plenty of repair and service work back in the shop, too. Harley specialty tools are a huge part of JIMS product line, and new ones are constantly developed as JIMS keeps pace with changing times and changing Harleys. Take a look at some of the latest . . .

JIMS TWIN CAM CASE BORING TOOLS
     New for 2005, JIMS has case boring tools to really cut down the time spent boring Evo and Twin Cam cases for big-bore cylinders, up to 4 1/8-in. bore now. The base fixture cradles and indexes the cylinder deck surfaces perpendicular to the base for both “Alpha” and “Beta” Twin Cam cases, and the boring assembly mounts directly to the case. It’s designed to be powered by most commercial-grade 15-in. drill presses and each kit comes complete with the base fixture, boring assembly, cutters and instructions.

JIMS NEW FORK TOOLS
     JIMS new fork tube compressor tool is a must for anyone overhauling or doing a re-valve on a cartridge style fork. This tool is tough. It’s manufactured from square tubing with a precision CNC machined spring perch and robust hardware. Another new fork tool is JIMS fork tube holder, a padded aluminum vise fixture that’ll free up your hands while you work. JIMS also has a new fork spring retainer tool for removing pre-‘73 spring retainers without damaging the retainer or the housing. Check them all out at Drag Specialties. They’re continuing the quality tradition.