High Speed Engineering
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About Johnnybaja

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I grew up in the family business of producing aluminum & zinc die cast products since 1974. My late father, Robert, was a great man and taught my brother and I what he knew and he gave us a good life with lots of time spent together before his passing in 1987. He taught us that nothing comes easy, and if you want it, you earn it! From then on until 1996, my brother, Jeff, and I continued to cast parts and run a shop of 65 employees. 
In mid 1996, I moved on and went to work for FMF Racing (manufacturer of motorcycle pipes). R&D was my specialty and I was put in charge of manufacturing. In early 1998, I was lured away from FMF by American Aircraft Products to work full time in the aerospace industry, again in R&D, automating machinery and keeping the entire mechanical part of that business alive. In 2002, I decided to go on my own full time, building up my own company, High Speed Engineering.

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started High Speed Engineering back in 1997 and in 1999 opened a small shop as a side business.  I was a bachelor then, so I made the shop my home. I lived and worked there on my own projects and side jobs after my day job and went to auctions when I could. Auctions intrigued me, as I had been going to them since I was a kid and knew their potential. I started to buy and sell full time. By the end of 2006, I had moved to Oregon, opened up a new shop and on 7-7-07, I married my high school sweetheart, Harriet. (She is truly the best wife I could ever ask for.  I love her very much!). I have been to over 600 auctions and have bought and sold so many things from so many different industries, it boggles my mind.  I have a vast mechanical ability and have been exposed to a wide variety of machinery and mechanical challenges and have used all that I know to expand my manufacturing ability and create many of my own products seen here on this site.

I am known as "JOHNNYBAJA" and got that name from my good friend, Keith Brown. The name was for all of the racing in Mexico on ATV's (Quads) in the Baja 1000 and Baja 500 from 1987-1998. My brother, Jeff, and I, along with our team, won the 1000 to La Paz 3 times in a row (1992, 1995, & 1998). Back then they only ran to La Paz every 3 years. We also won the BAJA 500 OVERALL ATV twice (1993 & 1995), along with four SCORE off road championships. We earned full sponsorship from American Honda for the 1998 Baja 1000 on the all new 400EX. We became the first  4-stroke ATV to overall a Baja 1000 for ATV's. Those racing days are in the past, but we lived our dreams of winning Baja. Those races were Extreme and Very Intense. They taught us a lot about life and chasing BIG dreams. Many of our wins in Baja took us to the ragged edge, many times within the last 1/2 hour, Pushing us to our limits and beyond. Baja makes you earn it every time!
"If you want to win BIG, there will be BIG RISK involved."
 NEVER QUIT!  

You can find me on Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist or by word of mouth and through this website.
Feel free to contact me for any questions and thanks for getting to know a little bit about me. John Courts,  AKA Johnnybaja


Click the link below to go direct to my YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj2KMIUxsvICZK8ONqbCOCA
  Run cursor over pictures below to read about or
        Double click to see full view.
K&N sponsorship ad 1998. My brother Jeff is pictured here.
1998 Baja 1000 I am About 40 miles from LaPaz. The new Honda 400 EX ran stronger at the finish than at the start, It was bullet proof and put through hell to prove it!
CLICK TO OPEN! This is my most favorite of all my racing pictures. Left hand up & 3 fingers! Our 3rd straight Baja 1000 win to LaPaz, 5 miles from finish line in 1998. American Honda told us "Just get it to the finish." They did not expect an overall ATV win. Honda also won 1st overall for bikes with Johnny Campbell. To this day, this race and our first Baja 1000 win in 1992 are the finest moments of all our racing. The older I get the more I can appreciate what we had actually accomplished. This picture is dedicated to my DAD. This one's for you! :)
1987 Our Honda 250R after our first Baja 1000. broke the frame in 1/2 and took an hour to weld it up & Finished 2nd. 30 minutes behind 1st. Three wheelers were banned from racing Baja after this race, so we moved on to quads.
1987 Rosarito, Mexico, Gran Prix. 100 miles long. 1st place overall three wheeler. I crashed in the second turn of this race and had to come from dead last to win it. Total exhaustion!
Photo shoot for Arctic Cat at Pismo Beach 2005. This was to promote the 2006 models that were soon to come.
1994 Baja 1000 El Alamo jump going flat out!
1994 Baja 500 with our team & Donny Emler, Owner FMF racing.
Built this in 1994 You could see it coming a mile away! It took 400 man hours to build our quads and prep for the 1000, That does not include prerunning.
At Glamis Dunes 1983
I built this CZ 400 three wheeler in 1982. I was 19 years old at the time. It was set up to race desert enduros and for duning.
Just starting one of many enduro's, 1982 era
1992 Baja 500. Headed for the coast from Valle De Trinidad on our new Doug Roll 4-Trax.
1991 San Felipe 250. Headed for Zoo Road pit stop at FULL Speed! Click here to watch Youtube video.
K&N Sponsorship ad - 1998
TEAM KWIK RACING R.I.P. Gunars Heine
My brother and I at Riverside. 1987
1987 Score World Championships Riverside Ca.
I built this in 1983 for the CZ World Championships. It is a CZ 250 Falta water cooled, 5 speed, stuck into a 1983 Yz125j. Very unique and its sole purpose was only to race the CZ championships. CZ was not in production with water cooled motocross bikes at that time. This was my own creation and one of a kind. I was able to win the unlimited pro class in 1989 and 2003.
1993 Baja 1000 coming into Borrego junction pits.
1995 Baja 500, Won it! Overall ATV. This is FLAT OUT & headed for the finish at Santo Tomas! I had chased Dean Sundahl for an hour before this photo, Beat him out of my last pit stop, then he chased me to the finish. It was one of the the hardest times I ever had to race, I was maxed out. Dean blew his Banshee up ? just before the finish on top of the mountain in Santo Thomas, But I did not know that until later on, after I crossed the finish line.
Blythe Ca. Moto cross DANGEROUS PLACE!
1993 Baja 1000
1981 Cz World Championships Saddleback park Ca.
1983 CZ World championships, Saddleback park CA.
1992 Baja 1000 Awards ceremony
1992 Baja 1000 to LaPaz, El Alamo jump
1993 Baja racer ready to go back together.
My brother Jeff on the start line with Rival Greg Row staged behind.
1993 Lucerne Valley Ca. Was stuck in 3rd gear for the entire race, screamed it for hours and ended up winning.
1993 Parker 400
1990 Baja 500
1992 Baja racer with all the spare parts and tools we carried.
1998 T-shirt, Sums up the 3 Baja 1000 wins.
American Honda's lobby after the 1998 Baja 1000. Johnny Campbell = 1st O/A Team Kwik = 1st O/A ATV
T-shirt Our Baja victories!
I could write a book on all the stories that sit in this cabinet, They are unbelievable!
About 60 blown pistons from pushing them beyond their limits, many top ends were done solo in the middle of nowhere, in silt beds, on dry lakes, beaches etc. A full piston swap was done in 35 Minutes solo, in the pits it was 15-20 minutes with crew.
I'm still sore from these races :)

The 1993 Baja 1000 Silt Bed Sanded Piston Story!           TEAM KWIK ATV SCORE CHAMPIONS

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         Piston on left is the blown one, Piston on foot peg was hand sanded, Sanding belt on right.
John Courts
High Speed Engineering
508 SE. Mill St. #3
Dallas, OR 97338
Pacific time only! Phone: (310) 717-1514 
Fax: (503) 623-2012
Email: [email protected]

Ebay user name: highspeedengineering
Amazon user name: highspeedengineering

YouTube user name: johnnybaja1000
  • Store
  • About Johnnybaja
    • Past projects
    • Our work
    • Contact
    • FAQ
  • Sa-200 Electric Idler Schematic
  • Lincoln Welder Age Chart