In July '06 APE moved into their state of the art performance center at the legendary Willow Springs Raceway in eastern Kern County California.

After years on having out grown the previous facility in Burbank, California, the decision was made to dramatically increase the facility size to take advantage of the rapid growth the company has experienced.

The new purpose built facility houses a CNC manufacturing wing, as well as sales and warehouse space. This new space has allowed us to increase our personal to offer faster service to the racing community.

Then there is the race track. What can we say about working with the back door open as Porsche is testing the ALS Spyders , or Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki is testing their latest racers. All right in our back yard. The race facility has seven different race tracks and there is always something exciting going on.

If you ever make it out to Willow, please do drop in for a visit

APE operates one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities devoted exclusively to racing components for Japanese motorcycles. In the beginning, APE manufactured aerospace parts as their main product line and motorcycle parts were a sideline. The racing products were manufactured to the same precise quality demands as the aerospace parts. This quality soon led to the use of APE products by the top racers world wide. Seven years ago, APE dropped the aerospace product line to devote all of it's focus on the demand for it's racing products. Many of the aspects of the aerospace business is now incorporated in the racing parts line. This includes the use of state of the art computerized CNC ( computer numerical control ) machinery.

Using computer controlled machines, APE is able to produce products with extreme accuracy that racers can depend on. Perfect fit, perfect function. Product cost can also be kept down because of the machines accurate production. APE programmers use a sophisticated CAD/CAM system to design products and program the machines to produce them. With this capability, sophisticated parts can me manufactured with no variances.

The Haas VF-OE and VF-2 CNC machining centers feature all of the latest features available in a CNC. The 20 hp machine with an oil mist lubricated spindle allows for very high machining speeds.

Jay Eshbach, APE president states that the company is continually exploring ways to increase production which allows prices to remain unchanged. "I am often asked how we can still sell adjustable cam sprockets and starter plates for the same price we did four years ago? The answer is that we make many more per hour than we did four years ago. This way we can build the necessary increases in net revenue, build higher quality products, without having to charge more for them".

Our machine shop has always featured high tech machinery, including HAAS ST10s, ST15 , SL10 lathes, and VF series machining centers. These machines are used for all APE's turning machining including our titanium valve spring retainers. No other company in the motorcycle industry manufactures, in house, a larger selection of titanium retainers than APE. Besides retainers, the turning centers are also used to make valve seats, cam sprockets, manual cam chain tensioners, clutch hub nuts, wrist pins, and other products

CYLINDER CENTER

APE is recognized as one of the leading suppliers of racing pistons for motorcycles. With over 22 years experience setting up cylinder assemblies, APE has developed a skill that allows them to provide the top of the line boring and honing for all makes. Cylinder boring is done on super precision Kwik Way boring bars. These bars locate the cylinder on the bottom surface to assure bores that are dead square to the crankshaft. These machines bore with very smooth surface finishes and perfectly straight and round.

The next step is the hone finish. APE does not use hand hones or bottle brush hones. All honing is done on a state of the art power stroke honing machine. This machine features micro processor adjustable cross hatching. The honing process from the bored surface to the final finish uses multiple stones. ( This is as specific as we will get about this ).

Over the years, APE has developed cylinder wall finishes that promote excellent ring seating and long piston and ring life.

The APE machine shop can handle all of your machining needs including upper case boring for larger sleeves. Resleeving, both stock and big bore. Visit APE's machine services to see all cylinder services available.