Whatever happened to White Brothers?

BikeGuy321
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12/23/2018 3:00pm Edited Date/Time 1/2/2019 8:37am
White Brothers made a big splash back in the day with the Carbon Pro. Even HRC was rocking these bad boys instead of works pieces. For a couple years it seemed like Pro Circuit and FMF would have a new rival for the US market.

Another couple of years went by, and you hardly heard about them anymore. HuhBlink

4
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12/23/2018 3:03pm
I don’t know exactly what happened to the exhaust deal but they are now running Dubya wheels.
2
Forty
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12/23/2018 3:35pm
They couldn’t meet sound standards.

The Shop

12/23/2018 3:59pm
Spooner wrote:
Yep, then 2009 happened and it fizzled out after that.
Vance and Hines was a....Tucker Rocky? Brand that got dissolved.
Spooner
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12/23/2018 4:01pm Edited Date/Time 12/23/2018 4:02pm
Vance and Hines was a....Tucker Rocky? Brand that got dissolved.
They are still around and yes now under the same group as TR. Just no more moto stuff.
omalley
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12/23/2018 4:12pm
Those were LOUD. I had one on my 04 CRF450. Good power but obnoxious.
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BikeGuy321
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12/23/2018 4:25pm
omalley wrote:
Those were LOUD. I had one on my 04 CRF450. Good power but obnoxious.
DirtRider did a pipe comparison back then, and the Carbon Pro would have won, but they got disqualified for failing the sound test. I vaugely remember WB, Pro Circuit, and I think Yoshimura being super-loud in those days.
2
12/23/2018 4:54pm
White Bros was bought by MAG Corp. MAG drove it into the ground rather quickly, then closed the doors.
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Moto_Geek
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12/23/2018 4:58pm Edited Date/Time 12/23/2018 4:58pm
omalley wrote:
Those were LOUD. I had one on my 04 CRF450. Good power but obnoxious.
I'm pretty sure I lost hearing in my right ear running the white brothers carbon on my CRF450. People would not even want to ride behind me it was so loud. The pipe was such a sweet looking design.
2
Looby321
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12/23/2018 5:11pm
My buddy had a ‘06 CRF250R with a TMR big bore and that White Bros Carbon exhaust....had to ride with earplugs. Even louder than the PC exhausts back then that were stupid obnoxious.
T-Fish
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12/23/2018 5:27pm
I had the Yamaha Carbon Pro. Loudest exhaust I’ve ever had. It sure was sweet looking though!
1
barnett468
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12/23/2018 6:05pm
Sheriff245 wrote:
I don’t know exactly what happened to the exhaust deal but they are now running Dubya wheels.
"They" are not running Dubya wheels because Tom White is dead and because Dubya was started by Tom Whites daughter Kristen and her husband.

3
ccullins
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12/23/2018 6:06pm
White brothers where Tom and Dan. They sold the business and then never heard about the business again.

Tom helped his daughter and son in-law start Dubya wheels.

Tom passed away last year. He was a really good guy, still raced MX and was very involved in the industry pretty close to the time he passed.

Not sure where Dan went after the business was sold.
7
12/23/2018 6:10pm
What made the exhausts so loud back in the day?
TeamGreen
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12/23/2018 6:16pm
ccullins wrote:
White brothers where Tom and Dan. They sold the business and then never heard about the business again. Tom helped his daughter and son in-law start...
White brothers where Tom and Dan. They sold the business and then never heard about the business again.

Tom helped his daughter and son in-law start Dubya wheels.

Tom passed away last year. He was a really good guy, still raced MX and was very involved in the industry pretty close to the time he passed.

Not sure where Dan went after the business was sold.
Someone gets it right.

Thank you.
7
newmann
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12/23/2018 7:06pm
https://www.motosport.com/blog/qa-with-tom-white-racer-owner-founder-ha…

5. Then tragedy struck in 1997.

Brad was 18 at the time and had surpassed me on speed on the Motocross track. He was by best friend. Dan and I had just purchased a new building a few weeks before and I had moved the collection of 20 plus bike to the building. Brad drove his El Camino to the building on a late Sunday afternoon and was working on his favorite Honda XR75 mini bike. He took it for a test ride and didn't see the chain that a neighbor had put up to block what looked like an exit to the area. Saw it too late and it closed lined him, crushing his larynx.

6. Three years later you sold White Brothers. Was this to help with your son?

Absolutely. Also to take care of my wife Dani who was struggling. Personally, I was ready to move on with my life as the pressure of a nearly $40 million company was getting to me.

7. How is Brad doing today?

Though Brad is 100 percent disabled - blind, quadriplegia, can't eat or swallow - his mind is sound. We take care of him at home with the help of loving nurses 24/7 and 365 days a year for the last 19 years. He inspires us everyday and we believe he will outlive me and Dani.

8. You sold all of your bikes except three after Brad's accident. How many was that? Was it difficult to let them go?

I didn't sell all of them, just the valuable one's and my wife's '64 Mustang convertible. We got $13,000 for it and that paid for the Hyperbaric Chamber therapy. Didn't help him get better, but we had to try.
4
Forty
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12/23/2018 7:21pm
What made the exhausts so loud back in the day?
Basically a straight pipe. Cool looking but loud. Hurt your ears loud. An early aftermarket offering that For awhile was on every 4 stroke. Kevin Windham ran one on his 450.
barnett468
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12/23/2018 7:27pm
ccullins wrote:
White brothers where Tom and Dan. They sold the business and then never heard about the business again. Tom helped his daughter and son in-law start...
White brothers where Tom and Dan. They sold the business and then never heard about the business again.

Tom helped his daughter and son in-law start Dubya wheels.

Tom passed away last year. He was a really good guy, still raced MX and was very involved in the industry pretty close to the time he passed.

Not sure where Dan went after the business was sold.
TeamGreen wrote:
Someone gets it right.

Thank you.
you are welcome.
2
12/23/2018 7:33pm
Sheriff245 wrote:
I don’t know exactly what happened to the exhaust deal but they are now running Dubya wheels.
barnett468 wrote:
"They" are not running Dubya wheels because Tom White is dead and because Dubya was started by Tom Whites daughter Kristen and her husband.

Thanks for the clarification. I knew both companies were related, thought it was the same people.
OldPro277
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12/23/2018 7:40pm
newmann wrote:
Add this to the list of "a lot of MXA links lately". A little history for some of you.

https://motocrossactionmag.com/tom-white-21/
Thanks for posting that link Joe ,I remember reading that article and I also remember watching the video of Tom seeing and riding those few laps on that newly built Indian FTR . It was a very emotional scene, he was definitely one of the "good guys". It must have been posted on MXA's website as well.
2
Mr. Info
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12/23/2018 8:08pm
Dan kinda left the business of motorcycles and was transitioning more into mountain bikes and when Tom sold the business he gave a portion of what Mag bought it for to Dan even though Dan was not involved with White Brothers. Tom still owned the building and that was still owned by the family after his death.
The pipes were really good but the cost of supporting a factory team with exhaust systems made out of carbon fiber and titanium is a high cost and another company came in with a better deal.
1
BNG
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12/23/2018 9:53pm
MAG bought them and a bunch of other mostly V-Twin brands including Vance & Hines. At some point a Bean Counter decided to merge the two exhaust brands and that was the end of White Brothers as a brand. Later on a Venture Capital group bought out a majority share of MAG and sold it to the parent company of Tucker Rocky. At this point the over leveraged house of cards collapsed and forced the entire group to seek protection by filing bankruptcy. It caused a lot of problems in the industry and at this point not a lot of industry insiders have a lot of good to say about the people who created this mess.
3
Lightning78
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12/23/2018 11:10pm
They got bought out by Vance and Hines and then not sure https://powersportsbusiness.com/features/2008/01/29/vance-hines-acquire…
And while they were cleaning up the shop he managed to grab a head for a 2006 - 2009 CRF250R that was a really high end part, exclusive race team stuff, fully ported with xeledine (sp?) Valves right around the time they had just hit the market, it also had a hand cut very special cam that had a kashima coated gear that was adjustable for timing and the head itself was decked pretty good because even with the auto decompression my bike had a TON of compression and was wau gnarly just ti kick over....I mated that head with an ATHENA 280cc big bore kit and he also kicked me down one of those BEAUTIFUL Carbon/Titanium "low boy" full exhaust systems that had the colored end caps read it on my big bore to 80CC 2007 CRF250 and that bike was so bad ass!! It easily had the power snap and torque of a 450 and the weight of a 250 Other than that I don't even know how to describe how awesome the bike was words can't even justify it until the day it bogged on me on the face of a big double.

The bike also had RG3's diamond kit high end "B Kit" suspension and that shit was just as good as the engine

Still to this day I kind of wish I hadn't sold it but that was 10 years ago when I rediscovered my love for 2 strokes and never looked back..... Now some random dude has it that owns the Kapo Honda sushi place in Huntington beach off Brookhurst I should find him one day in see if he still has the bike...... Once I revive my computer I will see if I still had some pictures
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#434
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12/24/2018 12:43am Edited Date/Time 12/24/2018 1:04pm
What made the exhausts so loud back in the day?
Forty wrote:
Basically a straight pipe. Cool looking but loud. Hurt your ears loud. An early aftermarket offering that For awhile was on every 4 stroke. Kevin Windham...
Basically a straight pipe. Cool looking but loud. Hurt your ears loud. An early aftermarket offering that For awhile was on every 4 stroke. Kevin Windham ran one on his 450.
Have had this poster on the wall for a long time. They run that exhaust when he made his comeback on the crf450, if I‘m not mistaken.

2
flykay
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12/24/2018 1:09am
newmann wrote:
https://www.motosport.com/blog/qa-with-tom-white-racer-owner-founder-hall-of-famer 5. Then tragedy struck in 1997. Brad was 18 at the time and had surpassed me on speed on the Motocross track. He was by...
https://www.motosport.com/blog/qa-with-tom-white-racer-owner-founder-ha…

5. Then tragedy struck in 1997.

Brad was 18 at the time and had surpassed me on speed on the Motocross track. He was by best friend. Dan and I had just purchased a new building a few weeks before and I had moved the collection of 20 plus bike to the building. Brad drove his El Camino to the building on a late Sunday afternoon and was working on his favorite Honda XR75 mini bike. He took it for a test ride and didn't see the chain that a neighbor had put up to block what looked like an exit to the area. Saw it too late and it closed lined him, crushing his larynx.

6. Three years later you sold White Brothers. Was this to help with your son?

Absolutely. Also to take care of my wife Dani who was struggling. Personally, I was ready to move on with my life as the pressure of a nearly $40 million company was getting to me.

7. How is Brad doing today?

Though Brad is 100 percent disabled - blind, quadriplegia, can't eat or swallow - his mind is sound. We take care of him at home with the help of loving nurses 24/7 and 365 days a year for the last 19 years. He inspires us everyday and we believe he will outlive me and Dani.

8. You sold all of your bikes except three after Brad's accident. How many was that? Was it difficult to let them go?

I didn't sell all of them, just the valuable one's and my wife's '64 Mustang convertible. We got $13,000 for it and that paid for the Hyperbaric Chamber therapy. Didn't help him get better, but we had to try.
Wow - that was sad to read!
I often wonder what happened with riders and companies from the 90's and was happy to find this thread. Hurt to read that story of Brad though. Hope he and Dani is in good hands.
rhargrave431
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12/24/2018 4:55am Edited Date/Time 12/24/2018 4:56am
Matthes has a pod with Tom White. Explains it all. Pretty neat listen
lumpy790
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12/24/2018 5:23am
Every year when the new White Brothers catalog came in I checked out every page. WB had every trick part to build an exotic race bike that you could ever imagine.

I was very fortunate my 1st year at A1 when the Legends and Heroes crew invited me to go see a MC museum and when we arrived it was Tom’s. Great guy and so fortunate I could meet him.

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