The brown brothers grew up as any normal trio of brothers would. They
fought, they chased each other around the house, and they tattled to mom,
but they were as close as could be. It was that close relationship between
Chris, Duane and Brent that catapulted them to where they are today - the
owners of the most respected mini bike hop-up company in the world. Even in
the early days, the Browns were entrepreneurs, buying their cousin's bike
shop that they named, with far too much alliteration, Brown Brothers Bike
World (the name was a sign of things to come). Their first watermark year
came in 1979 when Chris and Duane built a custom XR75 in Junior High School
shop class. It had a hand-fabricated frame that incorporated a custom
linkage-style single shock and swingarm combo, dual leading brakes and a
modified engine.
The Brown brothers, who changed their company's name to BBR (Brown Brothers
Racing), went full scale in 1984 when they built a new shop, giving them
enough room to stuff XR engines inside Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki frames. They
also started building handmade aluminum swingarms for XR75s. The trio
encountered a scary setback in 1994, however, when brother Chris developed
pancreatitis and had to spend the next decade in and out of hospitals. With
determination, the brothers surged onward, and in 1995 the boys got their
big break. After developing the first aluminum-framed XR280, American Honda
took an interest in BBRand the two companies formed a long standing
relationship.
During this period of time, BBR's aluminum frame workmanship came to an
attention of the MXA wrecking crew, and began to test their oddball mix of
componentry. The publicity began to fuel a minicycle explosion-not among
young kids, but with bucks-up adults. Every year, the Brown brothers packed
up everything they had built and traveled from Washington State to the World
Four Stroke Championship, often winning every class their bike enter. By
2001, BBR was the leading force in the exploding minibike craze. From this
point on, BBR went crazy manufacturing frame kits, exhaust systems,
handlebar/triple clamp kits, fork kits, aluminum rims and practically
anything else that could be outfitted on a mini bike. As Duane says, "We ask
ourselves if the products we make are good enough to be outfitted on a
factory bike. We're definitely selling to the Porsche-type guys, and it
trickles down to every little piece that we make.
What's so great about the Brown Brothers? They aren't a group of businessmen
who punch numbers-these boys ride. Nestled into the upper left hand corner
of the United States, where rain is as prevalent as Starbucks coffee houses,
the Brown Brothers aren't afraid to get dirty. In fact, Duane, who's the
head of product testing, puts the BBR prototype designs through the wringer
regularly, and whatever he learns is used to enhance the existing products.
If you ever have the chance to visit BBR, you should. Walking through the
factory with one of the Brown brothers is like watching a kid in a candy
store (with his father's credit card). They are passionate about what they
do and cannot contain themselves when they talked about their newest
invention. It's that excitement and commitment that has made them so
successful through the 29 years since the boys formed a business together.
Beside a knack for design and development, the Brown Brothers are three
different pieces to a complete puzzle. Chris handles the development. Duane
supports Chris in R&D, but focuses on product testing, and Brent takes care
of the business side of BBR.
In their new 25,000 square-foot building, BBR manufactures 90 percent of
their products in-house; no outsourcing to other countries. BBR is as huge
an employer in the Seattle are as Boeing, but they support the economy with
minicycle parts. How many different products is BBR working on? Duane tells
all, "We have hundreds of new parts at any time and what order to release
them in. We try to perfect one bike at a time and one part at a time, but we
definitely have a board full of new parts for all the different bikes." One
thing is certain; the Brown brothers will continue to make revolutionary
products for the mini bike market that they invented.
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