It’s a rare day when you get the opportunity to spend time in Tom White’s Southern California-based Early Years of Motocross Museum. Even rarer when you get to enjoy a personal guided tour by the AMA Hall of Famer himself.
And the rarity reaches new levels when you ask White to take a moment and select 10 out of the over 200 show-quality motorcycles in his collection that are his favorites.
“What?” White responded jokingly when asked. “Are you kidding me? Should you have a favorite child!?”
But that’s how it went down on a day in which Motorcycle.com Editor-in-Chief Kevin Duke and I were blessed to be invited to the Early Years of Motocross Museum located on the property of White’s home in Villa Park, California, to witness the special delivery of one of the 50 factory-built Indian Scout FTR flat-track racers available in the country today (see the video below). For me, it was also a special opportunity to catch up with a man who is truly one of my heroes in the industry, someone who I will forever be grateful to say advanced my career through his never-ending kindness and generosity.
It’s no secret that one of the sport’s greatest and truest friends is battling terminal cancer, and yet his bravery has not diminished, nor has the light in his eyes nor his love for his family, friends and the sport that has ignited his passion for life flickered or waned. To look at him, you might not even know Tom White is ill, and we were infected by his spirit as he walked us here and there to show us his 10 favorite machines from his immaculate collection. Enjoy!
