HOLLYWOOD STUNTMAN TOM MCCOMAS BRINGS LEGENDARY MOTORCYCLE FACTORY WARS OF THE 90s TO AUCTION WITH TWO UNICORNS: AN UNMODIFIED, PERFECT CONDITION YAMAHA FZR 750RT AND HONDA VFR 750R RC30 AT BONHAMS LAS VEGAS
(Hollywood, California) Veteran Hollywood stuntman, Tom McComas has collected motorcycles for over twenty years – building an enviable collection of rare bikes with complex histories in the motorcycle and film industry. On January 25th, McComas will auction off two jewels of his collection, a 1990 Honda VFR 750R RC30 and a 1991 Yamaha FZR 750RT OW01, at Bonhams, Las Vegas. These bikes, valued at over $100,000 as a pair, have been stored and shown in a southern California airplane hanger that acts as McComas’ small museum – open by invitation only. The two bikes available at auction are a time capsule of motorcycle history.
The story of McComas’ collection is one of compelling history, adventure, and a meticulous eye for classic bikes with meaningful origins. The two bikes McComas brings to auction have both only had one other owner. He has been swift to move on motorcycles that would add to his legendary collection.
Several are rare homologation specials. As he explained, securing the Yamaha OWO1 was a risk – purchased sight unseen from a collector in Switzerland.
“It was a ‘friend of a friend of a friend’ kind of thing that initially I thought couldn’t be true,” McComas explained. “It came packed better than any other bike I’ve received. Starting with a silk-screened soft spandex cover, which had Valentino Rossi’s old two-stroke Honda 500cc GP bike printed on it, but I could overlook the cross branding in this situation! It also came with what seemed like anything and everything possible associated with this bike: owner’s manual, original bill of sale, original factory warranty paperwork, posters, pins. Even the little Velcro fanny-pack Nikon pad/zipper wallet that attaches to the cross members of the fairing with the OW01 logo printed on it! I had never seen that before. The guy had treated this like an artifact to be preserved in a museum. Mind blowing, actually.”
The Honda RC30, an equally remarkable motorcycle, may have the lowest recorded mileage of its kind with only 14 miles. In 1988 the bike sold new for $15,000 and was considered a technical marvel at the time winning the first two world superbike championships ever by legendary racer, Fred Merkel (1988 & 1989). Hand assembled by engineers and designed to be used as an exclusive race bike, only 3000 of these bikes were ever made. First released to the Japanese market in 1987, 1988 released in Europe then the United States in 1990. The bike’s cult following is attributed to the fact that it literally started an industry of Superbike Champions.
Not to be outdone, Yamaha quickly came to market with the second bike McComas brings to auction, the Yamaha FZR750R-OW01. In 1989, Yamaha produced its own entirely hand built race bike in a limited release of only 500 bikes. The OW01 won 16 races; The Daytona 200 twice, once by legendary racer, Dave Sadowski, and the other four times by Grand Prix Champion Eddie Lawson when he claimed the Daytona 200 checkered flag in 1993 on the OW01. The OW01 McComas is offering up for auction has only 124 kms and has all its original documentation, from bill of sale to warranty paperwork and warranty card to the lapel pin, posters and sales brochures.
McComas, a veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator with over 20 years experience in the United States and all over the world: China, Australia, Europe, Canada, and South America and has worked on some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster films including; Deadpool 2, Fast and Furious, Terminator, Italian Job and Armageddon. His passion for film, adrenaline and art has led to a remarkable career and collection.
When asked why he was auctioning off these extraordinary bikes, McComas’ replied “It’s time for the next person to get the same enjoyment I have from having these legends in my collection.”
Bonhams’ motorcycle auction is scheduled to take place Thursday, January 25 at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information on the auction, go to bonhams.com/vegas.