Not Your Typical Craigslist Deal O' the Day or Backwoods Barn Find

Brent Jaswinski
by Brent Jaswinski

Tom McComas' immaculate RC30 and OW01 are up for auction

These two bikes aren’t your typical Craigslist deal o’ the day or backwoods barn finds – they’re the real deal – untouched, unmolested, unridden and unbelievable. What we have here is a 1990 Honda VFR750R RC30 and a 1991 Yamaha FZR750RT OW01, and both are just about as factory floor fresh today as they were almost 30 years ago.

The pair is owned by longtime Hollywood stuntman Tom McComas, and both will be sold to the highest bidder at the Bonhams auction this Thursday, January 25 at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a pair, they’re valued at over six figures, but it looks like they’ll be auctioned off individually, with the RC30 expected to fetch somewhere in the $40k to $50k range and the OW01 around $30,000 or so.

Tom McComas’ 1990 Honda VFR750R RC30 with 14 claimed original miles.

That’s alotta cheese for either of these two time machines, neither of which have more than 100 miles, or even combined for that matter. The OW01 is believed to have only 74 miles and the RC30 just 14… There were only 3,000 RC30s ever made and even fewer OW01s – 500 total, to be exact – and it’s believed that only 30 of them were ever imported to the States. Whoever’s going to own these bikes next will become a member of a very, very small and elite group of motorcycle owners.

And if people have this kind of money to spend on motorcycles like these, which will probably continue to never be ridden, I can only imagine what other bikes they must have in their collections, or which ones they actually ride… I’m puzzled and a bit torn, though. A part of me thinks that both these motorcycles should remain preserved like they are and live out the rest of eternity in immaculate condition, but the other part of me thinks it’s a damn shame!

These motorcycles were created and meticulously hand-crafted for one purpose: To scream their little 750cc hearts out in a never-heard-before quartet-chorus while delivering the most raw yet refined ride on two wheels available at the time. The OW01 and RC30 made about 121 and 112 horsepower at the rear wheel, respectively, which pales in comparison to what typical sportbikes are making today. But horsepower is horsepower, and isn’t adjusted for inflation over the years – these bikes still boogie, any way you cut it.

Tom McComas 1991 Yamaha YZR750RT OW01 with only 74 claimed original miles.

If they could talk, I’m sure they’d tell you they’ve been dying to be ridden. I hope whoever owns the RC30 or OW01 bikes next, whether separate or together, will unleash some of the pent up fury the bikes have been harboring over the last 30 years, give them the open-road liberation they so rightfully deserve, and let them eat!

It’s only right…

Check out the Bonhams Auction listings and article below for more information and background on each bike. They’re pretty friggin’ neat.

1990 Honda VFR750R RC30

1991 Yamaha FZR750RT OW01

Archive: 1989 Suzuki GSX-R750RRMO Exclusive with John Burns

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.

Brent Jaswinski
Brent Jaswinski

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  • Spiff Spiff on Jan 25, 2018

    I am a Yamaha guy, and love FZRs, so I would probably take the OWO1. Which would you guys choose?

  • Lewis Lewis on Jan 25, 2018

    Love both of these. Don't be fooled by the horsepower numbers, these bikes were the starting point which you threw a factory kit at. I also believe both had a very tall 1st gear making it tricky to move off from a stop.

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