This ‘American Pickers’ Haul Was Too Monumental for Mike Wolfe To Let Go

The folks of American Pickers , the popular History Channel show that just recently announced it is going on hiatus after 15 years straight, find some fascinating things on their travels, and some, in turn, empty their wallets pretty quickly. Most of their finds fall in the $25-$60 range, but we’ve seen the Pickers pay $35,000 for a Porsche, and that drives the average up substantially. But not the most they’ve paid out. Here’s a riddle: What has 10 wheels, lives in a Michigan garage, and goes for six figures? The answer lies in the Season 24 Episode “$135,000 Pick.”

As any fan of American Pickers knows, star Mike Wolfe has a passion for vintage motorcycles. In a 2023 article about Wolfe’s plans to auction off almost half of his collection of bikes (just over 60 pieces), Wolfe is noted as saying, “All of these bikes have had a special place in my heart and a lot of incredible moments finding them that I will never forget.” It’s a safe bet to say that not included in that sale are the bikes, five in all, that he picked up as detailed in “$135,000 Pick.” During the episode, Wolfe finds himself in Lake Huron, Michigan, where he and co-host Danielle Colby visit a spacious garage that houses the collection of the owner’s father, since deceased.

American Pickers Mike Wolfe Thinks He’s Died and Gone to Heaven in $135,000 Pick

Wolfe is immediately drawn to the 1936 Harley-Davidson VLD with a Goulding sidecar and a 1924 Harley-Davidson JD. The two are the ones he covets the most, but also there is a 1936 Harley-Davidson VL, a 1934 Indian Chief, and a 1937 Indian Chief. It’s like watching a kid in a candy store, as Wolfe looks each one over. He identifies what parts are original, which ones are not, the condition, and other things that only an expert in the field of vintage bikes would even know what to look for, trying to do the math in his head on repairs vs. resale. Finally, Wolfe arrives at a decision: he wants all five. So Wolfe arrives at an offer of $135,000, the largest in American Pickers‘ history, and next thing you know, he’s the proud owner of the ultra-rare motorcycles.

Technically Speaking, ‘American Pickers’ Paid More in Season 17 for a Vintage Motorcycle

$135,000 is a staggering amount, and eclipses the previous record held by the Season 17 American Pickers Episode “The $90,000 Question.” That, too, involved a motorbike, one of the rarest in existence: a 1922 Ace. However, if we want to be technical, more was spent per bike on that episode than on “$135,000 Pick,” with a conditional sale on the Ace where the pickers had to take two other antique bikes with it, $30,000 per bike as opposed to a mere $27,000. Another rare motorcycle, a 1910 Royal Pioneer, which was picked up in a Season 9 episode, cost even more, at $55,000.

Not all the high-figure dollars doled out have been on antique motorcycles, though it may seem very much like that. A 1935 Auburn Phaeton 653 car came in at $45,000, per the previously cited Sun, for example. But if you’re wondering just how that kind of money can be justified, consider this: the aforementioned Royal Pioneer, which they bought for $55,000, was flipped for almost double, selling for $100,000. With one season left to go before going on hiatus, American Pickers has one more shot to stun viewers with another high-figure offer, only this time they’ll be going up against the team from Antiques Roadshow. Let the battle begin.