How American Pickers' Obscure Motorcycle Knowledge Helped Score A Cheap Pick
When you've spent so many years on the road looking at obscure antiques, you tend to learn a thing or two about them.
Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz of "American Pickers" spent the 2010s working on their show and exploring much of the country to see what valuables they could get their hands on. In many instances, after digging through someone's garage or shed, they'd stumble upon an item containing great value. They would then need to come up with a price on the spot and negotiate with the hopes of bringing the object back to Antique Archaeology.
What's more impressive than the pickers' negotiating skills is their general knowledge of all things related to the past. Whether looking at an antique vehicle or an old toy from decades ago, these guys seem to know about everything. And not only does it make for some fun trivia knowledge, but on one occasion, it allowed them to get a great deal on a motorcycle frame.
Fritz knew he was looking at a reverse gear
It doesn't necessarily take a fully functioning motorcycle to get Mike Wolfe excited. Sometimes just the frame is all you need, and that was the case during Season 5's "Knuckleheads." Wolfe and Fritz come across an old bike frame that the seller wants to get rid of for $200, but Wolfe only wants to pay $100. The seller's willing to come down a little, but it's not enough for Wolfe. That's when something happens you don't typically see in these kinds of negotiations.
The man offers to sell the frame to Wolfe and Fritz for their price point, provided they can correctly identify a motorcycle part he has located somewhere else on the property. If they can't identify it, then they'll buy the frame for $150. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a ton of extra money, so the duo decides to give the game a whirl. After some looking, Fritz is able to label the item correctly as a reverse gear.
No one is more impressed than the seller, who tells them that only six of these components were ever made. It looks like Fritz knew his stuff, and he managed to save the team a whopping $50 on the purchase.