The best finds on "American Pickers" aren't just interesting because of their rarity or value. These historic items allow viewers to get a glimpse of America's past through something that has been buried in someone's barn for decades. The servers have their favorites, of course. 

For example, Mike Wolfe is known for his passion for classic motorcycles. Every time he meets them on the show, the whole episode takes on a childish excitement. 

Excited or not, the American Pickers are a hands-on team, and it's rare to see them drop huge sums of money at once. That's why episode 11  in which the guys spend $40,000  on two motorcycles is always outstanding. 

We can take a quick look at a scenario in the TV series “American Pickers” where Mike and Frank spent 40,000 dollars buying a pair of bikes. While the bikes aren't the most expensive in "American Pickers," it's still a significant amount of money for Mike and Frank. The reason for this big purchase was the scarcity of the bikes themselves. 

One bike, priced at $30,000 from the budget, was a 1939 Indian Four motorcycle, aka the Aristocrat. Being an Indian motorcycle makes this bike interesting, but this model is exceptionally rare. As Mike explains, between 1939 and 1945, India discontinued the popular Chief bike, making the expensive Indian Four the next choice. 

The second bike is a rigid Indian bike that the owner has assembled with parts from other Indian bikes. Even though it doesn't cost $30,000, the $10,000 it adds to today's deal is still a lot of money. In the end, the band settled for $40,000 for both bikes. 

Wolfe's passion for Indian motorcycles should be known to "American Pickers" fans, who may recall seeing the brand appear in the show before, such as time. The crew spent over $8,000 on some Indian motorcycle engines. A Wolfe Instagram post from 2022 still shows his love for the brand. In one of the first Indian Motorcycle ads I've ever seen, Wolfe captioned an image of an old leather sign glued to a piece of plywood. And he claims that the leather is so heavy. He thinks that perhaps it is designed for performance or a race to some extent. What an amazing event is that it can survive in the market for such a long period during the competition.