American Pickers Star Mike Wolfe’s “As Found Collection” // Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycles Jan. 24-28

There’s really nothing like a motorcycle with a little personality and some character. I’ve always wanted to preserve motorcycle history and share it with the world. I’m Mike Wolf, and this is my motorcycle collection.

I started collecting bicycles at a very young age, and that’s what really got me into motorcycles. I was always digging in the garbage, pulling bicycles out, working on them, and finding parts. If it’s got two wheels on it, then it had my heart.

When it comes to antique motorcycles, I’ve been passionate about all of it. You know, Japanese stuff, some British stuff, but really the core of my collection has always been American motorcycles. The stuff that I truly love is like pre-1920. He’s passionate and very knowledgeable; he’s a knowledgeable collector.

Foremost, I think he’s a nuts-and-bolts guy. He wants to know what makes a machine tick, but he’s also intensely interested in its history—who owned it, when, and why. That’s just part of the passion that drives him.

When I buy a bike from the 20s or the 30s, I’m looking at the bike, but to me, I’m romanticizing what this country was like then. Mike picks motorcycles for their history; he knows a lot about them. Every motorcycle in this collection he picked on purpose. It wasn’t just a random acquisition; he sought these motorcycles out. It’s a lot of miles, it’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of relationships, and it’s a lot of dreaming.

Motorcycles hide a lot better than cars do. You’ll find them in really odd places. I can remember chasing bikes down gravel roads and believing that I could find something. In some instances, he tripped across them, but he knows what he’s buying and what he’s bought. He’s bought what he’s passionate about—it’s history, it’s American history, and then it’s my history with the piece as well. So this room, this collection is a reflection of that.

I moved down to Nashville 10 years ago and fell in love with the music, the people, the food, and started exploring all the other small towns around Nashville. I landed in Columbia, Tennessee, and fell in love with this community. What we’re sitting in right now is a 1947 Chevrolet dealership. This building is 14,000 square feet, and when I first saw it, I fell in love with it because it has a kind of deco design. I walked into it, and it was completely empty, and I thought, oh my gosh, I could put my collection in here. I could fill this place with motorcycles. This is where I wanted to live; this is where I want to spend time.

Mike Wolf has collected motorcycles as they were found—they’re dusty, some are rusty, a lot are original paint. To me, as-found stuff has always been more interesting because it’s the history of the bike. When you have an original motorcycle, whether it was modified back in the day or not, you can see all of its history and originality.

If there was a time when new motorcycles were found, they were just restored as a matter of course. Mike showed us that originality is just as important. All of these bikes were someone else’s dream, and that’s another reason why I’ve kind of left things the way they are. The fact that it wears a patina of many years of faithful service has now become a plus that we have come to appreciate because of Mike Wolf.

What I’m bringing to Vegas is over 70 of my own personal motorcycles that I’ve collected over the past 30 years. There’s a 1914 Harley-Davidson racing twin, which is a bit of a unicorn to find with an actual racing engine. It is unusual and rare. There are five Indian four-cylinders in Mike’s collection from the mid-30s into, I think, 1941.

The styling changed somewhat, but they are important motorcycles. They’re coveted. There’s a 1937 Harley-Davidson UL in this collection, and 1937 was the first year for the U series. It’s a flathead, a side valve engine, and appreciation for those has grown along with the Knuckleheads. There are a lot of pre-war flatheads; there are a lot of Indian chiefs; there’s just a little bit of everything.

He has the 1936 Harley-Davidson knucklehead, the first year. His is exceptionally original and rare. I’ve never sold anything really out of here. I’ve sold a lot of bikes that I’ve found, but this stuff was always special to me for one reason or another. And, um, it’s just time.

A lot of guys come in here and they’re like, man, I can’t believe you’re not riding that 48 Panhead or I can’t believe you haven’t fired that 29 JD up. You know, and I’m like, man, you know, I’m gonna do that, I’m gonna do that, and then I just got to the point where I started realizing there’s just no way I can get all of these bikes running.

When people like Mike Wolf amass a collection of this size, at some point, you may realize that you’re not going to do for each motorcycle what you had planned to do when you bought it. I’ve got a lot of bikes. I’ve been extremely blessed, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel that. I’m looking at a lot of this stuff and I’m like, am I going to get to it? Where would I like to see it go? And you know, really, what could its next journey be?

I think that everybody just gets to the point where they want to share the love, and so we’re going to do that in Vegas. I can’t wait for our bidders to see these motorcycles cross the auction block. I think they’ll be very excited about it. It’s been a fascinating journey, and I’ve really loved every one of them. I really truly have. But I’m excited to go to Mecum in January and share my personal collection.

Thank you.