Is a vehicle worth extra if it has a connection to a famous name? That is the question presented by this 1948 Indian Chief. At first glance, this legendary motorcycle skates the line between restorable and a parts bike. The trademark fenders draw your eyes away from the rust terrorizing every part. Yet, this big Indian was “picked” by Mike Wolfe of the show “American Pickers” and sold in a collection of similarly procured motorcycles by Mecum Auctions in 2023. Does Wolfe’s magic rub off on this motorcycle, or is it just another Indian Chief in rough condition? Would you pay extra just because of the “celebrity” connection?
By 1945, the Indian Motorcycle company was on the ropes. The company spent World War II producing a limited number of motorcycles for the U.S. and its allies. Harley-Davidson, however, manufactured the lion’s share of motorcycles for the United States armed forces during the conflict. When hostilities ceased, the always-limited domestic motorcycle market was saturated with surplus Harleys. To make matters worse, a group of investors took over Indian and returned to the market with only the barely warmed-over Indian Chief in their lineup. The next few years were marked with little innovation and, ultimately, the sad end of a fabled marque in all but name. Over the years several motorcycles have worn the Indian name, but only the most recent resurrection of the Indian Motorcycle Company by Polaris Industries has achieved any staying power.
Despite a long history of distinctive motorcycles for both the street and the track, the legendary Chief is what every American thinks of when Indian motorcycles are discussed. Powered by a 74 cubic inch V-twin engine, the Chief you see here comes with a long list of features. The color combination is what catches the eye first. We are not told if this is a parts bike assembled from multiple bikes of different colors. One can see the colors of orange, red, yellow, teal, and even purple when examining the pictures above and below. A close look also reveals a girder front end, a rear luggage rack, footboards, cross-laced wheels, and a fork-mounted mirror adorning this motorcycle.
What gives us pause is the corrosion that has attacked this motorcycle over the years. While a complete disassembly and analysis of such vital pieces as the frame and fork are desirable if this bike is ever to be ridden safely, the fact that it is a Chief will ensure that this motorcycle will live again sooner or later. The question is at what cost? Original Indian parts can sell for mind-numbing amounts and reproduction pieces cheapen the value of the motorcycle when it is completed. Even as a ratty driver, this motorcycle needs a whole lot of blood and treasure to return to the road.
The difference between this motorcycle and every other clapped-out rusty Indian Chief is who rescued it from what must have been decades of poor storage. Mike Wolfe is one of the stars of the History Channel show “American Pickers.” Wolfe and his crew roam the country in search of hoarded-up antiques that they resell to both generate profits and fuel interest in the show. There is nothing wrong with that. The show is one of the more popular on the channel. This popularity also provides Wolfe with more leads, increases interest in finding and preserving antiques and collectibles, and provides entertainment for many Americans. One of the byproducts of his well-publicized love for motorcycles and that culture was the sale of this motorcycle along with many others in a special 2023 Mecum Auction in Las Vegas called the “As Found Collection.”
The picture above is a good illustration of just how much work will be needed to get this Chief back on the warpath. Mike Wolfe’s connection may drive the bidding up, but will there be any additional value after the arduous task of restoration is through? If you are interested, this 1948 Indian Chief is for sale on eBay in New York, New York. Bidding is currently sitting at $8,610 with just two days left to go. If you have an opinion about the celebrity connection or the restorability of this Indian, please leave your thoughts in the comments.
Again with the celebrity schpiel. Meh, I happen to like the show, strictly for what they find and the eclectic characters they come across. Some of those very folks may be right here. While even a d00fus like me knows what a rare bike this is, the TV connection appears to have gone bust a bit. 441 viewers, no question on the interest. I think people are finally realizing what these really are. After watching the show for lo, all these years, tells me there is a lot of crap in the world. There’s all kinds of dirt on this Mike Wolfe, and I always liked Frank a lot more,who got kind of the shaft, but they seem genuine. Once several years back, the show had a “meeting” in EauClaire, Wis. A guy I knew that had a lot of stuff went, and said they were very nice. I think the show has run its course, ratings slipped considerable, and we may see the end for this kind of stuff. Sorry to always end these on a gloomy note, fantastic find for us old timers, I just don’t see much interest in this as time rolls on. Heck, with all the attention to things with names that aren’t acceptable today, it may be wrong to ride an “INDIAN”,,,crybabies,,
I’d rather see Frank too…..quit watching the show mostly..
I live in the NW corner of Illinois, and you can’t throw a rock without hitting a Fritz. There are also a couple “Hoarders” shows. I always thought it would be the perfect synergy to combine the two.
The number of views are for the previous 24 hours, not the entirely of the auction. At some point an auction like this will get shared and more than likely picked up by more than one enthusiast website, that number could change dramatically from one day to another, with a majority of the views being from sightseers rather than prospective buyers.
Steve R
I used to watch the show a long time ago, I’ve pretty much stopped watching cable at this point. I liked Frank also and I don’t know what’s real about all the drama that went on when he was fired. I always got a Storage Wars fake vibe abut the show and figured a huge portion of it was placed finds etc. Nice bike, with Harley destroying themselves these might go even further into the stratosphere. It would be very cool to get it safely running and drive as-is for a while. I would imagine a full resto would be closing in on 6 figures. Do I think the Mike connection would drive up the price? Not one dollar…GLWTA
I own a ’47 Chief that is pretty and reliable. It’s not in show condition, though. I paid ~$31,000 for it two years ago, which was full retail at the time.
Certainly this bike can be restored. But why would you? It would probably be cheaper to buy a better Chief and start riding tomorrow.
Maybe the bidders intend to display it as-is. Different strokes… I guess.
Cool Indian but OMG it will cost a boatload of cash to hunt down and buy all the rare original parts. And yeah……….I like Frank. Mike? Not so much.
In a word, NO. At least not for Mike Wolfe.
Nothing against the guy. He seems nice enough, and I know he’s a serious motorcycle nut, but so am I. So what?
To have any sort of value, a “celebrity connection” needs to be much more than “he found it in a barn, dragged it out into the light, and sold it”, which is all Mr. Wolfe did with regard to this particular bike.
Fully restored and made to shine, it’s not like anyone is going to know the connection. Even if you got him to sign the tank, I suspect most people wouldn’t know who he is.
Celebrity doesn’t impress me at all. I’ve always thought American Pickers had unlimited TV funds to pay outrageous prices for junk. But one man’s treasure is another man’s junk so they say!
A celebrity? Steve McQueen, yes. Mike Wolfe? No.
in a word no,I would not pay more because the staff that Mike Wolfe employs found it for him to go and buy…
Look what Jacques Cousteau fished out of the ocean!
Shows like AP are the reason you can’t find good junk at a fair price..
While Mike Wolfe seems like a nice enough guy, I certainly wouldn’t consider him a celebrity. Celebrity connections are frequently cited at auctions but it seems that generally the price paid is more likely to reflect the quality of the vehicle than the celebrity of a previous owner.
Indian motorcycle, very cool but hardly worth the cost of restoration. I just watched a show about a guy from a Scandinavian country who set world speed records on a 1920 Indian Motorcycle on the Bonneville salt flats. Very entertaining show. But as far as I’m concerned this one has no celebrity status. If you want an Indian buy a good one to start with, you’ll be money ahead.
God Bless America
His name was Burt Munro and he was a New Zealander who set many records over the years with his 1920 Indian Scout. It started life as a 650cc but he enlarged it to a 950cc over the years. The record that still stands is 186 mph but his fastest time for a one way run was 205.8 mph! That was with the streamlined fairing fitted to the bike. Considering that he made all of the internal parts, including the pistons, con rods, camshafts etc. he was quite a man. The bike you see in the You Tube videos is a very professional restoration. Burt was not really much of an engineer and worked in his back yard shed but he sure knew how to make that bike fly.
The movie about him ‘The World’s Fastest Indian” is a great
one to watch – even my Wife really liked it.
He actually came to Eureka,California the first time he came
to the USA.I have talked to people he met in that area.We need
more people like Burt today!
There’s also a really good book about him that I found at our
local library – “One Good Run”.
I STRONGLY recommend that movie to anyone, biker or not. I had no idea what the movie was about, I figured a native American track star, but Sir Anthony Hopkins, I feel, gave the performance of his career. I think all our hearts sank when he was refused admission at Bonneville. It did have a happy ending, however. Got to hand it to Hollywood on that one.
This is not a celebrity bike. I saw a British episode of Antiques Road Show once and a guy had the Brough Superior bike that Lawrence of Arabia crashed and died on. Now THAT is a celebrity bike.
The actual motorcycle he was killed on is on display in the Imperial War Museum in London.
I walked through the picker guys’ store in Nashville a year or two back. They really lean into the ‘celebrity’ connection as prices were laughably high on what was mostly pretty common items.
Celebrity? Podcasters and Internet influencers are bigger deals today.
I used to watch the show and I’ve been to the store but I’m not a customer.
Exactly my experience when I went to the big Hershey swap meet. Mike’s brother was there acting arrogant and aloof with his few minions surrounding him at his set up. Everything was priced outrageously high with zero willingness to negotiate. That show ruined the antique and collectable market.
Saw “Rob” on a TV auction once, bidding like no tomorrow on a newer Corvette. I’m sure he enjoyed quite a turnaround in lifestyles from his construction business.
Rode hard and put away wet
Rust is pretty much all there is of it.
Not any more! It has been way over restored now. Burt never bothered about what the bike looked like as long as it was FAST!!
There are celebrities and there are CELEBRITIES. Tell me that it was Steve McQueen’s and I might be interested. . . . .
sold at mecums for $17K
https://www.mecum.com/lots/540283/1948-indian-chief/
Attaching the name Mike Wolfe to it just means that he overpaid to own it.
Does not matter if the bike was once owned by Abe Lincoln, the cost of restoration and parts will be the same.
I too live in Northern ILL. and years back Mike bought a 67 Fairlane GT for at that time a song from an elderly man. Well a few months later the wife decided we should visit their store, she is from Iowa so we went. Well the Fairlane was out front would need some metal work and complete interior also drivetrain gone through. None of the cast was there but 2 young ladies who I asked the price one looked in a book and told me. It was double what he paid for it and he had not even cleaned it up. Long story short it was a no sale and I quit watching the show.
It’s very little value and the name Mike Wolfe doesn’t make it worth anymore than what it is.
Is this the one they found welded to a pole on the side of some guys driveway? I think it was in California. He mounted it for artwork and it survived a bush fire.
all over my head, past by me, etc.
It all DOES sound like the guy who memorized the worth of some stuff and followed every lead he could to find… harleys. One special one he heard a dead guy buried. Yup, story wuz guy aged out, said “My kids dont want this. No 1 can have it.” & buried.
Our guy heard abt it, followed the story out 1,2 1,500 mi away to sit w/the story teller who was pretty vague on details. Some how he still found it, dug up’n all the rotten fragmented pieces sent our guy into over joy. Was this on your tv? I dont have 1. Gave away in 1971…
That explains a lot.
Well, if you’ve reveiled anything it’s that you’re articulate. Wow.
If I see one of the TV Pickers at Hershey I just walk on by them.
Sold with a high bid of $10,220.
Steve R
Frankly, even if the bike was bought and ridden by Elvis Presley, there’s just too much gone. It might produce a few usable parts if the engine isn’t completely coked up and frozen. Apparently someone just gave away $10k.