“American Pickers” Episode Is Simply Unbelievable

By Bud Wilkinson

So-called “reality shows” on television are anything but real. They’re orchestrated and staged just like a sitcom or drama. The action is largely preordained and the open, middle and ending are tightly scripted. The purpose is storytelling, not truth, because actual reality can be deadly dull.

Was anyone really surprised late last year when “Storage Wars” got hit by allegations that storage units were routinely “seeded” with desirable items for the winning bidders to wondrously discover? Does it come as a shock that a YouTube search reveals at least one video that charges that transactions on “Pawn Stars” are faked?

All that matters to TV networks and show producers are ratings and merchandise sales, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get them. That includes a show that often shows off motorcycles, “American Pickers,” which last night repeated an episode from November titled “Sturgis or Bust.”

The storyline had Danielle Colby Cushman buying the skeletal the remains of a 1935 Indian Chief – the frame, motor, wheels and front fender – for $8,000. A game plan was then quickly devised to restore the vintage bike in a matter of weeks and sell it at the Sturgis, S.D. motorcycle rally. Rick Dale, who has a Las Vegas-based reality show of his own, “American Restoration,” got tapped to bring the Indian back to life.

Mike Wolfe, Rick Dale and Frank Fritz and the 1935 Indian Chief on “American Pickers”

The job got done but not without a bit of wheeling and dealing to find a 1935 gas tank and not without a panic shipment of the motor to Dale Walksler at the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, NC to get it rebuilt.

With time running out, Mike and Frank mounted motorcycles to ride from Iowa to Sturgis where Rick would meet them with the finished Indian. Predictably, the restored Indian was gorgeous and sounded beautiful when kick-started. The final act drama centered on whether anyone would pay the $40,000 obo asking price and enable Antique Archaeology to recoup its buy-in and restoration costs and make a profit.

After taking several unsatisfactory phone calls from bottom feeders, a seemingly serious buyer finally called and the guys rushed to the lot where they had the Indian displayed. After some small talk, it was revealed that the interested buyers were a top executive and a top designer from, yes, Indian Motorcycles. Indian is owned by Polaris, which also builds Victory motorcycles.

After some expected haggling, Mike and Frank sold them the Indian for $35,000. The guys walked away mighty pleased and grateful that the bike was headed to the company that is carrying on the Indian tradition that dates back to 1901. If that makes you feel warm and fuzzy, don’t feel that way. As I watched, I felt manipulated and lied to, and not just because the ending was too perfect.

Remember how Mike and Frank supposedly got to Sturgis? They rode motorcycles.

Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz

What did they ride, if they indeed rode at all? Well, Mike, who is in the lead position in the above picture, was on a brand new Indian, while Frank was on a new Victory. Coincidence? Or were they riding promotional bikes supplied by Polaris long before the two Indian execs supposedly stumbled upon the 1935 Indian for sale at Sturgis?

From that perspective, the “Sturgis or Bust” episode of “American Pickers” now seems more hour-long infomercial for Indian, propaganda designed to ram home the brand’s heritage, than an honest dose of reality. Entertaining? Sure. Deceitful? You betcha.

Remember last month when Indian came out with a promotional video that introduced the exhaust sound of a new Indian model that’s in the pipeline, the first new Indian since Polaris bought the brand? Remember the identity of the spokesman who introduced that video and added a tag? It was, yes, Mike Wolfe of “American Pickers.”

So what’s your bet? Is he just the enthusiastic fan of Indian that he claims to be? Or is he really nothing more than a compensated endorser who gets paid (in cash or motorcycles) to pitch Indian? It makes a difference because every time Indian gets mentioned on “American Pickers” viewers must now ask whether they’re watching a commercial and must wonder whether they need to be aware that the words they’re hearing are delivered with a purpose beyond mere entertainment.

Update: Indian announced Saturday morning on Facebook that Mike Wolfe will be at its booth at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in New York next weekend.

(Before writing about motorcycles, and much earlier in his career, Bud Wilkinson spent two years as TV critic for “The Columbus Dispatch” in Ohio and 10 years as TV columnist for “The Arizona Republic” in Phoenix.)