History’s “American Pickers” is a fun television program based on its premise alone. The hosts traverse the country and dig through sheds, garages, and other off-the-beaten path locales to pull out whatever hidden antique gems might be hiding. Their hunts have yielded all kinds of results, discovering trinkets of varying size, condition, and value throughout the years. They’ve also stumbled upon some remarkable cars and motorcycles in their travels. One example is a 1922 Ace Sporting Solo motorcycle that they dug up a number of years ago. While it isn’t one of the rarest motorcycles ever built, it isn’t common find.
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“American Pickers” icons Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz find the Ace in Season 17’s “The $90,000 Question.” After some discussion with the sellers, Mike and Frank eventually score it for a whopping $45,000, but the story of the Ace doesn’t end there. At a 2023 Mecum auction in Las Vegas, Nevada, the over a century-old bike went up for sale and sold for an astounding sum: $198,000. This put the Ace right in the middle of the top 10 motorcycle sales of the entire auction to boot.
To some, that might seem like an absurd amount of money for an old rusty bike, especially when more beautiful motorcycles have sold at auction for high amounts over the years. In reality, the story of this bike and Ace as a whole makes it crystal clear why it sold for so much.
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Aces aren’t easy to come by in the modern era
When Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz discover the 1922 Ace Sporting Solo motorcycle, they find it as part of an over 150-motorcycle collection. Nevertheless, they know immediately that they have to strike a deal to get a hold of it. After all, the odds of them just happening upon another one, especially as complete and original as this one, are slim to none. The Ace Motor Corporation was founded in 1919 by William G. Henderson, formerly of the American Henderson Motorcycle Company. Sadly, his two-wheeled business venture wasn’t long for the world.
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On December 11, 1922, Henderson was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 40. His company lived on for another few years, but the Ace Motor Corporation dissolved by 1927, ultimately being purchased by the Indian Motorcycle Company that year. Following the release of the 1928 Indian Ace, which is a classic Indian motorcycle worth a small fortune, the Ace name all but disappeared. Thus, with this context in mind, it makes sense that the “American Pickers” team dropped almost $50,000 for the Sporting Solo and why it almost hit $200,000 at auction.
The “American Pickers” crew discovered quite a historic piece with the 1922 Ace Sporting Solo. Sure, $45,000 might be a lot of money to throw down, but considering the bike’s rarity and what it sold for at auction, it’s safe to say they got it for an absolute steal.
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