The Terrifying Story Behind American Pickers' Evel Knievel Episode
When American Pickers dove into Evel Knievel's world in Season 27, Episode 6 (aired August 7, 2024), Mike Wolfe thought he was just delivering a rare billboard.
Instead, he got a guided tour through one of the most dangerous stunts in history — and the machines that could kill a man in seconds.
Twelve years of collecting pure chaos
At the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas, co-founders Mike Patterson and Lathan McKay have spent over a decade hunting down and restoring the daredevil's gear. Wolfe walked past original leathers and helmets, stacks of magazine covers, and Big Red — Knievel's massive touring bus — before they pulled back the curtain on something even wilder.
Sitting in a back room was what looked like the Skycycle from Knievel's infamous Snake River Canyon jump in September 1974.
Patterson told him it wasn't the bike — it was a prototype used for an unmanned test that went spectacularly wrong.
And yet, Knievel still went ahead with the real jump. Patterson then dropped the detail that would make any stunt fan's stomach drop: on the day, Knievel wore the wrong suit. This one wouldn't let him detach from the seat if the Skycycle hit the river. He missed the water by ten feet. Patterson's take? "Instant death" if he hadn't.
Death traps by design
The test Skycycle was built from aircraft-grade parts with a propulsion system that could shred an average rider in seconds.
McKay didn't sugarcoat it: "It was a death trap." They said Knievel insisted on that kind of danger — every bike had wings and boosters.
He wasn't just chasing adrenaline; he was feeding the legend, because in 1970s America, being the daredevil meant living on the edge every single time.
For Wolfe, who grew up watching Knievel on TV and trying to copy his stunts, the visit was a full-circle moment. But what hit him hardest was seeing how far Patterson and McKay had gone to keep the man's myth alive.
A rare billboard — and zero profit
The episode opened with Wolfe hauling in an extremely rare Knievel billboard. A local named Bill had saved it during riots after the Snake River Canyon jump, when most others were torched. Wolfe bought it for around $22,000, hoping to make money on the flip.
After hearing the museum founders' stories, Wolfe changed course.
"They're the rightful owners," he said, selling it to them for exactly what he'd paid.
The profit didn't matter — the piece belonged with people who'd dedicated their lives to keeping Knievel's name burning bright.
Season 27 of American Pickers might be in the rearview, but Episode 6 still stands as one of the show's most adrenaline-soaked hours — part history lesson, part death-defying tribute.