Billy Joel's motorcycles on view at Christie's auction house before bidding begins
For more than 70 motorcycles in his collection, it’s Billy Joel’s last ride.
A sampling of the Piano Man’s collection of bikes is on display at Christie’s auction house on 49th Street at Rockefeller Center through Monday, where music fans and motorcycle enthusiasts can see two of Joel’s prized Ducatis and a custom 1978 Triumph Bonneville, gifted by Madison Square Garden in honor of 150 sold-out shows that Joel played there.
The three bikes are on view at Christie’s showroom in Manhattan from Thursday through Monday and free to the public ahead of a Nov. 20 auction at the Javits Center. The auction house’s auto division, Gooding Christie’s, will sell the bikes during the inaugural Retromobile New York Auto Show, Nov. 20-21. Each is being sold without a reserve, meaning no minimum sale points.
"He's very open about the bikes, and the bikes themselves are not necessarily pretentious in any way," said Angus Dykman, an automotive and motorcycle specialist for Gooding Christie’s. "It really speaks to the working man, what really resonated with people in his music. He was sort of the everyman, without any of the pretensions that maybe some other rock-and-roll guys might have."
Selling while recovering
Joel, 77, is selling his collection as he is recovering from a brain condition, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and a recent brain surgery to receive a shunt to improve brain function and balance.
Many of the bikes were on display at Joel’s Oyster Bay showroom, 20th Century Cycles, before it closed last year. Joel also sold his Centre Island estate for nearly $29 million and stored many of the bikes in Florida.
"I've always been drawn to bikes built by people who cared about getting every detail right," Joel said in a previous statement to Newsday. "I've loved building this collection. Now it's someone else's turn to hit the road."
Gooding Christie’s officials perused the bikes with Joel in Boca Raton, Florida, where he described what each bike meant to him, including a Moto Guzzi V50 that he used to commute in Manhattan. He also had a BSA A50 Royal Star, mirroring the British bike owned by a neighbor Joel used to see as a child peeking over his fence, Dykman said.
The bikes on display at Christie’s this week include a yellow 1975 Ducati Sport, including a V-twin with a round-case, bevel-drive engine and a lightened crankshaft. It’s viewed as one of the jewels of the collection and valued at up to $35,000, but could fetch much more at auction.
"It’s one of the greatest Ducatis of all time," Dykman said. "The engine was from the racing program in 1972 and established a dominant force for larger displacement motorcycles. It’s versatile and wonderful to ride."
Also on display, is a 1982 Ducati 900 Mike Hailwood Replica, commemorating the bike used by racer Mike Hailwood in a comeback to win the 1978 Isle of Man Formula One TT race. The red-and-green bike is fashioned as Ducati’s final bevel-twin engine.
The MSG Triumph Bonneville was presented to Joel during his record 150th sold-out show at the Garden, with custom trademarks like piano keys painted on the gas tank and "Billy Joel 150” printed on the side cover. It comes with a Madison Square Garden helmet, printed with each date of his sold-out shows. It’s valued between $10,000 and $15,000.
"There's a theme that kind of runs through the collection, which is that lot of them were modified to his taste to be better riders," Dykman said. "They're really bikes that look great and have a vintage look, but are wonderful to ride."
Joel plans to donate proceeds from the sale to the Joel Foundation, run by Joel and his wife, Alexis, to raise money for music education and humanitarian causes.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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