A look at Billy Joel’s motorcycle collection as it heads to auction
News 12 got an exclusive look at the full collection ahead of the sale. News 12 can’t say where it’s stored, but the bikes include Kawasakis, Hondas, Ducatis and Harley-Davidsons, and many more.
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Billy Joel is auctioning off his motorcycle collection. More than 70 bikes from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Long Island icon will go up for auction Nov. 20 and 21 at the Rétromobile New York show at the Javits Center.
News 12 got an exclusive look at the full collection ahead of the sale. News 12 can’t say where it’s stored, but the bikes include Kawasakis, Hondas, Ducatis and Harley-Davidsons, and many more.
“He was a rider,” said Angus Dykman, a motorcycle specialist with Gooding Christie’s, the auction house handling the sale. “He liked to acquire motorcycles while he was out on tour or traveling in various places, and he really enjoyed modifying them to be exactly how he wanted.”
Dykman said Joel wasn’t chasing rarity or any specific brands.
“A lot of collectors will go hunt these kinds of unicorn bikes that, you know, there may only be ten that exist in the world. He wasn’t like that at all. He just liked to ride,” he said.
One of the top lots is a 1978 Triumph Bonneville T140 that Madison Square Garden gave Joel for his 150th sold-out show there, still the most by any artist. The bike was custom painted for him, with a keyboard on the tank, and comes with a matching helmet listing every year and show he played at the Garden.
A 1967 BSA is also in the sale. Dykman said it traces back to Joel’s childhood, when a neighbor owned the same model and Joel would look over the fence at it. “This was sort of the beginning of Billy Joel’s interest in motorcycling,” Dykman said.
Every bike is offered without reserve, so each one sells to the highest bidder at whatever price, with no minimum starting point. Estimates have been published for some lots, including a 1975 Ducati 750 Sport at $25,000 to $35,000.
Proceeds will benefit the Joel Foundation, the charity run by Joel and his wife, Alexis, which supports music education, health, humanitarian and environmental causes.
