Billy Joel is auctioning more than 70 motorcycles while disclosing a brain condition that has halted his driving and left his performing future in doubt.
The Piano Man says he can no longer drive and has been told to stay off the stage for now, even as he prepares to sell a huge personal motorcycle collection without reserve.
In a rare interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Joel tied the sale to age, a medical condition called hydrocephalus, and simple arithmetic: you can only ride one bike at a time.
Gooding Christie’s will offer more than 70 motorcycles from his collection at Rétromobile New York on Nov. 20-21 at the Javits Center. Proceeds are intended to support the Joel Foundation.
Joel, now in his 70s, described hydrocephalus in plain terms. The condition was once called water on the brain. He said it affects balance, memory, vision, and hearing.
He insisted he is otherwise all right. But the practical limits are real.
"Well, my health is good. I have this thing called hydrocephalus, which makes driving a little bit iffy. So I realized it’s time for me to turn it over to somebody else."
He was direct about the restrictions on daily life and work.
"I can’t drive right now. I’m not allowed to drive."
On performing, he said his neurologist compared each concert to head trauma. Rock shows bring volume, lights, stress, and crowd energy. Joel said rock already left him deaf. Doctors told him he should not be doing that right now and that more testing is required before any return.
"What the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion."
He wants to perform again. He also said he does not yet know if he can.
"I have to take a series of tests before I know."
Joel rejected the idea that he stockpiled bikes for display. He said he rode them. Over time the garage filled past a hundred machines. Age and balance problems forced a choice.
"Well, I ended up having over a hundred motorcycles, and the truth is you can only ride one at a time. I’m into my 70s now, and I realized I can’t ride as much as I used to. I don’t want to die like a bug on a windshield. So I thought I’d put a lot of them on auction."
He called the anonymity of a helmet and goggles part of the appeal, just another rider on the road. He likes Japanese, Italian, English, and American bikes alike. His crown jewel, he said, is a Moto Guzzi California Vintage 1100 he bought around 2007.
One standout lot is a custom 1978 Triumph Bonneville T140. Madison Square Garden gave it to him to mark his 150th sold-out show at the venue.
Joel has crashed before. In 1982 on Long Island, he said a woman ran a red light as his light turned green. He hit her car, flew over it, broke both hands, and injured his leg. He was wearing a helmet, boots, and gloves.
He still has no bone in his left thumb. His right wrist was pulled from its socket. The left hand was smashed and the leg broken. He said the other driver later sued him anyway, a pattern he called typical for motorcyclists dealing with car drivers who do not watch for bikes.
He also pushed back on the old image of the reckless rocker on two wheels. He said he never rode drunk and tried to be a safe driver, even if the public assumed otherwise from songs and videos.
Joel built a career on packed arenas, long New York residencies, and hits that still fill radio. The medical pause he described is not a farewell speech. It is a brake pedal. Doctors set limits. He is selling the bikes he can no longer ride the way he once did. Fans waiting for a full return will have to wait on the same tests he is waiting on.
Knowing when the road and the stage demand restraint is not weakness. It is the kind of adult judgment celebrity culture too often skips.
