Billy Joel’s beloved motorbike store on Lengthy Island, New York, is closing down after almost 15 years of providing followers a free peek at his private assortment of dozens of bikes.
The music icon shall be shuttering twentieth Century Cycles in Oyster Bay in late September and auctioning off his assortment later this 12 months due to a mind dysfunction he has been recognized with, in keeping with a spokesperson, Claire Mercuri.
In Could, Joel introduced that he was canceling upcoming concert events after studying he has Regular Stress Hydrocephalus, a fluid buildup in his mind that may have an effect on pondering, concentrating, reminiscence, motion and extra, in keeping with the Cleveland Clinic. The 76-year-old singer, composer and pianist was having hassle along with his stability however in any other case felt good, he mentioned in an interview final month on Invoice Maher’s Membership Random podcast.
Joel, who grew up in close by Hicksville, opened twentieth Century Cycles in late 2010 as a spot to keep up and restore his bikes, restore and customise ones he purchased and showcase his assortment for the general public at no cost.
“It’s basically promoting an aesthetic here,” he said in a 2013 YouTube video filmed at the shop. “I like older style. I like the automotive style from the ‘30s to the ’60s. I wanted to collect a whole bunch of those kinds of bikes, put ’em in one place and let people see what that era of bike looked like. Because it’s starting to be a lost aesthetic.”
He mentioned he additionally needed to carry foot visitors and enterprise to downtown Oyster Bay — a ritzy waterfront group about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of midtown Manhattan — the place a part of the road that features twentieth Century Cycles was renamed Billy Joel Manner in 2023.
“I’ve been living in this community for a long time,” he mentioned within the video. “I actually grew up not far from here. And I’d like to get a little interest going into the town and the village.”
Joel’s close by house in Centre Island is listed for $29.9 million, and he has been residing in South Florida, whereas protecting a house in Sag Harbor on Lengthy Island.
The store turned a preferred cease for motorbike fans and vacationers. It was house to Joel’s assortment of greater than 75 bikes, relationship again all the way in which to the Nineteen Forties and together with Harley-Davidsons, Triumphs, Ducatis, Moto Guzzis, Indians and BMWs. One of the crucial precious, he mentioned, was a 1952 Vincent Rapide, which may promote for tens of 1000’s of {dollars} and generally extra, in keeping with public sale websites.
“I feel all people in Oyster Bay would agree that it’s a giant loss,” said Ted Bahr, who owns a vintage rock poster gallery next to 20th Century Cycles. “Billy’s place is visited on weekends by dozens and dozens of people, typically on motorcycles but also people in cars,. People come up and look at the window all the time. I mean it’s a real destination. Billy Joel is a real superstar, and he is a hometown boy, so it’s really unfortunate.”
The bikes that have been within the store have already been moved out. But it surely has been open on latest weekends promoting new, used and classic motorbike elements that have been nonetheless in inventory there.
Joel’s enthusiasm for bikes dates again many years. In 1982, he was using a bike on Lengthy Island when he was struck by a automotive that ran a purple gentle, injuring his left thumb and dislocating his proper wrist. He spent a few month within the hospital. He has additionally ridden bikes in varied advantages for 9/11 first responders, breast most cancers and different causes over time.
A date for the public sale of his assortment has not been set.
