"The Moto Guzzi dealer's conference was held during the day with a public viewing of their work at 20th Century Cycles at night during Cruise Night. They gave out between 200 and 300 T-shirts and had tents and salespeople all out there. It was very nice," he said.

Moto Guzzi enthusiasts and aficionados are called Guzzisti. Fans can be for the vintage or modern bikes. The company celebrated its 90th anniversary in March – it was founded on March 15th, 1921. Their logo, an eagle, is in memory of one of the three original founders of the marquee.

A Special Marque

Moto Guzzi, established in Mandello del Lario, Italy, created the first motorcycle wind tunnel and the first motorcycle eight-cylinder engine. The Moto Guzzi company was the idea of two aircraft pilots and their mechanic – Carlo Guzzi - serving in the Italian Air Corps, during World War I at the Miraglia Squadron based outside of Venice. The original partners were: Carlo Guzzi, the engineer; Giovanni Ravelli, a famous pilot and motorcycle racer, who was to be the promoter, but died before the end of the war in an air crash; and Giorgio Parodi who was the CFO. Carlo Guzzi's first engine design was a horizontal single that dominated the first 45 years of the company’s history in various configurations. Through 1934, each engine bore the signature of the mechanic who built it.

"Billy Joel has about 65 motorcycles on display. They are Triumphs, Moto Guzzis, Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, Ducatis, Indians, BMWs, Nortons, BSAs, Yamahas, Royal Enfields, Vespas, Harley Davidsons, a very rare 1952 Vincent, and multiple sidecars," said Mr. Azzaretto.

Austin's enthusiasm for old cars and motorcycles will make your visit to the museum very enjoyable. His full-time business is Green Acres Tire and Auto Center in Valley Stream, New York for the past 35 years.

He has owned over 200 collectible cars over the years and is a expert in his field.

A Special Place

Mr. Azzaretto said "Mr. Joel comes in the museum when it's quiet and no one is around. This is his private area; and private collection; He's just a nice collector guy. He likes to relax and not to be recognized. For the most part, it works well,” he said.

The Museum 20th Century Cycles, is open Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 4:00pm and on Tuesdays, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm until the end of September when Cruise Night shuts down for the season.

Mr. Azzaretto said, "Billy Joel feels at home in Oyster Bay, New York. Most locals treat him like a regular and they respect him but treat him like a favorite son, but they don't press him for photo ops."

Hometown Visitors

That was true when Hicksville, New York residents Maureen Gustafson, her husband Ed and grandchildren Caitlyn, 4 and Eddie, 8 visited Oyster Bay on a recent weekend. (Hicksville is Billy Joel's hometown, too.) Maureen said, "We like to visit at Taby's on Audrey Avenue for breakfast on the weekends. That day we went to Buckingham's next, because my granddaughter Caitlyn likes to buy candy there. Then we walked over to see the motorcycle museum.

"When I walked in, at first I thought one of the men was Billy Joel but he wasn't; but then I spotted him and I was happy to see him. He was in the back of the shop telling someone to move a bike."

"I didn't say anything but my husband went over and said, 'Hi Billy. This is my grandson Eddie.' He didn't even say, 'I love your music' or ask for a photo to be taken. As we left about six motorcyclists pulled up to the shop to come in."

Maureen said they loved seeing Billy Joel and felt that he was really at home in the shop. It's a nice memory now for the family, and that is just about the way Mr. Joel likes it. He is just part of the Oyster Bay landscape. He just makes people feel good when they see him.

"Billy Joel: The Complete Albums Collection" brings together for the first time, in one elegantly designed box, the artist's complete catalog of 14 essential titles, from 1971's "Cold Spring Harbor" through 1979's Grammy-winning "Album of The Year" "52nd Street" and 1981's live "Songs In The Attic" to 2001's "Fantasies & Delusions," the first album of Billy Joel's classical compositions. Each album has been recently remastered in 24 bit audio for this edition and comes in cardboard jackets replicating the original album covers and sleeves. Included in the box are: "Cold Spring Harbor" (1971), "Piano Man" (1973), "Streetlife Serenade" (1974), "Turnstiles" (1976), "The Stranger" (1977), "52nd Street" (1978), "Glass Houses" (1980), "Songs In The Attic" (1981), "The Nylon Curtain" (1982), "An Innocent Man" (1983), "The Bridge" (1986), "Storm Front" (1989), "River of Dreams" (1993), "Fantasies & Delusions" (2001), Collected Additional Masters (1985-2007).

"This has been a long time coming, putting all my albums into one package," said Billy Joel in a recent in-depth interview for "Billy Joel: The Complete Albums Collection." "I'd never seen them all together in one place until I got the boxed set. It represents a lot of work! It's a little overwhelming, actually, looking at each individual album and remembering how much writing and recording, the time spent arranging and producing everything that went into each album. "In addition to offering brand-new remasters of every Billy Joel studio album, "Billy Joel: The Complete Albums Collection" includes two lavish 60-page booklets, printed lyrics to every Billy Joel composition, a new "Questions, Answers, and Perhaps A Little Music" with Billy conducted by noted music journalist Steve Morse, and a bonus disc of 17 rare and non-album recordings including "Elvis Presley Boulevard" (B-Side of the "Allentown" single, 1982); the live, cover version of The Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead" (B-Side of "An Innocent Man," 1983); "House of Blue Light" (B-Side of "We Didn't Start The Fire," 1989); and "You Picked A Real Bad Time" (B-Side of "All About Soul," 1993). "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" are outtakes that did not see light of day until 1985. Several tracks on the bonus disc originated as Billy Joel's contributions to various multi-artist movie soundtracks, notably his covers of the Elvis Presley hits "Heartbreak Hotel" and "All Shook Up," both from 1992's "Honeymoon In Vegas." Billy covered Lloyd Price's 1959 hit, "Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)," for the 1999 movie, "Runaway Bride," and Duke Ellington's "In A Sentimental Mood" for "A League of Their Own" in 1992. In 1982, Billy Joel contributed his original "Nobody Knows But Me" to "In Harmony II," a Columbia LP to benefit "Sesame Street"/"Children's Television Workshop." Other cover tunes on the bonus disc range from Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" and Leonard Cohen's "Light As The Breeze" to the Gerry Goffin-Carole King standard "Hey Girl" (Freddie Scott, 1963). In 1991, Billy Joel contributed "When You Wish Upon A Star" to Columbia's Disney tribute album, "Simply Mad About The Mouse." And in 2001, Billy Joel sang the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" at the Radio City Music Hall All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson concert. The exclusive bonus disc included on "Billy Joel: The Complete Albums Collection" closes with "All My Life," a 2007 single (which marked Billy Joel's first newly-written song since 1993's "River of Dreams") now making its first appearance on an album.The forthcoming Legacy Edition of "Piano Man," Billy Joel's 1973 debut album on Columbia Records, includes the 10-song original album in its entirety, remastered for this release in addition to a second disc premiering the first-ever release of Billy Joel's mythic performance at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studio on April 15th, 1972 (a year prior to his signing with Columbia). Philadelphia Daily News music writer Jon Takiff, an eye-witness to the event, has penned a new essay on the Sigma Sound show for the Legacy Edition of "Piano Man." The release and failure of a flawed "Cold Spring Harbor," his first solo album, on an indie label in 1971 prompted then-struggling musician Billy Joel to go to Los Angeles and cut-his-chops incognito in local piano bars as Bill Martin (chronicled in the title track of "Piano Man"). Unbeknown to Billy, WMMR, a top-rated Philadelphia FM station, had begun spinning "Captain Jack," a live track from a Billy Joel show they'd recorded at Sigma Sound, and the station's phones were going off-the-hook. The "Captain Jack" live recording was turning into a bonafide underground FM anthem, opening the door for a New York audition, competing major label interest, and a Columbia Records contract for the song's author and performer. "Columbia was Bob Dylan's label," Billy Joel said. "That was the deciding factor. At this time, you were allowed to build your career through FM radio, album tracks, concerts, singles and Bob Dylan was iconic for not being a hit singles type of artist. This was a company that knows how to build a career with an artist, so we decided to go with Columbia. "I never sat down and said I'm gonna write a hit record. I wouldn't know a hit record if it bit me. I just wrote songs. I wrote them for me, I wrote them for the band, or I wrote a song for the women in my life. I was just writing songs for me. It's music that I wanted to hear. If I didn't hear certain kind of music on the radio, I realized, 'Well, if I write and record this it'll probably be on the radio and that's what I'll hear.' That's what I was thinking. Not so much about having hits, but about making music that I liked. I only really ever did it for me. That may sound selfish, but I'm the only person that I really know all that well. "The Legacy Edition of 'Piano Man' makes available, for the first time ever, Billy Joel's full performance at Sigma Sound, re-mixed from the original studio recording. The concert includes three Billy Joel songs - "Long, Long Time," "Josephine," and "Rosalinda" - which do not appear on any other albums by the artist and, of course, the performance of "Captain Jack" which launched one of the most remarkable careers in show business. The legendary Sigma Sound performance is available exclusively on the new Legacy Edition of "Piano Man" (and is not included on "Billy Joel: The Complete Albums Collection."