NEW YORK — Songmaster and avid motorcycle lover Billy Joel is unable to drive and needs to undergo further tests to gauge if or when he can perform again, the legendary performer said in a recent interview.

“I have to take a series of tests before I know,” he told The Hollywood Reporter as he prepared to auction off more than 70 motorcycles from his beloved collection. “I can’t drive right now. I’m not allowed to drive.”

The piano man, 77, canceled all performances in May last year after being diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, defined by the Cleveland Clinic as a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inside the skull that presses on the brain.

CSF normally drains back into the bloodstream, but with hydrocephalus the fluid makes its way deep inside and gets stuck there, filling the brain cavities known as ventricles instead of flowing through, according to the National Institutes of Health. This can cause problems with vision, walking, and thinking, among other symptoms.

Joel’s cancellation announcement indicated the condition had affected his “hearing, vision and balance.”

In a health update that June, Joel said his balance felt “like being on a boat.” In September last year, he closed his Long Island motorcycle shop, 20th Century Cycles in Oyster Bay, and announced the bike auction. The Christie’s auction will take place at the Javits Center in New York City on Nov. 20 and 21, the auction house said.

While Joel did jump onstage in early January to play a surprise, two-song mini set at a Florida New Year’s celebration, he has not been cleared to give a full-scale concert.

“What the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion,” Joel told The Hollywood Reporter, citing the combination of extreme sound volume, lighting, stress, and energy involved.

Treatment often involves having a tube known as a shunt implanted so the fluid can drain, and last month Joel reported he had done just that. Afterward, he told a podcaster, “My memory got better, my balance got a little better, my ability to function was better.”

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