Some of you might know John Moschetto, aka Gypsy Jack, who I have mentioned a few times on this blog. I am sad to announce that John Moschetto passed away a few weeks ago on the morning of Saturday October 27th while riding on the way to one his favorite local car events, Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee. I am not sure of the all the details but it seems Jack got into a collision with a Toyota 4Runner at the intersection of Shawan Road and Beaver Dam Road.
The Baltimore County police crash team is still investigating the accident, although early reports suggest that Moschetto lost control of his motorcycle and crossed the center line, heading into oncoming traffic. Moschetto was declared dead at the scene, according to police.
Reported the online newspaper, the Hunt Valley Patch. You can also read the original Patch story (with a quite a lot of comments) here.
What's surprising to me is that Jack was always a careful rider and had never been in a motorcycle accident in the 40+ years he was riding. (He was however struck on the back of the head while riding his bicycle.) He was very enthusiastic and passionate about safe riding techniques. He would never ride in bad weather or unsafe conditions and avoided them most of the time. In my opinion he gave sportbike riders a good name. I would have liked to learn to ride from Jack and he was going to help me get my Yamaha Virago running and rideable. Now, very regrettable, I won't have the chance or opportunity to learn to ride from him.
Jack was someone who was very enthusiastic and passionate about anything to do with wheels and it really showed. He could talk your ear off about the latest MotoGP race and was an avid fan. As most know he loved customizing his beautiful motorcycles to perfection and riding. Jack was a great photographer too and allowed me to use some of his Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee photos for this blog. He also had quite a toy collection and used to compete with RC cars.
You can still visit Jack's website, Gypsy Jack Racing, and visit his Examiner page to read some of the motorcycle articles he wrote there. He never liked writing for Examiner much but he clearly was passionate about writing. I encouraged him to start his own blog so he could showcase his motorcycle and toy projects. I wrote a short post about him awhile ago on this blog and shared a few pictures He wanted me to write other posts about him and his motorcycles and I sadly won't be able to.
Life is short and when accidents like this occur it is just reminder we should be happy of the time we have on earth. If you were a friend, neighbor, or family member of Jack, please a leave a comment below and share an experience or memory you have of him.
He was an active member on the R1 forum… were gutted by the news and I thought Id take it upon myself to let him, and all know hell be missed. RIP buddy, and sincere respects to his family and friends
Thanks for the nice and sincere comment Donnie. I will remember Jack for a long time for his enthusiastic spirit and personality.
Adam, I’ll share my post that is located on Facebook.
For knowing Jack for only a short time, that time was very memorable. He was a very positive and energetic presence. What a joy he was in conversation. He wore his passion and enthusiasm on his sleeve and his energy became yours. That was part of Jack’s magic. I’m truly saddened by his loss. Family and friends have so many memories and he’ll live on in those memories. We’ll miss Jack. His energy will move forward with us.
Thanks for sharing Rich.
Jack lived life at full throttle and his passion for motorcycles is where he expressed himself the most. RIP, brother
Very true! He could talk your ear off about motorcycles and was more knowledgeable about maintenance and riding then I anyone I have ever known.
Thank for remembering Jack on your blog! We were high school chums and he taught me to ride a motorcycle. I was witness to his passion to build amazing bicycles and motorcycles and then press the envelope to extract the most out of himself and his equipment.
Glad to know he taught you to ride David. I was hoping he could have taught me some riding skills. Unfortunately I won’t have that opportunity now.
LOL…I can tell you that even after flying combat in a Tomcat from an aircraft carrier, the most harrowing “ride” of my life was on back of his Kawasaki 400 in freezing temperature back in mid 70s….still remember the icy wind penetrating my jacket even though he was blocking most of the blast while he maneuvered the bike at its limits…
That’s a great story David, thank you for sharing! Please encourage anyone else who knew Jack to share a story here.
This is very sad to hear, eventhough I don’t know Jack myself, I did however read alot of his writings on his own website and on the R1-Forum.
I am 17 years old now, and I can honestly say that Jack DID truly convince me to get my very own motorcycle when I hit the right age.
I’m into motors for almost all my life, and I thank Jack for spreading information that was truely helpfull and interesting to I can say almost anyone that read it..
Ofcourse everyone hopes to avoid any sort of accident regarding to motors.
But everyone knows there always is a chance of getting involved in an accident..
For one last time I will say.. Jack was a good man, and his ambitions inspired me, and I think many others.
He died to what he was doing and liked most!
Thanks for sharing you story.