Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Do you keep a gremlin bell on your bike?

I have 2. I was given a POW/MIA bell by my riding group when I got the bike and my wife gave me one for Christmas. I like the traditions that we have but I am not superstitious. But 2 has to be more powerful than just 1 right, besides it keeps the bike symmetrical!

I have a brass one that was given to me. hangs from the foot control bar below the oil cooler.

I have one of them guardian bells, my wife gave it to me for fathers day along with a card stating how well I do my own stunts... I have to put it on the bike, since it was a present it has 10 times the power

Now that this thread has been revived, I've got a question for you folks....

Any truth to the rumor goin' around that these gremlin bells cause ignitors on Triumphs to go out???

(...and maybe cause warping of brake rotors TOO?)

I find this fascinating, I'd never heard of these things til ol' Ewan McGregor got in a fluster cos he thought he'd lost his, which he wore in his boot. So where did it start? I'm no tree huggin hippie, but we all have our little superstitions. Does havin a bell mean that it's all in fates hands so why give a hoot how we ride or how well we maintain the bike cos if it's meant to get f.u.b.a.r. it will? Seriously where does it come from?

I got one brought back from the US by a friend and yes its on my new bike...

Did you know everytime a bell rings an angel gets it's wings, the roads round here.... well

If it's noise that knock these gremlins off, I think I'm covered.
Even if my 16" shorties were purchased and not a gift.

MMMMM

Myth of the Harley Davidson Bell

Ride bells

yep, I have a bell hanging from the frame nice and close to the ground- easy for the gremlins to disembark.

Yep, my bud, who is my ins. agent, and a Harley rider got it for me as soon as he found out I got a bike again.

mumbo-jumbo!

(Which of course means that now either my belt will break or my rear tire will blow out on the way to Nelson.)

I don't is this way I'm always stuck on the side of the road?

Very superstitious,
some bell will save your life,

Very superstitious,
it protects you from all strife,

If your bike keeps stallin'[Dill],
ever think the cause

could be just bad wiring,
that's giving you such pause

When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain't the way

hey HEY, nah nah nah

(with apologies to Mr. Wonder)

Dwight,

I would bet that there is absolutely no truth to that whatsoever - at least as long as you have a gremlin bell on the bike.
I have a bell on my bike. The women at the Harley Dealer where I bought my two driving lights gave it to me when I made the purchase. I didn't tell her i was putting the lights on a Triumph and always wondered if she would have given it to me If she knew it wasn't a Harley.
I like the bell - and have never had a problem but credit that to Triumph and my care of the bike.
Gary

I've actually been the fortunate recipient of two. The first one was given to me by Newt after I had my spill during the first GA rally and I believe that bell decided leave me on my way home from the Noreast rally '05. The second one I got from Wojo and that is still on my bike today.

I've heard two stories about the bells. One is the road gremlin thing and the second is that you ring it to remind yourself of fallen riders and to let them know you're thinking of them. I think of it as something similar to the line from "A Good Life" - "Every time a bell rings an angel gets their wings".

I'm not big on superstitions myself but do feel like it's kind of a shared piece of culture (biking is a culture, right?) and since it's given with good intentions I can certainly appreciate and reciprocate that.

Does believing in Murphy's Law make me superstitous?

Nope! It just means that you're aware that life is always chock-full of little "surprises", that's all Brian.

And when you combine Murphy and Occam, you get Murphy's Razor.

My old buddy Steve pasted away early in life, but he lived it to the fullest. The day after he was buried, we went by his house. In a tree out back there was a string of bells hanging. His family gave us the bells in remembrance of Steve. They have been hang in a tree at our place ever since.

Steve rode a chopper of sorts. I've since clipped bells off the string as gifts to common friends that ride.

if I put a gremlin bell on my bike it would prohibit me from being able to get on my bike...