Proper Talisman

[Dragonrider]

You may all bow to my SO, who, after significant effort managed to find the proper charm for road gremlins...

The legand is that the gremlins leap on your bike from the road, causing all sorts of mischief (rough running to limp mode..) - the bell captures them, and the ringing makes them crazy & they drop to the road, causing pot-holes

Of course, one purchased by a good friend or your SO si 2X more effective....

[Dragonrider]

Sorry - it's tough to hit the right size...

[Tom in NM]

Sorry - it's tough to hit the right size...

. . . . . Gremlins live under keyboards too.

Tom

[HD2CANAM]

You cannot buy this bell yourself and put it on because it will not faze the gremlins. It has to be given to you as a gift. Very Important!!

[Dragonrider]

Tom - unfortunately there's no room for a bell under my keyboard - besides, who would want a pothole on their desk????

I wonder how may SLs have a Gremlin Bell??

I have two bikes, and one on each... One Spyder 1 talisman..

[Some Guy]

If someone ever gives me one of these bells, I'm going to name it Alexander...so, wait for it...Alexander Gremlin Bell !!!

[bjt]

Tom - unfortunately there's no room for a bell under my keyboard - besides, who would want a pothole on their desk????

I wonder how may SLs have a Gremlin Bell??

I have two bikes, and one on each... One Spyder 1 talisman..

dltang and I each got one of the bells from a very kind and generous SpyderLover. Thanks again 8Legs.

[MizMuffet]

What do you think is the best thing when changing bikes? Should the bell stay with the bike, or is it okay to take it off and transfer it to your new bike?

[3wheeldemon]

What do you think is the best thing when changing bikes? Should the bell stay with the bike, or is it okay to take it off and transfer it to your new bike?

You need a new one, is bad luck like changing the name of a boat...

Of course that wisdom has probably being spread by the guys who make them

3WD

[MizMuffet]

Hmm, another opinion from Gary, owner of gremlinbells.com, and a nice story of the tradition:

Many years ago, on a cold December night, a crusty old biker was returning from a trip to Mexico with his saddlebags filled with toys and other assorted trinkets for the kids at a group home near where he worked.

As he rode along that night thinking how lucky he had been in life, having a loving riding partner that understood his need to roam the highways and to his trusty old pan that hadn’t let him down once in the many years they had shared the road together.

Well about 40 miles north of the border, in the high desert, lurked a small group of notorious little critters known as road gremlins. You know, the ones who always leave little obstacles like, one shoe, boards, and pieces of old tires on the road, and also dig those dreaded potholes for bikers to run over and crash, thus giving the road gremlins a chance to rejoice over their acts of evil.

Well, as the lone wolf of a biker rounded a curve that moonlit night, the gremlins ambushed him, causing him to crash to the asphalt and skid before coming to a stop next to one of his saddlebags that had broken free. As he lay there, unable to move, the road gremlins made their way towards him. Well, this biker, not being one to give up, started throwing things at the gremlins as they approached him. Finally, with nothing else to throw but a bell, he started ringing it in hopes to scare off the dirty little gremlins.

About a half a mile away, camped in the desert, were two bikers sitting around the campfire talking about their day’s ride, and the freedom of the wind blowing in their faces as they rode across this vast country. In the stillness of the night air they heard what sounded to them like church bells ringing, and upon investigating, found the old biker lying along the roadside with the gremlins about to get him. Needless to say, being part of the biker brotherhood, they preceded to ward off the gremlins until the last ran off into the night.

Being grateful to the two bikers, the old road dog offered to pay them for their help, but as all true bikers do, they refused to accept any type of payment from him. Not being one to let a good deed go unnoticed, the old biker cut two pieces of leather from his saddlebags tassels and tied a bell to each one. He then placed them on each of the biker’s motorcycles, as near to the ground as possible. The tired, old road warrior then told the two travelers that with those bells placed on their bikes, they would be protected from the road gremlins and that if ever in trouble, just ring the bell and a fellow biker will come to their aid.

So, whenever you see a biker with a bell, you know that he has been blessed with the most important thing in life—friendship from a fellow biker.

The Purpose of the Ride Bell
Many of us have heard the story about Evil Road Spirits. They are little gremlins that live on your bike. They love to ride, and they’re also responsible for most of your bike’s problems. Sometimes your turn signals refuse to work; your battery goes dead, the clutch needs adjustment, or any of several hundred things that can go wrong. These problems are caused by Evil Road Spirits.

Evil Road Spirits can’t live in the presence of the bell, because they get trapped in the hollow of the bell. Among other things, their hearing is supersensitive, so the constant ringing of the bell and the confined space drives them insane. They lose their grip and eventually fall to the roadway. Have you ever wondered how potholes are formed? The bell has served its purpose.

If you pick up a Bell of your own, the magic will work, but if your bell is given to you, the power is doubled, and you know that somewhere you have a special friend helping to look after you.

So, if you have a friend who doesn’t have a bell, why not give them one? It’s a nice feeling for the recipient to know you care. The bell, plus a good preventive maintenance program by the bikes owner, will help elim

Email:
Heather on the HD forums e-mailed Gary at www.gremlinbells.com and asked him if he knew if tradition allowed you to take a bell off of one bike and transfer it to your new bike. This is his response.



Hi Heather,

I do not know the "official" answer to that question. Here's the rule of thumb that I (and some of my fellow riders) go by. The bell stays with the rider. Whenever I got a new motorcycle I transferred my old bell over to the new bike. Then I gave the new owner of my bike a bell (as a gift of course) to protect them. Some of our riders have the bell & bike blessed right after the exchange.

The best information I can find on the history of the gremlin bell is that the tradition started with pilots in WWII. My understanding is that each pilot carried their own gremlin bell to place in the cockpit of whatever plane they were flying at the time to ward off gremlins... The bells transferred over to bikes at some point.

Following that root tradition, I have a bell that I carry with me when I travel. I put it in whatever vehicle I am traveling in (plane, bike, rental car, etc.) if it doesn't already have one. I just hang it somewhere convenient and have had nothing but good luck so far. Basically I think they're good at warding off gremlins in every vehicle and the bell is gifted to the rider - not the bike, plane, car or whatever.

Does that help answer your question?

-Gary
www.gremlinbells.com

[3wheeldemon]

I stand corrected

[Major Finder]

I was given a Guardian/Gremlin Bell last Christmas and mounted it on the lowest part of the Spyder the next day. We haven't had a bit of trouble with the Spyder until Labor Day Friday when the dynamic power steering caused the handlebars to fight back going into some curves on the interstate. It was a scary feeling but we were several hundred miles into the holiday ryde and were committed to finishing the ryde back home. A neighboring church invited all and any motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, and scooter to a "Blessing of the Bikes" one Sunday so we had the Spyder blessed, too. Anything helps.

We love our Spyder. We rode 4200 miles on the Oregon Trail and back this summer and it performed beautifully.

Major Finder

[Don in E Texas]

Guardian Bell........don't leave home without one. Our bike has one given as a gift from another rider. Many thanks, Machelle.

don

[Dragonrider]

From my circle - you remove the bell and pin it on a good pic of the old bike.

Everyone "needs" to be given an new one for their bike - I have a nice collection of bells...

[Roaddog2]

What do you think is the best thing when changing bikes? Should the bell stay with the bike, or is it okay to take it off and transfer it to your new bike?

The bells have always stayed with me because important people in my life have given them to me

[spyder08]

I have one but it didn't prevent me from smushing a little squirrel the other day.

[retread]

I have one but it didn't prevent me from smushing a little squirrel the other day.

That was a gremlin disguised as a squirrel.
john

[LittleJohn]

I have one but it didn't prevent me from smushing a little squirrel the other day.

Was the squirrel wearin a bell?????

[BumbleBee]

If someone ever gives me one of these bells, I'm going to name it Alexander...so, wait for it...Alexander Gremlin Bell !!!

pm me with your address, I will send you one You can name it Gremlin Bee Bell

I was also given one, hanging nicely under my spyder

[shunkmanitu]

During a broadcast on Gangs they did a segment on a BA biker gang out of Philly. As a number of the gang rode by I noticed a Tinkle Bell hanging from under one of the Harleys.

[draboo]

I ve been riding bell-less all these years and now that I have and extra wheel holding me up, I m guessing that its safe to remain bell free.

Now,balls,on the other hand..

[Dragonrider]

Did I read that correctly??? Bats in the belfry??

[shansmow]

So after we returned from deployment I bought my Spyder and a friend of mine bought a Harley. Different people gave us bells for our bikes. She's dropped her bike once and almost ran into a telephone pole on aonther ride (needless to say I haven't had any problems) so now I've gotten her a small and medium cowbell. Maybe gremlins are more attracted to Harleys and they need bigger bells!

[Skidz]

On another forum, a member set up a way to give bells to those members who don't have them. The first poster would start things off, and give a bell to the next person who posts. That person would in turn give one to the next poster, and so on. Addresses would be PM'd by whomever was trading. It worked out great, I think we had about 40-50 people participate.

What do you guys think? Is this something we might want to get going? Also, I think it lasted about 10 days or so, so it didn't get buried up and forgotten.

Skidz

[3wheeldemon]

On another forum, a member set up a way to give bells to those members who don't have them. The first poster would start things off, and give a bell to the next person who posts. That person would in turn give one to the next poster, and so on. Addresses would be PM'd by whomever was trading. It worked out great, I think we had about 40-50 people participate.

What do you guys think? Is this something we might want to get going? Also, I think it lasted about 10 days or so, so it didn't get buried up and forgotten.

Skidz

Is a great idea!, people has not responded yet because either they already have one (like me) or the have a hard time acknowledging that they have no friends

3WD