I posted this on a Goldwing forum when the bell thread came up back in 2005. A few additions or changes to the original post I made for this current thread are in red :
Gremlin bells, bike bells or whatever you call them are an old tradition. They supposedly keep the gremlins away that cause breakdowns, crashes and generally bad juju on your bike. They don't work unless they are freely given, and should be put on the bike as far forward and as low as possible. In the old days before the marketing types got into the act with chrome and little cards to sell you on the bell and angels, logos, cute sayings and such on them, the bells were almost always brass. Usually bought at flea markets, found in grandma's junk drawer or the like. The little cards explaining "The Legend Of The Bell" are a marketing ploy, not tradition. One place I used to get brass bells was at Pier 1 back when it sold cheap stuff from India before it got trendy and expensive. Now I get them at flea markets or ebay. Check "Brass Bells" or "Bells of Sarna". I usually pick up a half dozen for around $10. Picking one of the chromed ones with angels, sayings, logos or a service insignia and such at a bike shop, swap meet or rally is fine. It's not old school tradition, but it is the thought that counts.
I have had one on every bike I've owned. Never even hinted that I wanted one to anybody, was just given them. Was given my first one by a friends dad (A M/C "gang" member - 1st 1%er I knew) when I was 9 years old (I'm 64 now) for my Sears & Roebuck minibike and told about the gremlin deal. It was, and still is, a large round brass sleighbell, about 2 1/2" in diameter. That bell is on my Harley in the garage as I type. (Note- sold the Harley after 28 years last summer, 2019, kept the bell) The one on the Goldwing was given to my wife by a guy at a rest stop in Iowa. We were talking bikes (what else?) and he noticed there was no bell on the trike. Seems he was just at a yard sale and bought 2 brass bells, and gave one for our trike. (Passed this bell along to the new owner when the Wing trike was sold)
Every time I see mine or hear it jingle I know that someone thought enough of me to give me a token that they wish me the best. Superstition about the road gremlins aside, what they really signify is that someone cares and they want you to be safe. And for me I think about them when I hear the bell or clean it while washing the bike.
Later in that thread folks started to ask for a bell, which was considered bad form in the old days before internet. A further post:
Since the old tradition is to not ask for a bell folks just mentioned that they don't have one, and someone else would post to the effect"I'll freely send you one, email me your address."
Now I am of two minds about this. Old school thought is that a bell is freely given out of the blue, not asked for or even a hint that it's is wanted or it doesn't mean anything. That was before internet when folks you know were close by and people met pretty much only In Real Life.
Now with the interwebs great friendships are formed and go on for years without a face to face meeting. In this case how would a friend know if there is a bell on the bike ir they hadn't seen it? I guess the new reality would be that it is OK to let someone know there isn't a bell - like, "I've installed a new Intelocking Granistan Joint, put the Winter air in the tires, ordered some new blinker bearings and figured out where to put the ride bell if I get one." Be subtle, I guess that would be OK.
I have met a few folks that told me a bell on the rear is in memory of friends that are no longer with us, especially if they passed in a motorcycle accident. I don't know if this was regional or something within their group or club.