Motorcycle Explorer Nov 2015 Issue 8 | Page 84

Motorcycle Superstition I’ve no doubt that we all have our own little good luck routines for things that we hope go well. This tends to be more in sport than anything else but of course in everyday life you have the walking under ladders is bad luck. That I can understand, not really the bad luck but the common sense factor; if there is a ladder then it stands to reason someone is working at the top of it! They also tend to be holding something to do that job and if they drop it then it lands on the person walking under the ladder, simple! I was looking at the more ‘odd’ superstitions that are about and they tend to based on the Harley Davidson motorcycle group – I’m not sure if that’s a marketing ploy or if they tend to break down more than other brands! The Gremlin Bell. Legend (or marketing department) has it that the road is littered with these nasty spirits called Gremlins (most riders of my age will recall the movie) and they love to ride on motorbikes. As you ride by they jump on your bike and start messing with bits until it breaks the bike or you have a crash. They hide in small gaps so they can’t be washed off and so this small bell that is attached to the lower part of the lower part of the bike attracts them. Gremlins also have very sensitive hearing, it’s said and the ringing of the bell makes them cover their ears, the lose their grip and fall off the bike. There is an add on to this; if you buy a bell it has half the power or none at all (depends who you ask) but if the bell is given to you by another rider then it doubles the power or gives it power depending on what tale you listen to. Another take on the bell is from group riding be that MC, MCC or just a bunch of mates. That the last rider to have an off has the bell and passes the bell on to the next rider to have an off as a tongue in cheek mark of shame. A variation on this is that the you keep the bell and get another after every off you have giving a warning to other riders that you’re shit at riding and they should keep clear as you clang and tinkle down the road. If this is based on the Harley and you have Screaming Eagle pipes then I’m thinking you’d need a hell of lot of bells before they could be noticed by another rider.