Gremlin bell

I noticed some are having problems with their Silverwings. Do any of you ride without a gremlin bell? That is just acting for trouble. I have a bell on my SW that's been on my bikes for years. I always transfer it to new bikes I buy. I believe that's why I've been riding for many years, over sixty without any serious problems.

There are rules about gremlin bells, they have to be given not asked for. You can buy your own but that will weaken the strength of the bell. If it's given to you by someone who cares for you it works best.

I mounted my high mileage bell on my current SW drilling a couple of small holes in the plastic at the lowest point below the radiator intake. Bells are most effective as close to the road as practical. You can see evidence of these bells on bikes as you ride. The bells fill up over time and then the gremlins bail out. That's where pot holes come from.

Check out the 'Legend of the bell' or 'motorcycle bells'

There sure must be a lot of them in Minnesota. We have potholes all over the place!!

Interesting.
I've always known them as 'Guardian Bells'.

My Father, who was an air gunner on Lancasters in Bomber Command during WW2, would have told you that gremlins are very real and were feared by airmen throughout the war.

He survived two crashes during training when engines failed for no good reason. Later, he was shot down by a night fighter and although that incident can't be put down to Gremlins, the Fw190 which shot him down may have been flown by one!

Incidently, he survived a year in a POW camp and made it home safely after the war.

Is that what the bells are for? I didn't know what they were for and removed two of them that were attached to the bottom of my 2004 Swing/trike. It came with the Swing when I purchased it several years ago. Don't know what I did with them. So far no major problems. As a matter of, I had to do major repairs after purchasing the Swing. It still had the bells attached. Maybe it saved me from a breakdown driving about 250 miles from the seller's location in Washington state. Had to replace the rear wheel with a new tire, two rear brake calipers with new pads, inner and outer rear axle colars. Also replaced the front tire before starting a road trip to Vancouver and Victoria. The trike did ok except for a repair I had to do to the trike suspension about 300 miles from home. I may go looking for the bells. Hope that I kept them.

Unfortunately those bells will only be half strength since they weren't purchased by someone else for you. But half a loaf...

I bought a 2017 BMW C 650 GT scooter last year with a bell on it. It was on the black plastic covering the side of the front tire.

The seller told me the legend -- this bell had been on all his bikes; it was given to him long ago by another rider. They both believed it kept them safe through all these years. It was important to him that I knew about the bell.

i nodded sagely, took ownership of the bike, rode off and pulled into the first parking lot I saw with a garbage can, which is where I deposited the bell. The two ugly holes drilled in the black plastic stayed with me, permanently marring an otherwise flawless machine.

My issue wasn't the legend. It was having something next to the tire that might come loose and get tangled in the rotor. That bell was a goner the minute I saw it.

I'd never heard of gremlin bells before this topic, so I looked on eBay and there's lots of them for sale. They're exactly the predictable and overpriced biker tat I expected them to be, all skulls, horns, and devils. I wouldn’t waste my money on one for myself, or buying one as a gift for someone I know. I'd probably throw it in a drawer if anyone gifted me one

The nearest thing I have to a lucky charm is the Saint Cristopher pendant I found attached to the inside pocket of my hi-vis yellow Icon Mil-Spec Vest when I bought it. I remember lots of people wore St Christopher's when I was a teenager.

I'd say if you're going to fit something to your maxi scooter, a front mud flap is a far more useful addition.

Agree on front mud flap as wonderful addition----in US, cheap/nice material mud flaps are getting harder to find. I always bolt mine on.

Loosemarbles I can vouch for the fact that Gremlins are still alive and well in aviation.  Flying in NW Alaska before I retired I've owned ten different aircraft (not all at once and not because I wrecked any) and have dealt with those little demons quite few times.

I see Delray posted a pix of his scooter without the bell.  Anybody care to post a picture of their scooter WITH a bell so i can see what you're talking about?

You could always Google “Motorcycle bell” and come up with a large number of hits. Here is one of many:
https://www.bikebandit.com/blog/the-legend-of-the-gremlin-bell-a-bikers-tradition

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This is all you need to hang from your scooter.  Biker Ballz.  Show the world you got some nutz. ; Don't hang em to low that could hurt.

Biker Ballz?

Isn’t that a Harley thing? Ya know, for the guys who think their bike is a penis extension.

Yes I think it is. Loud pipes and chrome don't forget the pirate costume.

Mostly see them hanging from P/U trucks.

Glad I'm not alone because I also never heard of gremlin bells before.
I agree, they're over priced on eBay but, according to the rules, I can't buy one anyway.
However, I imagine there must be passengers out there who wish the bike was equipped with a gremlin bell for their own safety.

The legend varies but most agree you can buy one for yourself but it will only have half power of those bought by someone who cares for you. There's no reason you can't hint a few times about the need of one. Should work well for someone who rides behind you, they have something invested in keeping gremlins away.

I've always had regular small bells, plain with no "biker stuff" on them. There's a whole lot of different bells on Amazon including plain bells, religious bells, veteran bells of most Armed Services, and many others.

Best way to get one without asking is to print out a copy of the legend along with the URL of the Amazon page. Just leave it laying around for a significant other to see.

The sales pitch for one of these bells said gremlins live on your bike attracted by it's chrome and cool styling. As a maxi scooter isn't considered a proper bike and are covered in plastic not chrome tat, I doubt if any self respecting mythical gremlin would ruin it's street cred by hanging about on one.

I've used Gremlin Bells way back to my rocket bike days in the early 90's. My girlfriend at the time got me one. It didn't keep me from getting locked-up or from crashing, but the bike always ran like a top. Now that I'm older and more responsible I still run them. Funny story. I took the Liberty scooter in for a service awhile back. The mechanic brings it out when done and says "There is a tingling sound when it (Liberty) is idling and myself and another tech couldn't find it!". I pointed to the Gremlin Bell hanging on the rear turn signal and he busted out laughing. Said he never heard of such a thing.

Well a Goldwing  is pretty well a 'proper bike'. I put more than 100,000 miles on a pair of them, 75,000 on my first a 1993 GL1500, and a bit over 25,000 on 2001 GL1800. The bells on both of them worked fine both bikes never let me down. Not all short rides, Haines, AK to Tacoma, WA and on to San Diego one year plus return. Medford, Oregon to Calhoun GA and on to NC just to get to the Atlantic coast to make it a true coast to coast run.

My first introduction to the 'maxi scooters' was with a couple of Southern California fellows I met at Crater Lake, OR. They were on their way home with their two SWs on a tour to Southern Canada. An SW isn't a motorcycle but it darn well is a proper bike. It sure helps riders stay on two wheels well into their later years.

After having left side crushed in the Air Force and riding (with clutches) for 45 years. Finally my Wrist Went Bad.  I went to Silver Wings 5 years back to stay riding.  Really so pleased with Silver Wings.

Never had the gremlin bells on my bikes. Might have helped with my BMW Electrical Gremlins

Gremlin bells? It sounds like witchcraft to me.
The only allowed witchcraft on a bike is the electrical system.

Some of the comments about the mythical "gremlin" bell is quite funny .
While Touring with the same Internationally known Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band for the last 25 full yrs(Only missing 4 shows , after the passing of my mother) as a touring Piano tuner/Keyboard tech/among wearing many other hats in the organization . One of the guitar players kept having various , embarrassing , troublesome , issues with his guitar rig every night , for 2 or 3 shows . The new guitar tech of only a couple of weeks , kept telling the guitar player-(Ed King) , "' You must have gremlins in your rig!'" . During a soundcheck one day he was handed a non-working guitar....again . I heard the guitar player , (and so did everyone else at the rehearsal,,,,in all caps say) , " If I hear you mention one more word about gremlins ,, You're fired ! " . The tech was offered help and suggestions from all of us to remedy the issue which fell on deaf ears... He was given a plane ticket home a few days later , after given chances to fix the issue .
Now ....I must confess . I was offered a bell from a friend as he told me the story . As I thought to myself "What ???, and , I don't want some bell hanging from my bike ". I put it on anyway, in a very inconspicuous spot as to not hurt any feelings .
There were no "gremlins" in the guitar rig , we found and remedied the issue the day he was sent home .
ST

No Gremlins in the guitar rig ay? That's what the Gremlins wanted you to believe