Common Biker Superstitions

Barricade riding across Oregon

Have you ever noticed the bikers have bells on their motorcycles? Or when you see a biker pulled to the side of the road, they are rarely alone? There are many superstitions that have carried over through generations of biker. I am going to touch on some of the most important superstitions that most bikers hold on to this day.

Dropping your helmet:

They say, “As goes your helmet, so goes your head.” That is the saying behind this motorcycle superstition that says it is bad luck to drop your motorcycle helmet. We can understand where it is coming from, too. If you continue to just drop your helmet, there might be a chance that you can cause some damage to it. A damaged helmet is a worthless helmet. Apparently, it also does not matter how short the fall is. If you drop it, you replace it, because it is considered unlucky. It is thought that if you drop your helmet, your head will follow. That is not an image we like to picture, so we will leave it up to you. Honestly, you are bound to drop or have dropped your helmet, and if that is the case, it is not realistic to buy a new helmet every time you drop it.

When it comes to safety gear, riders typically put in a good amount of money to ensure that they are getting quality gear. When your safety is involved, that is not an area that you cheap out on. So, in that case, it is a bit unrealistic to think that someone should replace their helmet every time they drop it.

Legend of the Gremlin Bell:

Many years ago, on a cold December night an 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, he thought how lucky he had been in life, having a loving riding partner that understood his need to roam the highways on his trusty old bike that had not let him down once in the many years they shared the road together.

About 40 miles north of the border, in the high desert lurked a small group of those notorious little critters known as road gremlins, you know the ones that always leave little obstacles like, one shoe, boards, pieces of old tires, and dig the dreaded potholes for bikers to run over and crash thus giving the road gremlins a chance to rejoice over their acts of evil. As the old 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 move towards him. This biker, not being one to give up, started throwing things at the gremlins as they approached. Finally, with nothing else to throw but a bell he started ringing it in hopes it would scare off the dirty little gremlins.

About a half a mile away camped in the desert, were two bikers sitting around a campfire talking about their days 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. They preceded to ward off the gremlins until the last of gremlins 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 saddle bags tassels and tied a bell to each one, then slowly 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 will know that he has been blessed with one of the most important things in life — friendship from a fellow biker. When you purchase a gremlin bell and place it on your bike, it offers protection. If you receive the gremlin bell as a gift, the powerful magic of the bell is doubled. You want the bell to be low to the ground, but not so low it will catch on obstacles and come off. Place it as forward as possible, so the road gremlins will jump away when they first hear you.

The most important rules of the bell would be as follows:

• Rule #1: Never buy your own bell — In order for the bell to work, it must be received as a gift. Its magical powers are activated by the gesture of good will and care, and the bell becomes especially powerful if received from a fellow rider.
• Rule #2: Never hang your own bell — Probably originated from the Old Bike’s Tale, the bell should be hung on your bike by the person who gave it to you. Not only does the person give the sacred gift to you with intentional good will, but he or she makes sure that the protection is activated with good will intentions as well.
• Rule #3: Never leave your bell behind — If you sell your motorcycle, never leave it on the bike for the new owner. The bell should be cherished for what it represents, so you should take it off, keep it or transfer it to a new bike. If you want to give the bell to the new owner as a gift, you will have to take it off and personally hand it over. If you do not give the bell with good will that is intentional, it will not have protective properties.
• Rule #4: Attach it to the lowest part of the frame — Since the little gremlins lurk by the side of the road, they usually grab the motorcycles from below. If you place the bell as low as possible and closer to the front, you will ensure that that is the first thing they will grab and that they are instantly captured by it without a chance of doing a mischief.
• Rule #5: A stolen bell loses its powers — Motorcycle bell is all about good intentions, so stolen together with the bike, it will lose its powers and gremlins will run free. The thief will not stand a chance.
• Rule #6: The bell should be occasionally cleaned and polished — Every time the bike is cleaned, the bell should be polished. One must think of all the fallen friends while doing it, which is a way of paying them respect. One must also remember the meaning of being in the wind and importance of being free. Oh, and it makes the bell nice and shiny.

Green motorcycles:

Is a green motorcycle bad luck? Yes, it is! This used to be a “actual” thing. Green on motorcycles was considered a very bad idea. It might be one of the ‘unluckiest’ components existing in motorcycle history. While Kawasaki may have changed this superstition into something that has now become uniquely their own, it was not always that way. There was a time where green motorcycles were never something you messed with.

It is believed that the reason green motorcycles were considered highly unlucky was that of all the individuals who rode green motorcycles who died (coincidentally) in race crashes, and American troops who died in World War II while riding their green, military motorcycles. Now, we can assume the reason why so many riders died in the War was that enemy snipers would try to prevent them from sending important messages between bases and camps. However, people seemed to fixate on the green color and stayed away from it at all costs.

Stopping to help other riders:

Now, this is one that we think everyone should get on board with if they are not already. But not simply on account of luck. Think of this superstition as bad karma. If you see a fellow rider on the side of the road, for whatever the reason may be, you are always supposed to stop and offer help. Even if it does not really seem like they are going to need it, you are still supposed to stop. Always.

The reason basically boils down to karma. If you do not stop for another rider, it is believed that no one will stop for you if you are ever in a similar situation, or you will just receive some general bad luck. But let us be honest, even mildly bad luck can turn into bad luck when you ride a motorcycle. It does not take much to completely turn your day upside down.

A huge reason that so many bikers love to ride is that of our tight-knit culture. Now, when you do not help your fellow riders, that what does that say about the awesome culture we are supposed to have? Even beyond that, you should always try to help people if they seem like they are in need. It is the nice thing to do, and if you are someone that believes in karma, then good karma will come traveling right back to you. Also, no one likes that person, so do not be that guy.

Riding with the rear pegs down:

This superstition is like the belief about bells, but in the sense that it is believed you could be encouraging evil spirits to tag along for a ride. There is an old belief that you should never ride with your rear pegs down if you do not have a second rider with you. Why? It is believed that a second rider will appear.

It is probably those same darn evil spirits that you are trying to trap in the bell. Either way, it is believed that if you leave those pegs down, the spirits assume you are welcoming them to join you. But these riders are not very likely to be as pleasant as other riders because their sole reason for existence is to cause mischief.

This is considered a complicated superstition, simply because if you are riding your bike in a funeral procession in honor of a fellow fallen rider, you are supposed to have the pegs down so that your friend can enjoy one last ride.