Many bikers have heard stories about the Evil Road Spirits—little gremlins that live on a bike and are responsible for most of a bike's problems. The gremlins are at it when a rider's turn signals refuse to work, his battery goes dead, the clutch needs adjustment, or any of several hundred things go wrong.

But according to biker legend, these road spirits can't live in the presence of a bell because they get trapped in its hollow. Their hearing is supersensitive, so the constant ringing of the bell and the confined space drives them insane. They lose their grip and fall to the roadway.

To ward off those spirits, some riders have a small bell attached to their motorcycles, down close to the road. A rider can buy a bell of his own, but to work best, the bell should have been given by a friend.