Motorcycling Ethnography and Folklore

[JAS6377]

Hey, guys. I'm currently taking an Intro to Folklore class. Because as an engineer, I need to know about this stuff, right?  Anyway, I figured, why not make it about a group of people I love? So, I decided I'd do my paper on YOU!  Well, motorcyclists in general, but I figured with a lot of you veterans out there, you could offer some great insight. I haven't quite got the details all together yet, as it's not due until December 9th, but I need to collect examples of folklore (wive's tails, superstitions, etc.) and write about them. This may include a few interviews as well.

So, to start off, have you any superstitions or tales about riding, or know of any folklore in motorcycling (such as thanking your bike, or the Tree of Shame at the Tail of the Dragon)? If so, how did they come about, and what do they mean to you?

Thanks for your help, guys!

[adidasguy]

Gnome or Gremlin bell.
A small brass bell you hand from your bike. The tinkling scares away gremlins and your ride is safer.
However....
You CAN NOT put the bell on yourself. If you do, it is bad luck and won't work.
The bell must be a gift and that person must put it on your bike. That is the only way it will work.

Friend sold his bike. It had a gremlin bell. I removed it from the old bike and moved it to his new bike. He could not do that himself. If he did, it wouldn't work.

I'm sure others have more info on this practice.

[Kiwingenuity]

Don't know if it is folklore or not - I always get on my bike from the left hand side (I know the exhaust is on the right so the left is easier) - but this seems a lot like hopping on a horse on the left hand side which had something to do with knights and swords - is the exhaust on the right hand side to froce you get on the left I do not know..

[Janx101]

Don't know if it is folklore or not - I always get on my bike from the left hand side (I know the exhaust is on the right so the left is easier) - but this seems a lot like hopping on a horse on the left hand side which had something to do with knights and swords - is the exhaust on the right hand side to froce you get on the left I do not know..

thats an interesting idea! ...  ... sidestand is nearly always on the left... so bike normally leans to the left... except for a few scarce examples....

over our side of the world we drive on the correct side of the road .. and mounting the bike from the left also keeps you guarded from the traffic ...

could be the horse thing... where the sword on the left hip was easier to deal with if hanging clear of the nag ..

could be the 'most people are right handed' thing where co-ordinating a mounting move is easier if you start with your dominant side? ..

the gs500 exhaust .. and a lot of others are certainly on the right side... but what about the older bikes with pipes either side? ... or the newer bikes with undertail exhausts? ..

what we need here is a delorean to scoot back a bit and ask some questions! 


and Addy .. not heard of the gremlin bell in Aussie .. but that might be just my exposure level to bike history .. its a cool concept though! .. how big or noisy is said bell? .. dont want to be attracting hordes of kiddies thinking its the icecream truck eh? 

[Big Rich]

The bells are usually really small - about the size of your thumbnail.

[Banzai]

and Addy .. not heard of the gremlin bell in Aussie .. but that might be just my exposure level to bike history .. its a cool concept though! .. how big or noisy is said bell? .. dont want to be attracting hordes of kiddies thinking its the icecream truck eh? 

AKA Guardian Bells. I've seen them on a number of Aussie websites, particularly ones that cater to old fat blokes on Harleys.

[Janx101]

  "One of these is Evil Road Spirits.

They are the little gremlins that live on your bike. They love to ride. They're also responsible for most of your bike's problems."

and here i was thinking that maintenance and attention (or lack of) by the owner was responsible!! ... 

... still.... each to their own ...

i just have to wonder .. how many 1%ers have guardian bells to protect their 'bad asses' 

[Janx101]

just thinking about the OP post more though... i dont 'know' of many folklore tales or other riders superstitions ....

but i do have one myself...

a few times I have had this bike or other older bikes (mainly dirtbikes) apart in minor ways .. checking electricals, fuels lines and other small maintenance or repair issues .. im fairly concientious to stay calm and methodical about putting the various things (and the bike overall) back together without 'rushing' .. because id hate to have a 'situation' caused by my own lack of attention .. 

... so ... as i am putting bits back in and buttoning the bike back up.. fairings on etc .. i have a rule of 3 .. Any serious safety issue or mistake (not like just dropping a bolt and going looking for it .. or banging my knuckles) .. like breaking/splitting a fuel line on re-install and having to replace or otherwise fiddle with it  .. or accidentally pulling the cable out of the coil and having to wangle it back into place... or getting past where a piece needed to go and having to go back (pull apart again) to fix it... 3 of those type things and i still finish the job if possible... but i probably wont ride that day! ..

basic idea is if im not paying attention to making the bike safe .. then how well am i going to go while out riding?... sometimes you just have too much on your mind eh!! ... and .. the old '3rd time is the charm' concept, but extended .. 'you got away with errors 3 times!.. the 4th is gonna slam you hard into the wall of life!' ..


.. oh .. and from my work .. but it seems to carry into riding also...  .... "Thou shalt NOT mention the 'R' word" ... you can say precipitation .. you can say 'hope the weather doesnt close in' .. but you will not say the 4 letter R word!!  .. doing so invokes the attention of the weather god 'hughey' .. who has real bad hearing and often thinks you are asking for r...... umm .. precipitation instead of wishing it away! ... you might have 1000 miles of clear blue sky and no clouds to be seen ... but mention 'that word' and it all starts to get biblical! 

[adidasguy]

The left side thing is because the side stand is on the left and that's the way the bike leans. maybe it started as tradition from horses, but getting on and off the left makes sense. That may be why bikes with single exhausts have them on the right. Then the chain is usually on the left and the exhaust on the left would make cleaning it a pain.

I think many things of left/right is more standardization and what works best.

[JAS6377]

Thanks for all of the replies so far, guys! Superstitions, traditions, legends, tales, it's all folklore.

I find out tonight whilst doing research that green bikes are considered bad luck, at least in the USA. It apparently stems from WWII. The army bikes back then were painted olive drab, obviously, to match the army paint scheme. However, they were easy pickins for snipers. They were also used to escort the VIPs and such. Because of this, they were the perfect target for an ambush. After the war, it became such a symbol of bad luck that most manufacturers refused to produce a green bike.

[Janx101]

dunno if its from WWII .. but my missus refuses to ride in a green vehicle of any description...

.. but thats cos a gypsy fortune teller told her mum that a family member would die in a green vehicle!? 

[Zookmang]

Well thats just one more reason not to buy a kawasaki ninja!

[pliskin]

When riding bike.
When wildlife (animals) cross your path.
When is OK to run over them?

The rule is:
If it's small enough to eat it in one meal it's OK to run it over.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Gnome or Gremlin bell.
A small brass bell you hand from your bike. The tinkling scares away gremlins and your ride is safer.
However....
You CAN NOT put the bell on yourself. If you do, it is bad luck and won't work.
The bell must be a gift and that person must put it on your bike. That is the only way it will work.

Friend sold his bike. It had a gremlin bell. I removed it from the old bike and moved it to his new bike. He could not do that himself. If he did, it wouldn't work.

I'm sure others have more info on this practice.

similar to a christian motorcycle blessing. although am not sure if one could bless their own bike.

[Zookmang]

Watched a documentary on the american evangelist thing. Saw a lady pour holy water on her car and pray for angels to protect it when she was away, guess you could apply that to your bike too aye?

[mister]

Every year you can find places to give you a bike(r) blessing.

Mounting from the left. Bicycles too. Natural it is.... think progression from a scooter. Main foot pushes while left is on scooter base. Change scooter base to bike pedal. Smaller kid has left foot on pedal and pushes off with right leg.

Folklore... never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly - or something like that.

[Janx101]

Watched a documentary on the american evangelist thing. Saw a lady pour holy water on her car and pray for angels to protect it when she was away, guess you could apply that to your bike too aye?

Hope she dried it off with a holy chamois afterwards! .. Or she will end up with holy water spots!

[Zookmang]

Oh the angels wouldn't let that happen! 

[pliskin]

Watched a documentary on the american evangelist thing. Saw a lady pour holy water on her car and pray for angels to protect it when she was away, guess you could apply that to your bike too aye?

Hope she dried it off with a holy chamois afterwards! .. Or she will end up with holy water spots!

2 words....SHAM WOW!