Robbie Evans, of Bentonville, Arkansas, received a Gremlin Bell as a gift, and happily affixed it to his new ’08 Road Glide. He loved his shiny new bike with its modified engine, Crimson Red Denim paint and custom black molding.

Three days after he bought it, Robbie drove it to work and parked it in the lot. Someone apparently hopped on it, knocked it over, and stood it back up as though nothing had happened. Robbie was devastated. “I had to get all new parts to replace the damaged ones,” he said. “I couldn’t find a painter that could match the denim.”

A few months later, Robbie was headed to the Sparks America Rally, the Road Glide in tow in a toy hauler. On the way, the eyehook broke and the bike fell again, damaging the outer and inner fairings. “That’s when I found Dana at DN Graphix,” Robbie said. “She repainted the fairings to match the denim. I also had her paint the inner fairing gloss black.”

Six months went by with no problems, but then, on December 31st, Robbie started the bike at midnight to ring in the New Year, Harley style. “I had it started in the garage,” he said. “It got knocked into gear and hit the garage wall.” It also hit ten people, but fortunately no one was hurt.

“It did minimal damage,” Robbie said, “but I decided it was time for a change.”

He took it to D&D Cycle, who tore the Road Glide down. They sent parts back to DN Graphix for more paint, then reassembled it. Robbie’s a big fan of D&D. “They’ve done all the mods on my past bikes, and they’re working out all the bugs on this one,” he said. “They’re honest people who do a great job.”

Robbie calls his bike a “Geezer Glide,” but says it’s much, much faster. “This ain’t your grandpa’s Road Glide,” he laughed. It’s got a 103 cubic inch engine, and Screamin’ Eagle rods, cams and clutch and Thunderheader pipes, among other modifications.

After all of his mishaps, Robbie was getting quantity discounts on his paintwork. “This last time, Dana at DN offered to do a new paint job for peanuts,” he said. “I was just going to go for a solid black tank with an eagle skull and some flames. Dana added the Andromeda Silver striping and airbrushed real fire.” He’s more than pleased with the results.

It should be mentioned that after that third mishap, Robbie was getting a little concerned. “I’ve owned this bike for two-and-a-half years. Sadly, it was in the shop during two peak riding seasons,” he said.

Robbie was scratching his head over all of his mishaps. The first wreck in the parking lot. The second one in the trailer. That third, New Year’s Eve garage crash. Suddenly, the reason for all of misfortune became clear. It was the Gremlin Bell.

“My sister-in-law had given it to me as a gift,” he said, “and my sister-in-law and I don’t always get along so well. She lived with us for a while, and I had to ask her to leave.” A gremlin bell from a friend is good luck. A Gremlin Bell from an unhappy in-law might be a problem.

Robbie’s daughter recently bought him a replacement Gremlin Bell. “She wouldn’t let me ride again until I’d put the new one on,” he said. And so he did. Hopefully, those pesky road gremlins will leave him in peace, so that he can cruise these beautiful mountain roads.

For more on the legend of the Gremlin Bell click here.