Harley-Davidson Iron Cross Plays a Risky Game With Military Symbols From a Dark Past

For those unfamiliar with the symbol, we're talking about something that first came up in the Kingdom of Prussia in Europe in the late 1800s. It presented itself as a stylized black cross with a white outline and was loosely based on the symbol of the Teutonic Order of Dark Ages fame.

Like many other military emblems of its kind, it was awarded to soldiers for their bravery on the battlefield, but this one was so successful that it kept being used long after it was first introduced, including by the Nazi regime's Wehrmacht and the modern-day German Army, the Bundeswehr.

Because it was the most prominent on the German tanks of the Second World War people tend to associate the Iron Cross with those dark years of the 1940s, so seeing the symbol slapped on the sides of a custom motorcycle of American origin may make some of us feel a bit uneasy.

Yet here it is, the Harley-Davidson Iron Cross, a modified Softail Slim S of 2017 lineage, put together in this form over in Switzerland by a successful local garage we know as Bundnerbike.

The shop itself describes the two-wheeler as a bike with a rough post-war look and a modern twist. And while that is somewhat a matter of interpretation, it was clearly made as a sort of tribute to the bobber style that knew fame after the end of World War II.

We're not told the exact extent of the modifications made to the Slim S, but just using our eyes is enough to paint a pretty good picture of how the Iron Cross was transformed.

Supporting the bike on the ground are no longer the multi-spoked wheels we’re used to from Softails, but solid disc ones front and rear, the kind we used to get on some Fat Boys. We don't know the exact dimensions of the wheels, but we can see the front one lacks any type of fender to protect it, while the one at the rear received just a small patch of metal for the task.

The ape hanger fitted instead of the original handlebar completely changes the front lines of the Harley, making it look much more upright than it did in its original form. The fuel is different too, and looks even more so thanks to the fact it is no longer integrated into the bike, but it kind of floats all on its own right there on the frame.

It's likely the engine of the bike is the one it originally had on, but a single, custom exhaust pipe is now used to evacuate harmful gasses.

To make sure no one mistakes the Harley for something else, Bundnerbike slapped a big black iron cross on the sides of the fuel tank and placed the Harley-Davidson lettering right inside it. A dangerous game with feelings, if you ask me, one that makes this project a love-it-or-hate-it affair, with no possible middle ground.