Harley-Davidson Softail 'Redhot' Cross Bones by Roberto Rossi

The 2011 Harley-Davidson Softail Cross Bones (FLSTSB) is the last H-D model to come with a standard Springer front end which, in combination with the fat tires (130 mm at the front, 200 mm at the rear), provides this motorcycle with an image that’s quite reminiscent of the bobbers of the 50s. With that in mind, it is just logical to expect that the customizations of this model would just follow the same style.

Roberto Rossi, a customizer from the Italian town of Mantua, introduces his interpretation of this 2009 Cross Bones, aptly re-dubbed ‘Redhot Bones‘. The first relevant modification concerns the rear, where the 17×6 rim is replaced by a 16-inch one fitted with a 5-inch Firestone ANS tyre. The same tyre has been used for the front too.

Gone are the standard mudguards, though the one at the front comes back properly cut and polished. At the rear instead we get sheet metal shaped by hand to resemble the sporty tail of the Laverda 500 Formula, an old 500 cc racer that the now defunct Italian manufacturer introduced in 1978 to promote its own trophy. The rear section is enriched with fine leather courtesy of Connolly Luxury Leathergoods Limited, the same company that took care of the upholstery on the Rolls Royce Phantom II of the 1930s. The original fat bob tank got replaced with a classic 8-liter peanut one with electric pump, borrowed from a modern Forty-Eight and embellished with the graphics of the 1972 H-D XRTT racer. Nice fishtail exhaust tips complete the looks of this awesome special bike.