I got this t-shirt as a gift from a family member. I thought it was interesting, but I can't believe this was an approved design. What do YOU think?
(I blurred the logo to avoid infringement issues)

 

Not sure. Nothing?

 

Well, the stripes on the flags are purple, not red.

The motorcycle appears to be an opposed twin, like a BMW, not a V-twin.

Ray

 

A BMW... That's funny.

Would have been ok if not for the HD logo.

 

That is a Harley Davidson XA, experimented with during WWII. It is legit, give it a Google.

And yes it was designed after a captured BMW.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley-Davidson_XA

 

Well I'll be danged. You learnt me something today!

I guess I CAN wear this shirt in public after all!

Thanks Architect

 

Yeah, thanks! very cool!

 

Yup, a Harley XA from 1942. Seems the WLA ate up its chains running in desert sand in North Africa, so the army wanted a bike like the German BMW, with a shaft drive. Harley built 1,000 of these, but the campaign in Africa was over before they could be deployed.

Some years back back I knew an elderly gent who rode cycles in the army in WWII. He said he did some of the test riding on the XA.

 

They've got a few of them at Wheels Through Time. Best known for their forks that were 2" over length, very popular when people were trying to get a little extra ground clearance.

 

That's a Harley Davidson XA. Harley based the design on a BMW engine to meet the Army's request that the bike be shaft driven for reduced maintenance and greater reliability.