Harley-Davidson Cvo Street Glide
Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide
ROUNDUP
QUICKRIDE
All dressed up with someplace to go
IT’S BEEN A DOZEN YEARS since Harley-Davidson instituted its Custom Vehicle Operations program, and there hasn’t been a dull moment since. Each and every year, Willie G. and Co. whip up a fresh batch of glitzy CVO specials that start life as existing models before being jam-packed with show-andgo equipment straight from Harley’s Genuine Motor Accessories catalog.
This year’s offerings include the Street Glide, which, like the three other CVO models, is powered by the Twin Cam Screamin’ Eagle 110-inch engine. It’s a bigger-bore version of the standard model’s 96-inch, 45-degree V-Twin, and the healthy boost in torque it delivers is nearly enough in itself to justify this $30,999 limited edition’s $12,000 premium over the base Street Glide. On the CW dyno, it banged out 103 foot-pounds of peak torque at the rear wheel, 20 ft.-lb. more than on a standard model. It’s no wonder, then, that the CVO offers loads of gratifying grunt from the moment you open its custom rubberand-chrome twistgrip. On the road, this added performance pays big dividends when pulling out to pass a logging truck or ascending a grade with a passenger on the back and the non-detachable saddlebags stuffed full.
Despite coffee-can-size pistons brewing a firestorm within, this air-cooled, pushrod engine is counterbalanced, so vibration levels are the very epitome of cruiser calm. Unfortunately, the bike’s overall comfort is compromised by intense buffeting behind its iconic fork-mounted batwing fairing and tiny, smoke-tinted windscreen. At freeway speeds and above, the percussive pounding is brutal when wearing a full-face helmet. Donning an openface lid reduces the shellshock considerably, and it also improves the audibility of the fairing-integrated 40watt sound system. For those favoring function over style, one of the taller Electra Glide accessory screens may improve what we found to be the CVO Street Glide’s only ergonomic shortcoming.
No such problems with the bike’s chassis. The new frame introduced throughout H-D’s touring line last year provides an uncanny blend of light steering and rocksteady stability, whether rumbling down a smooth road in a straight line or rockin’ through a bumpy corner at a greater lean angle than allowed by previous Harley tourers. It’s not until you slow below 15 mph or so that you begin to sense the true weight of the matter: 802 pounds without fuel.
Appearance, of course, is critically important on a bike like this, and the CVO Street Glide is dolled up with stylish accessories galore. Among them are cool-looking Agitator wheels with matching brake rotors, vertical LED tailand brakelights on color-matched panels at the back of the saddlebags, and polished and plated pieces just about everywhere you look. Hand-painted pinstripes and 20-karat gold-leaf graphics beneath a candy clear coating are a custom-finished touch. The end result is one very tasty bagger—in looks as well as in function.
Don Canet
“Appearance, of course, is critically important on a bike like this, and the CVO Street Glide is dolled up with stylish accessories galore.”
