The ALL NEW CVO Road Glide ST BEST Bagger to Date?

Cycle World

Harley-Davidson leveraged insights from their King of The Bagger Racing race bike to craft a production motorcycle boasting exceptional performance. Does this new CVO model solidify its position as the ultimate bagger to date?  Check out the full story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/harley-davidson-cvo-road-glide-st-first-ride/  Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/ Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld

Transcript

00:00 Is Harley-Davidson's CVO Road Glide ST the most potent bagger that Harley's ever made?

00:06 Let's find out.

00:07 For 2024, Harley-Davidson has revamped its touring line, and one of the new models is this new 2024 CVO Road Glide ST.

00:18 Now, this bike is different than the standard Road Glide, which was also updated.

00:22 Whereas the standard Road Glide gets a new version of the Milwaukee 8 117, and the CVO Road Glide has the 121 with VVT,

00:30 this ST model gets the unique 121 high-output engine.

00:34 So this bike makes a lot more power than the standard Road Glide.

00:37 Other changes include a new intake, which flows about 25% more air than the standard Road Glide.

00:44 Now, how all this adds up with the new cam and the VVT gone is that you've got a much peakier power delivery.

00:51 This model makes 145 pound-feet of peak torque and 127 horsepower.

00:57 That's about 20 more horsepower than the standard Road Glide, so that's a big deal.

01:01 The CVO Road Glide ST also has shorter final gearing, which helps it retain pickup off the bottom.

01:07 So combine those two things and the overall engine performance really feels potent when you're out riding.

01:13 This motorcycle is one of the first Harley-Davidson's that's derived from the bagger racing series.

01:19 And so they've come up with all sorts of tricks and tips that they've learned from that motorcycle and applied them to this brand new CVO.

01:26 And that's the first time, according to Harley, that that's ever happened, that the racing has dictated what the final product is.

01:32 And so it comes out as a really interesting high-performance bagger.

01:36 And the focus on this bike was definitely that. It was definitely more performance-oriented.

01:41 From the engine to the chassis to the electronics, everything about this bike, they really focused on performance.

01:47 The chassis on this bike has a 47mm Showa inverted fork, but it's fully adjustable.

01:53 At the rear, you have a pair of Showa shocks that now have 3 inches of travel instead of 2.1.

01:58 And they are also fully adjustable. Out on the track, it really handles nice, and we were totally surprised at how good it was.

02:06 Another key chassis feature are the addition of these Brembo brakes.

02:10 Now the brake lever is adjustable at the front, which it wasn't on the standard Road Glide, so that's nice.

02:14 Overall, the braking package is really, really good.

02:17 Even on the track today, going up to over 100 mph repeatedly and braking to 30 mph, and the brake performance was really good.

02:24 So we were totally happy with that.

02:26 There are some other features on this Road Glide that really make it different than the standard Road Glide.

02:31 It's a lot lighter. This bike is 25 pounds lighter than the standard Road Glide.

02:35 The VVT being gone saved about 2 pounds off the engine.

02:39 They changed the triple clamp, which is lighter.

02:41 Forged carbon fiber on the front fender, on the tank, and the exhaust pipes are titanium with the forged carbon end caps.

02:49 So add all that together, and it's a loss of 25 pounds, which is pretty significant.

02:54 This bike weighs in at 800 pounds dry, so that's significantly less than the other standard models.

03:00 As a CVO bike, though, the buyer really expects a lot of bells and whistles.

03:05 This bike comes with it.

03:06 So the new Skyline navigation screen, it's an over 12-inch TFT display that's touch sensitive,

03:13 and it has a whole new interface on the handlebars to access that information, but you can also access it on the screen.

03:21 This bike comes standard with nav, whereas on the other Harley-Davidson models, you have to add the navigation.

03:27 But this screen is beautiful. It's huge.

03:30 It's got three different settings that you can go to.

03:32 You've kind of got a track-oriented mode.

03:34 You've got a road-oriented mode, and then it's got a touring mode, which just really makes the navigation aspect of it huge.

03:42 And then you can really see where you're going and just concentrate on that.

03:45 And all of that's customizable.

03:47 As far as other electronics go, you've got three standard modes that are road and rain and sport.

03:54 But then you've got on the CVO, you've got a track and a track plus.

03:58 And what some of those modes do, like the track and the track plus, they really stop the intervention on the TC quite a bit,

04:05 but they also change how the brakes front to back are linked.

04:09 And so that's a big factor that you wouldn't get with the other modes.

04:12 So on this, you can really get in and customize it, whether you're just out sport riding or if you actually took one to a track,

04:18 which we doubt most people will do, but the option's there.

04:21 And then you've got these other modes that are just really ideal for your average riding.

04:25 Another key feature of this bike is it's got a new Rockford Fosgate stereo system.

04:30 It's a bagger. People want, you know, the really nice stereo.

04:34 It's got a 500 watt amplifier, these nice speakers up in front.

04:38 So people who are looking for a CVO bike that has all the bells and whistles, this one has it,

04:43 whether it's sound or the carbon fiber or the performance or all these other details for your $42,999,

04:51 which is obviously pretty expensive, but you're getting a lot.

04:55 And that buyer expects to have all these things on their CVO bagger.

04:58 So this bike is definitely there.

05:00 Another thing that Harley really wanted to concentrate on this bike is the fairing.

05:04 They wanted to really improve the airflow to the rider.

05:07 So the buffeting has been reduced by what they claim is around 65% in the cockpit.

05:12 So the airflow is much smoother.

05:14 You've got some deflectors up on the top and at the bottom to control the airflow when you're riding,

05:19 whether it's cold or hot, or you can kind of change that.

05:23 The fairing has a new headlight design.

05:25 The LED headlight definitely has a distinct look that's very different than the outgoing road glides.

05:30 They concentrated on really trying to stick to the theme but modernizing it.

05:34 And unlike the street glide that has a more traditional look,

05:38 the road glide has always kind of had this different look, and this is just an enhancement on that.

05:42 So although we didn't get to ride this motorcycle on the street too much at this point,

05:46 it's very impressive to come out to a track which is very unique for a Harley-Davidson bagger and get to ride around.

05:52 It was an interesting day just kind of seeing what this bike was capable of.

05:55 We realized that most people aren't going to actually go out and ride this motorcycle on a racetrack.

05:59 But just to see what this bike was capable of doing, the lean angle that it could attain, the braking,

06:05 all the different dynamics that have kind of been passed down from the bagger racing series,

06:10 it's interesting to see how this bike performs, and we were really happy with it today.

06:14 You've got this comfortable riding position, the ergonomics are very similar to what the other road glides are,

06:19 but then it actually makes a fun bike when you're just out sport riding or riding around on a track.

06:24 So overall we walked away very impressed.

06:27 You kind of get what you pay for. It's got a lot of cool things on it, and you pay the price,

06:31 but the person who's looking for this exclusivity is going to really like this CVO Road Glide ST.

06:37 And that's it from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway here in Nevada.

06:40 And if you like what you see, please subscribe, like.

06:43 We're going to have questions, so please comment below, and we'll see you next time.

06:46 [Closing music]

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