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posted: August 31, 2024
tl;dr: The perfect motorcycle for the Cannonball Run...
It didn’t take me long to put 5,000 miles on the slightly-used 2023 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide that I purchased in May of this year. A thousand-mile trip to the North Rim of Grand Canyon, coupled with other riding around the Grand Canyon State, put me in position to do my initial review.
It’s hard to imagine a better motorcycle for touring on the roads of North America than the CVO Road Glide. It’s the perfect bike for doing the Cannonball Run, as well as doing high-speed interstate riding to reach places where the riding and scenery are better. The sharknose fairing doesn’t completely eliminate wind, but it does cut down enough of it to make it a pleasure to ride hundreds of miles a day. The 121 cubic inch VVT (Variable Valve Timing) V-twin engine luffs along at a tick under 3,000 rpm at 80 mph and feels like it could run there hour after hour, day after day. There’s plenty of power available to accelerate quickly whenever needed. Amazingly, even though the engine is much bigger and more powerful than my Sportster, and the Road Glide is much heavier, they both get about the same gas mileage: around 45 mpg. The Road Glide’s on board computer will usually display a higher figure, although I was (correctly) warned by the salesman to take it with a grain of salt.
The dual-disc Brembo front brakes stop the bike much faster than I was expecting when I first started riding it - that was one of several performance characteristics that I had to get used to. Another is sport mode, one of three modes (along with road and rain) for operating the bike. Sport mode was great fun on a high-speed run when I had to catch up with a group that had left ahead of me. But when I am riding in a group, I keep it on road mode: sport mode might cause me to accelerate too fast and cause a problem for the other bikes around me. It’s really just for solo riding, or track day.
2023 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide in Whiskey Neat
The other characteristic that I had to get used to was the weight of the bike, which is an issue when pushing it around from a stop. It’s a heavy bike, noticeably heavier than the Harley-Davidson Heritage that I traded it for. I have not dropped the CVO Road Glide yet, but I have come close a few times. If it is slightly off-balance, the weight makes it want to go down, and more leg and arm strength, as well as stable footing, is required to right it than the Heritage. An older friend of mine recently downsized from a Harley touring bike to a Heritage because of this very issue. Once the CVO Road Glide is underway the weight is not an issue at all, and it actually makes the bike incredibly stable at speed, and less likely to get blown around in the wind. So the weight is actually another reason why it is a great touring motorcycle. It can also deal with the inevitable bumps encountered on the road without getting unduly rattled.
The 2023 CVO Road Glide, along with its sibling Street Glide (the same bike except it has a fork-mounted batwing fairing instead of the frame-mounted sharknose fairing), are the first of Harley’s new generation touring bikes. They feature a huge display for all rider indications, and no separate speedometer or tachometer. The display is gorgeous, and easily readable in all lighting conditions: it’s actually better than gauges. It is a true computer, however, and takes about 30 seconds to finish the boot cycle after the motorcycle is turned on. The bike, however, can be started and ridden nearly immediately after turning it on. I do use the built-in Harley navigation system, which is slow to respond when typing in a location. I’d rate it as okay, as it does have some quirks. Apple CarPlay can be used (see below), but I prefer to use Apple Maps separately on my phone for now. I don’t use the advanced features such as placing calls and text messages through the bike, as I don’t want the distractions.
The saddlebags on the CVO Road Glide are plenty roomy for my needs. Together with a chopped tour pack that I can easily install or remove as needed, I have plenty of storage space for a multiday trip, and can even pack some non-essential extras. The tour pack locks with a key, and the saddlebags on the CVO have a keyless remote lock. The CVO saddlebags also have speakers for the sound system, to go along with the fairing-mounted speakers. It is plenty loud enough for my tastes.
The paint job on my “Whiskey Neat” CVO Road Glide attracts attention everywhere I go. It’s one of the most beautiful stock paint jobs ever on any motorcycle. On the North Rim Grand Canyon trip, I was leading and we had to come to a complete stop to await a pilot car to lead traffic through a section of road that was down to one lane for both directions. An Asian family in the minivan ahead of us stared out the windows at my bike, and the father got out and asked me about it in broken English. People are always coming up to me at gas stops to ask about the bike. It is not a motorcycle for the bashful.
My only real complaints about the CVO Road Glide are all just nits. One is a software issue that Harley could easily fix with an automatic upgrade. As mentioned I don’t use Apple CarPlay, but the bike keeps reminding me that I could by continually popping up a “Connect Headset to use Apple CarPlay” message that overwrites the map portion of the display. Hint to the Harley software engineers: when I am cruising at 70 mph, I’m not in a position to find a headset, pair it with the bike, put it inside my helmet, put my helmet back on, and continue riding. Maybe don’t show that message when the bike is moving, or only show it once when the bike is first turned on? Apparently there’s a dongle that I can install to fake the bike into thinking I have a headset, but I shouldn’t need to do this.
The stock windshield is quite short. I picked up many bugs on my full-face helmet when I first got the bike. I bought a larger, taller, aftermarket windshield from Klock Werks which solved that problem. But the mounting system on the Road Glide fairing is just four screws, which appears to be insufficient for dealing with the forces involved. My first Klock Werks windshield developed small cracks around the screws, and the free replacement is also starting to show a couple small cracks. Maybe Harley will beef up the windshield mounts in the future. The seat on the new generation Harley touring bikes is harder and firmer than the prior generation. I’m either getting used to it or it is softening a bit, but I may get a more comfortable seat. Some owners of new generation tourers have replaced their pipes to get more sound, but I think I’ll keep mine - they keep the noise down on long trips, and make it easier to hear the sound system. Besides the windshield, the only other mods I’ve done so far are to add highway pegs and a heel shifter. The “check engine” light (which these days really means “check electronics”) came on and stayed on once, and that turned out to be the computer losing connection with the engine coolant temperature sensor. It was fixed by my dealer for free. That’s it for the nits.
I still have my 2020 Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 1200, which surprises some people. I am fortunate enough to be able to own two motorcycles. Between my wife and I we have the perfect garage: two Harleys and two Jeep Wranglers. I still ride the Sportster regularly, on shorter, lower-speed rides for which the Road Glide is overkill. I actually prefer riding without a windshield or fairing at speeds below 60 mph. I once did a cross-country motorcycle trip on just such as bike, a 1984 Yamaha SR250, but that was only possible because we faithfully stuck to highways and backroads, except for one memorable stretch of Interstate 15. The Sportster is a throwback, a simple bike that reminds me of my youth. The CVO Road Glide is its opposite, a high tech marvel. I am glad I have both, as it allows me to choose the right tool for the job.