Video: 2024 CVO Road Glide ST Hits the Dyno

By Cameron Vanderhorst - February 5, 2024

It’s do or die time for the new CVO Road Glide ST, and when it comes to performance, it doesn’t disappoint.

The dyno test is a make-or-break moment for many builds. After all of the bench racing and “educated guessing” is finished, you can finally get hard data. Of course, in the case of a factory bike like this brand new 2024 CVO Road Glide ST, we already have an established baseline.

It’s no secret that car and motorcycle manufactures “pump up” their numbers by listing horsepower and torque at the crank. Those who are in the know understand that a certain percentage of drivetrain loss is to be expected. From the factory, the new Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST, those ratings are 127 horsepower and 145 lb/ft of torque.

Calculating drivetrain loss is a bit tricky in this case. That’s because this bike has three different ride modes that lay the power down differently. In this video from Throttle Blip on YouTube, this CVO model was tested with two pulls in each ride mode.

Pick Your Mode, Pick Your Mood

In Road mode, the CVO Road Glide ST made 92 horsepower and 114 lb/ft of torque. Switching into Sport mode jumped those numbers up to 113 horsepower and 130 lb/ft of torque. It’s worth noting, however, that they only managed one clean pull in Sport mode. For some reason, the bike put itself back into Road mode during the second pull.

Track mode only improved on the already-impressive Sport mode numbers slightly with 114 horsepower and 130 lb/ft of torque. That’s not bad at all, and represents roughly 10% drivetrain loss. That’s right in line with our bench racing estimates.

Like most Harleys, the CVO Road Glide ST is belt driven. The “belt vs. chain” debate, in regards to efficiency, is as old as the motorcycle itself. Clearly, it wasn’t an issue here. The real question is why there wasn’t much difference between Sport and Track mode.

As it turns out, those ride modes aren’t just about engine performance. The ride modes also alter other performance parameters such as throttle response, ABS, and traction control, as well as engine braking. It makes sense that Sport and Track would exhibit similar engine performance, with Track offering a more specialized performance riding experience.

We’re quite impressed with the dyno performance of the new CVO Road Glide ST. No matter which ride mode you choose, it’s sure to be an enjoyable ride.