CVO is not Custom
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 4,556
Likes: 1,846
From: Albuquerque, NM
When HD or any other manufacturer uses the term: "Factory Custom", I always have to laugh and wonder how people buy into that ****. The only thing really custom is the hole in your pocket after HD chokes you for the price of a really nice automobile.
And the term "limited" is also a joke - only limited to as many as they can sell.
And the term "limited" is also a joke - only limited to as many as they can sell.
There used to be a regular poster on this forum that had a signature that said: "If it said custom when you bought it, it isn't."
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 3,922
Likes: 826
From: Toronto Canada
just because any marketing department calls something 'custom' 'special' or 'new' doesn't mean that it actually is .
with a Harley you buy the model that's closest to what you want to end up with and then you add on whatever is needed to get you to the finished product you've been dreaming about .
CVO is just HD's attempt to get you there faster
with a Harley you buy the model that's closest to what you want to end up with and then you add on whatever is needed to get you to the finished product you've been dreaming about .
CVO is just HD's attempt to get you there faster
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,616
Likes: 4,440
From: anacoco, la
while you are 'somewhat' correct in your thinking, there are a lot of areas that you are way off base on. the cvo bikes were never supposed to be a 'cafeteria' type bike, ie. you pick this paint, this wheel, etc. they are factory customs, meaning a higher end model. and there are a lot fewer of them built than there are base model bikes. go to your dealer and see how many gunship cvo road glides you find on the floor.
sure, you could take a base bike, add all the options to make it your own custom, but at the end of the day, you would have a base model bike that costs more than a cvo and if/when you went to trade/sell, you would take it in the shorts for all those mods that you did. there is also the insurance angle to think of. my cvo is insured for $3000 in extras (the minimum) which is included free with my policy. my wife's bike is insured for $12,000 in extras, which costs me more on the premium. the base premium isn't that much higher for the cvo either.
and if you were at all familiar with the cvo bikes, you would know that they haven't been hand built in the factory for quite a number of years now, since 2009.
sure, you could take a base bike, add all the options to make it your own custom, but at the end of the day, you would have a base model bike that costs more than a cvo and if/when you went to trade/sell, you would take it in the shorts for all those mods that you did. there is also the insurance angle to think of. my cvo is insured for $3000 in extras (the minimum) which is included free with my policy. my wife's bike is insured for $12,000 in extras, which costs me more on the premium. the base premium isn't that much higher for the cvo either.
and if you were at all familiar with the cvo bikes, you would know that they haven't been hand built in the factory for quite a number of years now, since 2009.
Last edited by skratch; Feb 5, 2018 at 08:23 AM.
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 387
Likes: 173
From: Big Lake in the Middle
Usually something like this means that it doesn't necessarily come right off the line after their run of the mill product.
Senior workers are assigned to build the product, extra QC and care or more expensive paint/parts used etc.
IIRC - Ford used to have very specific guys build the Cobra engines, they'd sign the engine covers. Not custom but Special.
Senior workers are assigned to build the product, extra QC and care or more expensive paint/parts used etc.
IIRC - Ford used to have very specific guys build the Cobra engines, they'd sign the engine covers. Not custom but Special.
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 376
Likes: 61
From: Elberton Ga
The dictionaries definition of custom in this sense says "Made to order for a particular customer"
now you could argue that a particular customer is buying that bike so it's made for him, but I don't think you would win that argument. I think they're nice bikes, but for me I decided to go with custom paint and then put all the custom parts I wanted, the engine work I wanted and etc. And yes I have about the same amount of money or a little more than a CVO cost. But the one thing that I enjoy is doing all the deciding on what I want and then putting it on myself. My bike is a expression of me, not someone else. And there's not another bike like mine anywhere. I will say a CVO is a good platform to start with, but custom no. Jmo Allen
now you could argue that a particular customer is buying that bike so it's made for him, but I don't think you would win that argument. I think they're nice bikes, but for me I decided to go with custom paint and then put all the custom parts I wanted, the engine work I wanted and etc. And yes I have about the same amount of money or a little more than a CVO cost. But the one thing that I enjoy is doing all the deciding on what I want and then putting it on myself. My bike is a expression of me, not someone else. And there's not another bike like mine anywhere. I will say a CVO is a good platform to start with, but custom no. Jmo Allen
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 9,511
Likes: 13,828
From: Pa.
Not really sure how this relates to your CVO question, but way back in '71, the first Super Glide was talked about as a "factory custom". Basically putting a Sportster front end on a big twin chassis, something the riding public had been doing "custom" for some time. It was kind of the same with the Wide Glide. They were new models, but came from Harley's observation of what guys were doing to their bikes.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,561
Likes: 187
From: Florida
I don't think of CVOs as custom bikes, but more of a top of the line, all the toys type bike. I don't know where Coquitlam is, but if its near Florida, and getting a high return on your 'investment' is a concern, buy a trike.
Last edited by Daytona Fat Boy; Feb 5, 2018 at 09:38 AM.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 4,214
Likes: 661
From: Prior Lake, MN
There is a fine line between mis-leading advertising, and simple marketing embellishment- or "puffery", which is perfectly legal.
If you can't figure out that the Limited, CVO, or similar is simply marketing, then you really need to find something more important to fuss over, like where to put you gas cap when filling up, or the proper way to hold your sidearm when pursuing or are being chased by a rogue dump truck.
If you can't figure out that the Limited, CVO, or similar is simply marketing, then you really need to find something more important to fuss over, like where to put you gas cap when filling up, or the proper way to hold your sidearm when pursuing or are being chased by a rogue dump truck.