CVO


Great minds think alike and whilst V & H may be commonplace they are great zorsts with a good finish and sound. I upgraded from a 48 to a 2017 CVO Breakout and have no regrets whatsoever. M8 rumours aside the 'platform' has a proven track record and mine is a keeper. Whilst the 48 was a great bike too I yearned for more after a mere 14 months. I feel as though after several decades of numerous marques and models I am finally at last exactly where I want to be with regards to a motorcycle.

 

I'll refer you here:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...ut-thread.html

,,,, for verification re what I'm saying. There is plenty of discussion about it there.

I wouldn't dwell on the academics of tire width. The BO turns like any other model, you just counter steer it and it goes where it should. Its response will feel "a bit" lazier than other models with narrow tires "and shorter wheel bases" but its a minor thing you'll adapt to within a day. What is a real detriment to the BO's handling are the OEM tires. If you browse the link (its a whopper of a long thread), you'll run across ample commentary and an established consensus among owners that changing from the Breakout's OEM rubber to any other tire, even a different line of Dunlop, makes a big (improved) difference in handling. Most other tires wear better too. I don't know why this is specifically, but having changed from the OEM Dunlop 240 rear to a Dunlop E3 250 myself, I can attest to the improvement changing tires makes. Yes, the wider 250 handles far better than the stock 240 ! You'll read similar reports by users of Metzeler 260's too. "So much for width theory".

Its easy to scrape OEM pegs. The BO is low so the situation will be characteristic but taking the little **** off the ends of the OEM pegs (they unscrew) or replacing these "stepped" pegs with straight ones makes an obvious difference. At some point you stop scraping pegs and start scraping the heel of your boot. The BO is low.

Aggressive or heavier riders will find the BO OEM front suspension too soft. This contributes to cornering issues and peg scraping too. There is a whole sub section of the thread that I've linked above which is devoted to an economical front fork suspension upgrade which gets rave reviews from those who've done it including me. A great part of this particular mod lies in the fact that it replaces HD's classic fixed aperture damper tube system with a variable valved system so its as much a general improvement over things HD as it is an improvement specific to the BO. "Lots of HD models get front end mods and cartridges installed. not just the BO".

Hope this helps.

 

The best way to approach the wifey about buying your new bike is to buy the sucker and ride it home. She'll see it and ask about it. Problem solved.

 

September 1, 2016 was the OPs last post here. I wonder what he bought?

 

Great question BiKenG,

Performance- The 2015 BO that I rode felt a bit sluggish from the start. I test rode it behind a buddy on his 2014 CVO Street Glide and he would power away from me effortlessly while my throttle was pegged trying to catch up. This should not be the case on a much lighter bike. I felt disappointed on the test ride. I really wanted to get that wow factor. The Fatboy with the 103 that I rode right after had much snappier performance and handled much better. My local dealership is situated near some very twisty roads, which are great for test riding. I literally smiled through the whole ride. I've no experience on the CVO BO.

Handling- Usable lean angle is easily interfered with by the low stance and forward controls on the BO. Some riders like scraping pegs, but it should not be something you experience so easily; especially on a test-ride. The standard Fatboy gives you more clearance for scrape-less leans. My Fatboy S is on a Lo frame with floor boards. I can and have scraped, but no where as easily as I did on the BO. Yes, between the super wide rear tire on the back of the BO and it's lengthier rake, steering is slower vs the Fatboy. You will find yourself muscling the bike around curves until you learn to finesse it.

Comfort- I love the looks and raked stance of the BO, but I found the seating position very awkward for me and my height at 6'4. There is definitely more reach on the BO. I purchased my Fatboy S soley off the fun I had on the test ride of a 2012 Fatboy.

Hope that helps. Again, not bashing the BO, which I think is a beautiful bike; It just didn't end up being the bar hopper that I wanted it to be for me.

 

Right on the money.. I did not see your response before posting mine.

K9f, Great looking bike!

 

I can clearly identify with that bro. Even though I'm barely 6' tall, I'm well into my 60's now and don't find the jack-knife riding position of the stock Breakout comfortable nor,, particularly manageable. "Must be a young guys thing" .

When it comes to bars, there seem to be 2 main camps of BO riders; those who summarily install apes on em and those who wouldn't get caught dead in a church basement whorehouse with apes on a BO. "If" you're of the former group you'll find, (this is universal), apes literally transform the BO into an entirely different machine. For me, overall riding comfort and slow speed maneuvering improved by orders of magnitude.

If you get a chance to go for a spin on an ape equipped BO, take the opportunity. I'd be very surprised if you don't find the difference,,, remarkable.

 

Ah, apes. Not wishing to criticise anyone for their choice (ha), but I would never put those on the bike. Just not what I want, not now. To be honest I did create a custom bike way back when I was 16 that had apes, but I soon changed them.

I do however like the look of the bars on the CVO Breakout (2014?). Sort of midway between low apes and the stock BO drag style bars. I'm not worried about bars though as I know I'll be able to sort something out to suit.

The question of handling due to the rear tyre width is a tricky one and divides opinion. Some claim to enjoy improved cornering from reducing width from 190 to 180 on a sports bike. I've tried all sorts and on the road it makes no odds. My advice would always be to learn to ride what you've got.

Having said that, my V-Rod Muscle did require more thought when on a bend than most other bikes and that was probably the tyre width. However, without back to back testing with another identical bike but with a different tyre, there is NO way to confirm absolutely that is really was down to the tyre. Anyway, I don't really care as I like the look of the fat rear and will adapt my riding to suit what I want.

Performance comparison to Fatboy is interesting. Both with 103 engines, I would have thought they'd be pretty much the same performance. Looking at the current H-D brochure however rather indicates that they cannot do simple maths since several bikes with the same engine and torque in NMs, apparently have different torque in ft lbs. Oops.

But my intention is to wait until the BO gets the M8 engine which apparently provides more power and torque than even the 110.

Footrest position will be something to work on. It's nice to be able to stretch out when you want, but most of the time I found the hunched over, feet forward position of the V-Rod unacceptable and as std. the BO appears to be similar, although the bike will be worth getting right for me so looking carefully at other models to see how they feel and then maybe make use of their parts to get a BO how I want it.

There's no rush of course as we won't see an M8 powered BO till at least next year, if then, or even if at all. But it's fun to ponder.

 

I have to agree, someone starts a thread and states "asking for opinions" Then people and others beyond the OP get upset when they get what they ask for?? If you want to hear what you want to hear only then maybe start the thread off different like; "just got a new BO and it is awesome, gotta love this bike!!"

 

Haven't bought anything new yet....still riding my sporty. But if I do decide to buy a second bike, it will be a CVO BO.

Thanks for all the input. Now to get it past the wife.