2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide 121 Revealed
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Harley-Davidson’s upcoming CVO Road Glide 121 has but to be formally confirmed by the manufacturing unit, but it surely’s been the topic of giant quantities of web intrigue already this yr. Now, these real photographs of the bike have emerged through new certification filings in Australia.
The pictures (which we’ve digitally enhanced for extra readability) present a machine that’s each immediately recognizable as a Street Glide but additionally distinctly new in comparison with its predecessor. The visible adjustments begin with that considerably reworked batwing fairing, which now homes a squared-off “squircle-shaped” LED headlight as a substitute of the current Road Glide’s spherical design. It sits in a suitably reshaped recess, whereas the fairing’s decrease edge now juts ahead to present a extra trendy, aerodynamic look.
In addition to containing a number of LEDs for its excessive and low beams, the brand new mild is rimmed with accent lighting and flanked by lengthy strips of LED operating lights extending all the way in which into the mirror housings on the very fringe of the fairing. Beneath it, there’s a brand new front-fender design wrapped over an progressive wheel that mixes traditional-style wire spokes with a forged or cast alloy rim that has raised sections the place it meets the spokes, comparable in idea to BMW’s Cross Spoke wheels on the R 1250 GS, however extra trendy.
A pair of huge, floating brake discs, extra like these seen on sportbikes, are gripped by radial-mount, four-piston Brembo calipers. That is all revolutionary stuff for a Harley tourer, and whereas the preliminary mannequin is a part of the high-end CVO vary—carrying the FLHXSE mannequin code and sporting CVO badges on the facet circumstances—it’s positive to filter right down to the extra mainstream bikes earlier than later.
Shifting farther again, the remainder of the bodywork can be new. The tank seems to be subtly reshaped, significantly across the decrease entrance edges, and sits forward of a thickly padded seat, embroidered with the CVO emblem and contrasting stitching. The facet panels beneath it aren’t as deep as the present design, making for a lighter look to the rear finish, regardless of the actual fact the facet circumstances seem like greater. These circumstances are topped with audio system, with one other pair seen contained in the fairing as a part of a high-end Increase! Field GTS audio system.
Seen from the rear, the bike has new, vertical taillights filling the hole between the rear fender and people facet circumstances, and the exhausts are additionally redesigned with bigger exits and a darkish chrome end. The rear angle additionally reveals the bike’s huge show display, changing any typical devices and inevitably offering connectivity, navigation, and multimedia management in addition to entry to an array of rider-adaptable settings. There seem like new, multifunction management pods on the bars, with a D-pad on left-hand bar controls to function the added tech.
Regardless of all this, the CVO Road Glide’s important draw is prone to be its engine. The “121″ badges are clearly seen on the consumption and the clutch cowl, denoting its capability in cubic inches. That’s equal to round 1,983cc, and a fraction lower than the 122ci provided by the present Stage III Screamin’ Eagle package for the Milwaukee-Eight V-twin, however the capability alterations are solely the beginning of the brand new engine’s enhancements. It’s extensively anticipated to make use of the variable valve timing system that we wrote about again in 2020, giving the air-cooled Milwaukee-Eight a brand new weapon within the fixed battle to beat emissions limits.
Whereas nonetheless largely air-cooled, the CVO Road Glide has an enormous cooler sitting in a blacked-out piece of bodywork simply forward of the motor. Whether or not it’s merely an oil-cooler or a radiator—making this the “Twin-Cooled” model of the engine—isn’t clear from these photographs. Sadly, the paperwork printed alongside these photos doesn’t seem to incorporate the proper particulars in regards to the new engine, as a substitute quoting the capability and efficiency of the prevailing 117ci Milwaukee-Eight. The quoted mass of 831 kilos and wheelbase of 64 inches additionally match the numbers for the previous-generation CVO Street Glide—final a part of the vary in 2022—suggesting the paperwork, whereas carrying photos of the brand new bike, have figures referring to the previous model.
Visually, there are adjustments to the engine past the 121 logos. The timing cowl on the right-hand facet of the engine has an extra bulge, believed to cover among the variable valve timing package, and the transmission facet cowl can be bulkier, clearly hiding some new mechanical components. In addition to the brand new CVO Road Glide, Harley is predicted to launch a equally substantial set of updates on the CVO Road Glide later this yr, together with the identical new wheels and 121ci engine, in addition to redesigned bodywork.
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