Motorcycle specifications Harley-DavidsonCVO 1980 Street Glide 2025 The shadow of the future

A shockwave on American roads. For Harley, Indian's conquests of its market are a thorn in its spine. The company reacts, sometimes quietly.... or very concretely. The CVO Street Glide 117 is much more than a new motorcycle. It's a new generation of Harley-Davidson machines. It's a profound and intense change, the likes of which Harley-Davidson rarely makes. The last time Harley timelessness got a good kick was with the Rushmore project in 2013.

and again........ The design had evolved in a subtle way, so as not to shock the usual clientele. This time, it's THE leap into the 21st century. The Street Glide's thoroughly reworked bodywork makes it a neo-classic-techno-tourer. The designers have remodeled the "Batwing" headstock from top to bottom, and discarded its shape, unchanged since 1969. All that's left is the T-line, which disappears beneath the new shapes and structural elements.

a bit like the Fat Boy at the end of the last decade, the Street desecrates the round headlight by flattening its corners. Harley calls this "Omega" lighting. Combined with the large luminous whiskers (integrating the turn signals), the face is instantly more modern and engaging. The Splitstream air intake has disappeared, while a vent is fully integrated into the sleeker design. A front-mounted windscreen takes over from the old cap. Without altering its capacity, the fuel tank takes on a tauter profile, topped by a new console. With this, Harley's image catches up with its future.

let's take a look at the front end of this CVO Street Glide to see that the chassis has also taken a step forward. As if chromed forks were getting old, the front end now features a 47 mm inverted fork finished off with Brembo radial brake calipers. The brake discs measure 320 mm in diameter and are braked by 4 pistons each. Surprising for a Harley or a tourer. The rear suspension takes a more relaxed, comfort-oriented approach, with increased travel: 50% more for working and absorbing road irregularities. But we want to understand why the front end is more adamant. With its muscular, almost sporty approach... justified by the new engine block tucked inside?

this is one of the CVO's most striking assets. Along with its sister model, the Road Glide, it features a 121 ci, 1977 cm3 twin-cylinder engine (vintage 1977). Body-colored inserts inform of its noble lineage. The Milwaukee Eight gains further in displacement (+ 54 cm3), strengthens in power, especially torque, and takes the good care to equip itself with variable valve timing. The Pan America is already equipped with this technology, with variable intake and exhaust valve timing. The VVT process advances or retards camshaft timing over a range of 40° in relation to the crankshaft, or 20° of rotation in either direction. In this way, valve timing enables a wider range of power and torque management. This kind of shift has spectacular effects on BMW's Boxer 1250; the impact is similar on the American Big Block.

By going from 117 to 121, the new M8 gains 12 hp. Its 115 hp max is achieved 400 rpm earlier, just above 5,000 rpm. But it's the mkgs that impress most. At 3500 rpm, the same revs as the 1923 cm3 block, this CVO's engine pulverizes the current range with 18.6 mkg. Enormous! Enough to lift the millstone as if it were being pushed by a buffalo. For those who prefer the language of Nm, the figures are even more telling: from 168 to 183 Newton-meters.

What's more, the manufacturer's test measurements show that it consumes less fuel and emits less pollution. Not by much, but the gesture is there.
This twin is still mostly air-cooled, but also water-cooled to some extent, like some rare versions of the Milwaukee Eight. For the 121, Harley has redesigned the cooling and intake circuits, fitted a new airbox, changed the camshaft, increased the compression ratio, revised the diameter of the exhausts, boosted the alternator's power by 21%, and improved the shift drum. As for the Street Glide as a whole, it has lost 14 kg. Everybody's been working at Harley, and it looks like they've hired a diet guy.

the Rushmore project we mentioned a few paragraphs ago had also propelled H-D into the world of infotainment with the Boom Box, its TFT screen and its entire multimedia universe. With the CVO 121 Street Glide, the interface takes another step forward with a much larger screen (90% more diagonal). The name says it all: Skyline!
Its dimensions are impressive: 31.2 cm - its omnipresence marks a revolution for Harley tourers: no more dials, no more needles, no more analog instrumentation... just the slab and its beautiful graphics, featuring 3 display themes (Cruise - Sport - Tour).
Let's start by placing the smartphone in the glove compartment beneath the screen. A USB-C socket awaits inside. But the Skyline also supports Bluetooth and WiFi. The Apple CarPlay service is installed, but for Android systems, you'll have to make do with simplified management, with music and call management.
Skynet.... oops, sorry. Skyline also contains a GPS navigator, voice recognition, radio, music playback from the various media you connect to it, a 7-band equalizer to shape the sound, an intercom... There's plenty to keep the crew busy if they want to spend a moment with something other than the huge living block under the fuel tank.

driving electronics will not be outdone: the manufacturer has discovered the joys of driver assistance. As a CVO, it deserves to have a lot as standard. These include cornering ABS, traction control, an inertial unit, hill-start assist, torque feedback control, tire pressure monitoring, as well as 5 Driving Modes* and interconnected braking.

Apart from these internal evolutions, synonymous with revolutions for the Milwaukee-based firm, this Custom Vehicle Operationmotorcycle is not short of luxury, with a choice of two top-of-the-range paint finishes, special equipment, Combo wheels, a CVO console insert engraved with the 25th Anniversary, a 4 x 125-watt Rockford Fosgate Stage II spit-rock sound system, beautifully crafted accessories from the Adversary collection and limited availability.
A new era for CVOs, with the future of Harley-Davidson in the background.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos

the different riding modes of the Harley-Davidson CVO 121 Street GLide :

- Road mode : Designed for everyday use, the "road" mode offers balanced performance. This mode offers less aggressive throttle response and less engine power in the mid-range than "Sport" mode, with a higher level of C-ABS and C-TCS intervention.
- Sport mode: Sport mode can maximize the rider's connection to the bike. He can experience the bike's full performance potential directly and precisely, with full power and the fastest throttle response. C-TCS is set to its lowest intervention level and engine braking is increased.
- Rain mode: throttle response and power output are programmed to significantly limit the rate of acceleration, engine braking is limited and the highest levels of C-ABS and C-TCS intervention are selected.
- Custom modes: To create a customized mode, the driver uses the touchscreen to select his or her combined preferences for engine torque distribution characteristics, engine braking, throttle response and C-TCS and C-ABS intervention, within specific ranges.