Harley-Davidson CVO 1920 Street Glide FLHXSE 2020 — Specifications

Imagine for a moment the weight of history and chrome on your shoulders. That is what riding this Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide represents, a machine where every cubic centimeter seems forged in a temple of American capitalism. For the year 2020, the Milwaukee firm chose chromatic sobriety to dress its most prestigious bagger, a decision almost deceptive given how the rest proclaims its excess.

For beneath this hood as long as a bonnet lies a monstrous heart. The Milwaukee-Eight, in its ultimate Screamin’ Eagle version, reaches here 1923 cm3. Figures that spin your head: 106 horsepower and especially a torque of 165.7 Nm, available from 3500 rpm. This engine is a monument, a statement of intent far more than a simple power plant. It propels the nearly 400 kg of the motorcycle with an authority that tolerates no discussion, relayed by a belt transmission as silent as it is efficient. Faced with this abundance of cubes, the electronic safeguards of the RDRS pack – traction control, cornering ABS, linked braking – appear almost as a concession to modernity, a necessity to tame this brute force.

Comfort and equipment are up to the price, which flirts with 41,000 euros. The 695 mm seat offers a regal riding position for the demanding touring rider, while the 22.7-liter tank promises beautiful stages. The Boom! Box GTS infotainment system, with its 6.5-inch touchscreen and 900-watt audio system, transforms the cockpit into a connected rolling lounge. It is a motorcycle that wants to hide nothing from you, from tire pressure to theft attempts thanks to the H-D Connect application.

Yet, behind the technological veneer and the ostentatious luxury of the Kahuna finishes, a question remains. This 400 kg weight in running order, this top speed announced at 170 km/h, this sometimes strained braking facing the momentum of the mass, all of this recalls that the CVO Street Glide is a cruise ship. A sublime cruise ship, with an incomparable stage presence and a torque that will drop your jaw, but a cruise ship nonetheless. It is aimed at the Harley purist seeking the ultimate expression of the brand, for whom the journey is a ritual and the engine an icon. It is not a motorcycle for everyone, but for those who accept its rules: excess has a price, and it is earned at every tight turn.