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[Grizzly]

Because it was there?   

Same as many... I had a '97 Ultra and dressed it up to the nines from top to bottom and front to back.

When the CVO Electra Glides first came out I flinched and the '04's were all sold out before I made the move.

Then in '05 they improved upon it and threw in a chopped tourpac and it came in a beautiful 2-tone Teal that I fell in love with.

Loved that CVO so much I bought a second one in '08 and sill love riding my Duracell.

Finally sold my '05 last fall - and now miss it terribly.

The 16's are just around the corner though.

[Jbbrown73]

CVO for resale and because the people I've met and hang out with on this forum are the best in the world!!!

[Delta]

I purchased my 11.5 CUSE6 because my wife told me to.

seriously I was looking to replace my 06 FLHTCU (note the lack of SE) and I was actually looking at one of the other custom colors HD offered on the "regular" Ultra in '11 and I happened to see that the Blue CUSE6 was going to be offered I showed my lovely wife the press release and she just looked at it and said "you know I would look good on that one" - meaning SHE would look good on the back of that bike - so of course I HAD to buy it 

The fact that I would have added a ton of chrome and other accessories to any bike I bought made the CVO a better overall decision, less money spent on upgrades and more money and time spent travelling on it 

Ya know, she would have looked absolutely stunning on the red one!

I agree with all of you. My CVO is the best bike I've had to date. I always get compliments and many want to know who did the custom build for me. They really are works of art.

[03Lightningrocks]

I fell into the CVO by chance. I like having something special. I buy the top of the line model in darned near every vehicle I own. Had a Ford Lightning. Dumped a crazy amount of money into it making it evan faster than it already was. I even went with the top model of my prefered TV brand. So while looking at Harley's, I spot this real pretty bike with cool paint and chrome all over. It was love at first sight. Then the salesman tells me about the 110 motor, the whoop ti do warranty. The service with a smile! Holy crap! Then he tells me about the exclusive nature of the CVO. I WAS IN! HOOKED... LOL... I was not going home without my name on that title.

[HUBBARD]

Guilt & shame.  Just didn't cotton to being a member of a CVO Site, and ridin' up on a mere Ultra!    Later--HUBBARD

[MightyTharg]

Never thought I would buy a CVO.

Then I saw the the 2015 CVO SG on the web in HC Mercury and decided that it was either stupidly or awesome or awesomely stupid but I wanted one!

Then I managed to hold fire until I saw one in the metal but I could resist no longer.

I have since more or less justified to myself that the differences between standard and CVO more than justify the extra cost.

[Dare]

My take is like most, spent the extras building what I want to make it mine but as I get older I am more aware of what is added and does it really help versus what is factory and adds more than just a bling value.  I like the new factory add on's and the need for speed is just right for me with some minor mods.  To upgrade my 12' SE RG would have been another 4500 so I traded her and bought what I wanted loaded.  I though am one of those people that also have the Shelby GT500 for the same reason as the CVO.  In the end if I get rid of something I am starting off on a higher trade in value for the next toy.

[ultrafxr]

Even though this example is dated it is applicable to my thoughts on CVOs.  Someone said 'a tv remote control is not a necessity - until you've had one!'  That's exactly how I feel about many of the niceties on my CVOs.  Things like heated high end seat, heated grips, garage door opener, XM Sirius radio, upgraded gauges, the 110" motor (even though I've had problems with them all), upgraded grips, pegs and footboard inserts, better air cleaner, better looking and performing 4" mufflers.  My wife likes the passenger footboards and complained bitterly when we test rode a non-CVO Rushmore Limited.  Probably several other things I've forgotten but for me the non-CVO bikes just don't cut it after having had five CVOs. 

[ultrafxr]

Several posts mention higher resale / trade in value on CVOs.  Unfortunately that has not been my experience.  I thought about trading for a '15 and contacted several dealers and many mentioned that my '12 had such high mileage (41k) which would compromise the trade in value.  In fact one dealer said he would not take it on trade because of the mileage!

Over the past six or seven months my local dealer has had as many as seven pre-owned CVO Ultras / Limiteds from '06 to '13 on his floor - for months with no takers.  I think he transferred several of them to his store near Nashville because I see the same ones in their inventory now.

When a customer who may not appreciate CVOs the way we do looks at a pre-owned CVO vs a brand new Limited for example he has to consider that the price may be very nearly the same or even higher for the CVO, no factory warranty perhaps, mileage on the bike, etc., etc.  So in many cases the customer will go for the new bike.  And most of us I think bought our CVO new or if we did find a pre-owned one it was most likely very low mileage.

So while this will probably not deter me, my hypothesis is that you pay more for a CVO and if you ride it and enjoy it you'll suffer when it comes time to sell / trade it.  That's why I have my '07 with 92k and my '12 with 44k. 

[phato1]

Several posts mention higher resale / trade in value on CVOs.  Unfortunately that has not been my experience.  I thought about trading for a '15 and contacted several dealers and many mentioned that my '12 had such high mileage (41k) which would compromise the trade in value.  In fact one dealer said he would not take it on trade because of the mileage!

Over the past six or seven months my local dealer has had as many as seven pre-owned CVO Ultras / Limiteds from '06 to '13 on his floor - for months with no takers.  I think he transferred several of them to his store near Nashville because I see the same ones in their inventory now.

When a customer who may not appreciate CVOs the way we do looks at a pre-owned CVO vs a brand new Limited for example he has to consider that the price may be very nearly the same or even higher for the CVO, no factory warranty perhaps, mileage on the bike, etc., etc.  So in many cases the customer will go for the new bike.  And most of us I think bought our CVO new or if we did find a pre-owned one it was most likely very low mileage.

So while this will probably not deter me, my hypothesis is that you pay more for a CVO and if you ride it and enjoy it you'll suffer when it comes time to sell / trade it.  That's why I have my '07 with 92k and my '12 with 44k.

add in the fact that it's usually much easier to finance that new bike - and at a lower interest rate than the used CVO - and it makes the buyer who doesn't really appreciate the "extras" on the CVO lean all the way over to the new bike.

But yes IMHO once you come over to the CVO side it's going to be hard to turn back, cost be damned.

[FLSTFI Dave]

Bought my first CVO, an 09 SERG because I had much more money in my 03 Fatboy with add ons, and it was still worth the same as any other 03 Fatboy.

So, the 09 SERG got traded in 12 with 43K on it for a 12 SERG.  I had about 3K in upgrades on the CVO.  It was very cost effective to trade for the 12 SERG.  So in 15 I traded the 12 with 45K on it for the 15 SERGU.  Again it was a cost effective trade as I added less than 3K in accessories, and I got a very good trade offer on it.

I should do really well on the 15 when I trade it as I will have about 2K in upgrades on it. 

So, if you like all the chrome, nicer paint, nicer wheels and so on, and trade often CVO for me is a much better way to go.

I like having all the nice wheels, paint, chrome and power.  So I would loose much more, adding it all to a regular bike, then trading in 2 to 3 years with 45K on the bike.

[FXD_TG]

Like a lot of other folks, I bought a stock Harley (Wide Glide) and by the time I fixed the things I thought needed fixing and adding the accessories I needed to make it more useful I'd sunk $24k into the thing, none of which will come back on resale.  Too many peeps out there buying new bikes and not heeding the advise of those who had gone before and taken it in the wallet; cest la vie.

Anyway, after having the Wide Glide just right I realized that I should have bought a Road King, but just didn't see myself as the Road King type... until the '13 CVO came on the scene.  I looked at a couple used RK's that had been upgraded a bit and were selling in the mid-teens, but they still had stock paint, stock wheels, etc., and I know I'd piss away a few $$ "finishing it off". 

As the end of the model year season came around and the 14's were just around the corner I started checking on prices and found "Blue" at a price that made the whole thing seem like a very smart buy.  I did the deal and have never looked back with any regrets.  However, I still have the Wide Glide, which I'd thought would sell pretty quickly for a fair price back in Aug'13 or maybe the spring of '14.  Not a nibble, not even at $14k as dead stock WG's go out the door for $16k. 

Should have gone for a previously loved CVO on the first round and been way ahead of the game.  Still enjoy riding the Wide Glide when Miss Debbie isn't around for two-up on the CVO, but that's far and few between. 

Live and Learn

[Supershooter]

I get paid mileage for my job and I know how much it costs me to drive my pickup for work. What should we expect our cost of ownership be per mile on a CVO? Are we getting good resale? Or is it more about how much less we are willing to to take and still think we are getting a good deal on our trade...?
Supershooter

[BritGuy]

I was having a discussion last night with a buddy who sold his '13 FLHTCUSE8 and he said his next bike would only be another CVO. When I asked him why his answer was not what I expected so got me thinking.

Why a CVO instead of a regular model? Options, colors, prestige, exclusivity, performance?

For me, I wasn't actually looking to buy a CVO but wanted a StreetGlide and in a bright color. During my search I ran across the Bee and loved the looks of it even though it was an Ultra.

 In the past I always spent like the majority of us, a whole bunch of $$$$ adding chrome bits and upgrading the HP.  I justified the extra front end cost believing since it had everything already upgraded, I was investing what I would anyway to buy a base SG and add on the extra's. Or so I told the wife. LOL

For the cosmetics that has proven true. The performance has been a little underwhelming from what I imagined a 110 would be but that's soon changing!

I can identify with your post entirely. All my money has gone on performance with the exception of sat nav, highway pegs and heated grips. I love the look of the CVO Road King and the colour gets constent positive comments. Nothing more that I want to do with the look. More still to do on the performance side.............

[Dr.D]

Add on out the azz. That is what i did on my first three Harleys. FXD_TG so was that $24K invest4d including the purchase price of the bike?. Heck I paid $22K for a FLHRC and added another $22K in add ons and motor work. A guy can double the cost of a bike if he goes all ou.

When you buy all the same stuff on the new bike you at least get to deduct the added sales tax. I also agree that the performance difference on 110 motor is not as great as it should be over the 103. My old 103 Road King would eat these new CVOs even if they get the pipes and tune.

As to resale and good trade in??? Not with my luck and I put to many miles on my bikes. Trading ever other year seems to look very expensive to me.

I really do identify with having to have the best and the most expensive of every item i buy. Sickness!!! I even went out to buy a used two door convertible for my midlife crisis and after looking around I found Mercedes, Porsche and Jaguar not good enough and bought a Bentley GTC. Just like CVO hard to go up from here.