I am seriously considering purchasing a 2011 CVO Softail Convertible, and I really am undecided.
As a background, this would be my first Harley. All my riding to date has been on either Japanese or Italian bikes. My current ride is a 2003 Aprilia Tuono, and I hate to move on from it, but my knees ache too much if I am on it for much more than a couple of hours. The positive attributes of the bike are that it is just RAW. There is no other word for it. 125 hp, insane handling, and crazy brakes on a 425 lb machine all add up to insane fun, but even with standard bars, my 58 year old body just takes a beating on an extended ride. I have a buddy who has always ridden Harleys, and has a pretty serious Street Glide, and he said the bike scared him when he rode it. It has a pretty good bit of carbon fiber, and OZ racing wheels which just makes it that much lighter and responsive.
So.... I have been seriously considering a Harley, and I am leaning towards a Softail of some sort, rather than a larger bike, and have found a nice looking 2011 CVO. It is, admittedly, totally foreign to me, and just sitting on it feels "wrong", however, I am sure that is exactly what my knees need, so I figure I can adjust. Still, I wonder if I will be satisfied with the performance. I was reading somewhere, and someone bragged about their 50-80 mph 5th gear roll on, and the closest I could equate that to was my 30-90 mph 3rd gear roll on (yes, it will pull hard from 3000 to 9000 RPM, but hardest past 6000 RPM).
I know I am going to be giving up performance in every category, whether acceleration, handling, or braking, but other than that I have no idea what to expect. I love the looks, and the lengths I can go with customizing the bike to suit me, but I am still finding it hard to pull the trigger.
Anybody have any words of advice that might nudge me one way or the other?