I have a number of CVO Harleys and other bikes from most other manufacturers, as I have for years.
I’m not a test rider. I generally know exactly what I want and just buy it. But the local Harley dealership recently had a Demo Day, and there were a few models I wondered if I had any interest in. So I decided to take the day and go ride several of the new models, particularly the Panamerica and the latest CVOs.
I had showed up on my 2020 Yamaha VMAX and parked it innocuously in the row of customer bikes participating in the Demo Day. After the last ride, a California-transplant Harley rider was yammering on and on about how big a gearhead he was and his Street Glide was putting down a massive 105HP/TQ while his VRod was a monster putting down 120HP.
He said no one knew what a quick/fast Harley was because Harley guys don’t want to talk about VRods. So I responded that I’d talk to him about VRods, and he continued his spew about how superior he was and his bike was to anything else on the road. I just nodded and let him be ignorant for a bit. Then I told him I rode to the Demo Day on my little metric over there, and pointed to the VMAX.
He said, “Isn’t that a 4 cylinder?” I nodded yes. He said he really wanted to run it stoplight to stoplight, because he really thinks his VRod will put it down. I asked where his VRod was, and he said he’d ridden the Street Glide today. He then said I wouldn’t ever get anyone to ride with me if I had a VMAX. Or at least not anyone cool, as he put it. I said I didn’t really have any trouble finding others to ride with me, regardless what I was riding. And I do have a decent collection of CVO bikes.
He said he wanted to get together for a drag race soon. He’s very sure his 120HP VRod will show taillights to my 174HP VMAX. I continue to be amazed at the stupidity and vanity of mankind, no matter where it comes from. Owning a CVO VRod with 118HP, I’m quite familiar with the comparative performance of the VRod and VMAX. It’s not even the same universe, street or track.
I just wish the Harley community as a whole had a better index of objective truth relative to performance metrics for all kinds of bikes. 100-130HP Harley baggers aren’t the pinnacle of performance. They are what they are, which isn’t a bad thing. But it takes a lot for a Harley bagger to run with a stock BMW K1600, much less something much stronger. I don’t get why there’s such intentional cognitive bias about performance amongst Harley riders. I doubt many of them are cross-shopping Superbikes for realistic purchases. The race replicas weigh under 450# wet and are putting down over 200HP at the tire when flashed and piped. That’s a different world.
Any comments? (Please, no more Cali braggarts.)