Within days of picking up my new ride, I put on the customary 1,000 mile break in ride over the weekend to get it in for service the following week. As soon as the service was done at a cost of $450 (ouch!!!), I took off from Chicago for a 3,500 mile jaunt through Taos NM, Durango CO, Silverton CO, Ouray CO, Aspen, CO and Golden CO before returning home. It now has 5,000 miles on it after having the bike no more than 3 weeks. I drove through rain, sleet, and in some cases heat through the mountains of NM & CO. There were a few days where the morning temperature was a tick above 40 degree Fahrenheit. But with appropriate textile apparel, I was toasty warm and comfortable for the duration of the trip.
There were times when I was accelerating at speeds of up to 90 and 100 mph in short bursts. At other times, I was cruising comfortably at 80 mph for extended periods. The amazing thing was that the bike was buttery smooth at any speed. I recall the days of having a 2001 Fat Boy where the vibration from the V-Twin at anything over 65 mph was utterly uncomfortable to the point of rattling my fillings loose. This thing does not vibrate. It is softer and smoother then the BMW R1200RT at higher speeds. The faster you go, the smoother the ride. It was utterly amazing.
Another road worthy advancement is the 31.9 lean angle. With the bike fully loaded with a passenger plus travel pack, I was able to take deep curves with steep angles and take it with aplomb. It was rather amazing. Although it doesn't have the same lean angle capability of BMW R1200RT, it was darn close. I was thoroughly impressed and thrilled with its road hugging manners. The balance and ease with which a 1,000 pound plus bike can take aggressive banking curves was rather marvelous.
The combination of seating position, handle bars, and ergonomics were perfectly balanced for all day riding in the lap of luxury. The heated seats were nice and comfy and I did not experience any ass pain from riding 8 hours and in some cases 10 hours a day. It is definitely a highway chomping luxury cruiser capable of eating up large chunks of asphalt with ease. The 6 gallon tank was good for approximately 200 miles depending on how aggressive and fast your riding. Cruising at 80 mph on the interstate, it would take me about 2 to 2.5 hours between runs for refueling.
The only downside is the limited capability of the HD GPS. They should have stuck with Garmin. It does not provide count down notification and street name of the next turn like Garmin. Very frustrating as it would tell you to take the next exit in a half mile and there are three or more exits in that half mile. Very confusing. Also the cell phone hooked up to the UBS plug was confusing. I could not dial out and when a call came in I could not figure out how to answer the incoming call. Sirius works okay with the occasional lost signal. CB worked fine with no know issues.
Another brilliant component are the airflow floorboards. This is the shiznick. I don't recall feeling one single tingle coming through the floorboards. My foot felt like it was floating on clouds. These have got to be the most comfortable floorboards I've ever experienced on any motorcycle bar none. It was truly amazing. The heated grips worked well and it nearly roasted my hand at level 3 setting. Most times I had it at level 2 or less when it was cold outside. It's easy to grab a nice hand full of throttle with those 1.25 inch grips.
By the end of the trip, the bike was coated top to bottom with dust, dirt, bugs, and road grime upon completing the trip. Now it’s time to strip it apart top to bottom and give it a good wax job.
Author
Topic: 2016 CVO RGU Review (Read 7930 times)