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[Chief]

Yep, its been said here many times before in many threads, the CVO's are a great starter kit.

Since there isn't any "Custom" in CVO, what would you replace the "C" in CVO with?

"P" for Pricey

Chief

[Chief]

Good points. I'm probably most dissatisfied with the paint. I talked to a paint buddie of mine who does custom work and he had indicated that MoCo went on the cheap regarding the paint. Not saying it's inexpensive, but quality cheap. The Flames on the 07 SERK are visibly raised, looks like (not saying, just looks like) decals lobbed on and clear coated over. Not sure if this is the case, but it seems they could of done a better job, especially with the price tag.

I guess I could alway strip her down and have her really customized, if and when it really starts to get to me. Am I still talking about the SERK? 

RH2K,

Belated welcome to the site.

I have a suspicion, that after the problems with the paint on the 2006 models, they played it safe with the 2007's.

What I don't like about my paint job is the thick layer of dust that has accumulated on it over the last month. Something has to be done about that, and done soon.!!! 

Chief

[RJ749]

Good points. I'm probably most dissatisfied with the paint. I talked to a paint buddie of mine who does custom work and he had indicated that MoCo went on the cheap regarding the paint. Not saying it's inexpensive, but quality cheap. The Flames on the 07 SERK are visibly raised, looks like (not saying, just looks like) decals lobbed on and clear coated over. Not sure if this is the case, but it seems they could of done a better job, especially with the price tag.

I guess I could alway strip her down and have her really customized, if and when it really starts to get to me. Am I still talking about the SERK? 

Ron, you'll have to talk with any of use that have 06 SEUC "milk duds", that are more than happy to have the raised effect of the stripes.  Before we got the MoCo to revisit the method of applying copius amounts of clear to the bikes so you couldn't feel the stripes the paint looked like crap.

This is not to say it couldn't have a different and better/more expensive method of application, but the trade of just may have to be with a mass produced bike you are going to get the ridges.  

If you decide to go really "custom" with a set of tins, I would highly recommend buying a complete new set or a set off a standard bike and starting from there, saving your CVO tins for the future or selling them if you choose to someone that would like to use them.

Again, these puppies are just a good starter kit.  Ask Twolane, although he hasn't repainted his ............yet.

[RJ749]

Since there isn't any "Custom" in CVO, what would you replace the "C" in CVO with?
"P" for Pricey
Chief

How about C for Costly

They are certainly custom from the standpoint of a standard bike and as you said yours is now custom with the adds you added to your own bike.  In the same sense the CVO bikes are custom over a standard bike, but the point of 1800 of them being the same etc. does beg the question of "are they truly custom?"

I guess it just depends on what your definition of "is...is?"

[ak]

How about C for Costly

They are certainly custom from the standpoint of a standard bike and as Ron said his is now custom with the adds he has to his own bike.  In the same sense the CVO bikes are custom over a standard bike, but the point of 1800 of them being the same etc. does beg the question of "are they truly custom?"

I guess it just depends on what your definition of "is...is?"

   THEY should be LEVO (limited edition Vheicle Opperation) AND STAMPED 1/1800,  50/1800 etc.. my 2,c-ak

[RJ749]

   THEY should be LEVO (limited edition Vheicle Opperation) AND STAMPED 1/1800,  50/1800 etc.. my 2,c-ak

That's a great idea, AK.

Although from the MoCo side that would enlighten the uninformed to the numbers that they really produce.  We have seen the drop in bike values over the last ten years, in part, because of the dramatic rise in production from the MoCo.

If they started numbering the supposedly LTD line of bikes, it wouldn't take long for the average rider to realize that with well over 100,000 bikes a year they may not be a "limited" in production as the myth.

Hey, wait a second, that could mean the permanent end to second stickers.  OK, I'm in, number everything.

[Ghost Rider]

   THEY should be LEVO (limited edition Vheicle Opperation) AND STAMPED 1/1800,  50/1800 etc.. my 2,c-ak

AK,

I like that idea.  How many people would be willing to pay extra to have that 1/? bike?  Doesn't the MOCO number the custom paint sets that they sell?

Later,
Ghost

[VaEagle]

I would have to guess that the numbering of the paint sets is easier to do when it is smaller numbers and the MOCO can commit to a set final number.
With our CVOs I am willing to bet that the MOCO wants some flexibility with production numbers in case they decide to make more or maybe cut production some.Think like a company executive and what would you do if you committed to 2,000 in a certain color and there were production problems and you couldn't make the set number or in the reverse if that color pattern took off and you couldn't exceed the number to make more money.
I still think our CVOs are "custom" compaired to the numbers of "standard" production number bikes each year. You may notice how many CVOs are at a rally or event because they stand out easier but try looking at a standard color bike and see how many there are at the same event.
Personally I hate to see someone take a CVO painted bike and repaint it unless the paint is messed up. I myself would rather take a stock painted bike and repaint it. To get a "true custom" bike I think you need to be more like the bikes being done by the independent builders with "one of" paint,parts and accessories.
Face it folks when we all shop from the same parts and accessory catalogs from major producers, How truly "custom" can we be? For the first week you may be the only one with those pipes,air cleaner or piece of chrome but give it some time and you will see those parts on someone else's bike at a rally. That's not to say that we can't make some very nice combos of parts and create our own version of the perfect bike, just not unique.
This reminds me of the 1960's when us kids wanted to be different so we would be different with our long hair,t-shirts and jeans. Guess what after awhile we started to look like the school uniform dress code we were fighting only our version of it.
What has surprised me about the CVO line is the lack of quality control. If the MOCO wants to tout this line as the "best of the best" then none of the paint issues or other problems should have ever made it to the customer.

[Ghost Rider]

I would have to guess that the numbering of the paint sets is easier to do when it is smaller numbers and the MOCO can commit to a set final number.
With our CVOs I am willing to bet that the MOCO wants some flexibility with production numbers in case they decide to make more or maybe cut production some.Think like a company executive and what would you do if you committed to 2,000 in a certain color and there were production problems and you couldn't make the set number or in the reverse if that color pattern took off and you couldn't exceed the number to make more money.
I still think our CVOs are "custom" compaired to the numbers of "standard" production number bikes each year. You may notice how many CVOs are at a rally or event because they stand out easier but try looking at a standard color bike and see how many there are at the same event.
Personally I hate to see someone take a CVO painted bike and repaint it unless the paint is messed up. I myself would rather take a stock painted bike and repaint it. To get a "true custom" bike I think you need to be more like the bikes being done by the independent builders with "one of" paint,parts and accessories.
Face it folks when we all shop from the same parts and accessory catalogs from major producers, How truly "custom" can we be? For the first week you may be the only one with those pipes,air cleaner or piece of chrome but give it some time and you will see those parts on someone else's bike at a rally. That's not to say that we can't make some very nice combos of parts and create our own version of the perfect bike, just not unique.
This reminds me of the 1960's when us kids wanted to be different so we would be different with our long hair,t-shirts and jeans. Guess what after awhile we started to look like the school uniform dress code we were fighting only our version of it.
What has surprised me about the CVO line is the lack of quality control. If the MOCO wants to tout this line as the "best of the best" then none of the paint issues or other problems should have ever made it to the customer.

Man I agree with you 100%, but two things...
1.  I have to "think like an executive" Mon-Fri, I try not to when I'm on this site.
2.  If you remember the 60's you weren't really there....

Later,
Ghost

[ccr]

...2.  If you remember the 60's you weren't really there.... ...

I don't remember much of the 50s, a little more of the 60s the 70s are pretty vague, now I do remember a lot of the 80s and 90s and can hardly believe we are in the new milneum.  But I think I did every year of my life as right as I could with the information I had available to me. I don't have a feeling like I wished I'd did much different.  Not liking my job right now so am thinking it is time for a change.  See, when I did not like things in my past, I changed them, me, my locale, something to make it acceptable.   

Re the CVO.  I am so sorry that so many are not as happy as I am with my beloved red SEEG.  I get so excited, that honestly I had a major blonde moment this morning.  I got up and excitedly ran down for our coffees, bathed, and started gathering my jeans, boots and the things I do to my hair so I can ride my beloved.  My husband had to ask me what I was thinking of trying to go to the stuffy office with that garb.  I was so very deflated knowing that I had mistakenly thought this Friday was really Saturday. 

[d o g o l s]

I was riding my SED home yeterday and got to thinking about the CVO line from HD and really questioned the direction Harley was heading.

In late summer of 2002, Anne and I decided to get a new bike, keeping the Road King...an Ultra likely, but that never happened...the dealer never got us one.  Later (Feb 2003), I saw the SED on the floor (and fell in love with it) and convinced Anne that I would get that now and then in 2004 get an Ultra trading in the RK.  I really had just learned about CVOs maybe in the Fall of 2002...reading about the SERK and the SED...since we wanted the Ultra, I never even considered the SERK.

Anyway, in late summer of 2003, I saw the 2004 CVO models and knew right away that the SEEG was going to be our next bike...and we wanted the B/B version.  Then in 2005 I took the York Factory tour with others from this site and realized how HD had a separate manufacturing line for CVOs and thought that was pretty cool.  So, when I bought the 2006, I thought that the personal touch of the CVO line would make it a better bike...sadly, I don't believe this anymore.

I also am now feeling that HD is saturating the CVO idea.  It is clear to me that these bikes are not as special to HD as I thought...this year there are FOUR different CVOs and two of them are touring bikes.  To me, the Apex was 2004 model year...the last where they only had two models...coinsiding with the SEEG, sure, but that is not the only reason.

In looking at the 2007s...they have really done a poor job of making the CVO an elite bike...yes, they do give it a bigger engine still, but the custom paint sets that are now available are [highlight]MUCH NICER [/highlight]than any of the CVO paints...sure, you can buy the CVO Ultra and then change to the radical paints for another $5K+ but why should we have to do that???  I will step off my  [smiley=soapbox.gif] now.

What do you all think?

/Bill

I tend to agree with you

[Bagger]

I dunno.  Part of me says no, but a bigger part says yes.  CVOs used to be a rarity, but these days they're everywhere.  Still, you don't she as many of them as you "regular" Harleys, and they do get the stares.  I like it better when two models were produced each year.  But I suppose it really doesn't matter.  We have our's.

[RedDevil]

The CVO's, even though they have made four models this year, are still factory custom, limited edition, motorcycles.  When you look at the big picture, the MoCo is going to produce roughly 400,000 motorcycles for the '07 model year, and how many of those are going to be CVO's?  About 13,000 for all four models.  That's 3% of the total bikes made by the company, worldwide.  Sure, they're making more (and selling more), but if you look at it from a purely numbers point only 3 out of every 100 07's on the road are going to be CVOs.  That's still pretty exclusive.  Even though I know there are other B&O Jesters out there, I still have yet to see one on the road, besides mine, in Northern VA.  When TCinVA gets his, that will be the only other one I will know of.  The other B&O that came in at my dealer around the same time mine did , was bought by a guy in Ohio.   Even if you leave your 07 CVO as it came from the factory, there's only going to be 3 out of every 100 possibly like it.  (and don't forget, if you equally disburse that over the 3 possible color combinations, you've dropped it down to 1 out of every 100 07 HD's on the road will look like yours.  That number will probably be higher for one or two of the colors like last year, the melon was the lowest produced color of the SEUCs.)  So we're still in a pretty exclusive group of HD riders.   And I get people coming up to me all the time to look at my ride, so there is still an air of exclusivity to the moniker "CVO".  No matter how you would one-off a standard Ultra (or dyna, RK, or springer), it still won't be a CVO, hand-assembled by two individuals through-out it's creation.  Just my $.02

Cheers ,
Red

[WFP]

Wow...this thread was resurrected from the dead!

I'm with AK also...if they would just acknowledge them as number 132 of 2000 etc. it would go a long way IMHO.

/Bill

[skyglide]

Wow...this thread was resurrected from the dead!

I'm with AK also...if they would just acknowledge them as number 132 of 2000 etc. it would go a long way IMHO.

/Bill

Yea what he said