2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide: A Comprehensive Guide On Features, Specs, And Pricing

Harley-Davidson rolls into MY2024 with a new CVO Road Glide model for the masses, and it really packs on the goodies like nothing I’ve seen so far from The MoCo. New bodywork wraps up the package with H-D’s largest production engine to date, and a brand-new instrument display with its own new operating system. This model also comes with some pretty cool paint with a pair of packages to choose between.

The engine runs H-D’s Variable Valve Timing feature to improve efficiency and deepen the torque well without compromising top-end performance, with a liquid-cooling system to supplement the air- and oil-cooling efforts. Naturally, the full range of RDRS gadgetry comes stock, along with H-D’s well-rounded infotainment system and a sound system that is sure to bring enough for the whole class. Same with the engine that pulls with a will anywhere and everywhere in the range with substantial roll-on at interstate speeds.

The only thing holding it back is the rev limiter and your nerve. This bike also serves as the base model for the CVO Road Glide ST, which takes things to the next level and gives us a glimpse of things to come.

What’s New For 2024

Lots of stuff happened ahead of the MY2024 release of the CVO Road Glide. The factory re-did all the sheet metal, to include the front fairing, with only the rear fender coming through the redesign unchanged. A new, 12.3-inch, color TFT display handles the instrumentation with a new operating system with more amenities for storing and charging your mobile phone. This new fairing carries a new headlight, so the look is quite a bit different head-on from the older style that started way back in 1979. Metal switch housings replace the plastic ones, though things have been significantly rearranged, so it will take some time to get used to while you reprogram your muscle memory.

2024 Highlights

• Fresh new bodywork
• Massive engine with massive output
• New display and operating system
• Full RDRS support
• Redesigned cockpit

2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Performance And Capability

The Milwaukee-Eight 121 in the CVO Road Glide is not new, but it is the largest Big Twin to come from The MoCo, and has advantages over the M8 117 it replaces. Obviously, this includes more displacement, but there’s plenty that isn’t as obvious. The increased compression ratio is largely responsible for the increase in power, up to 11.4-to-1, so it will prefer premium pusholine come fill-up time.

Inside the heads, a new combustion-chamber shape, oval intake ports, and low-profile intake valve seats combine for improved efficiency over its immediate forebear. A Variable Valve Timing feature improves efficiency even more, to the tune of up to five percent, while the throttle body diameter increased to 58 mm, up from 55 mm, and repositioned between the jugs for more direct air delivery. All of this adds eight percent more torque and 9.5-percent more horsepower over the M8 117.

The 2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide produces 115 horsepower and 139 pound-feet of torque. Power tops out at 4,500 RPM, which is close to redline, but torque fully develops at 3,000 RPM. Due to the VVT delightfulness, much of the torque is available lower in the range to make this a very grunty engine. By all accounts, this bike pulls like a fiend all the way up to the 112 MPH governor limit. It can go even faster if you tinker with the governor, but I would never condone such an action, of course.

A slipper-type clutch couples engine power to the six-speed Cruise Drive transmission for the first layer of rider protection in the form of anti-hopping protection for the rear wheel. The improved shift-drum mechanism makes it easier to find neutral with your foot shifter, which has been a problem for some H-D riders in recent years. All that extra power requires extra cooling, so the factory added a liquid cooler to supplement the efforts of the air- and oil-cooling features. The water flows around the exhaust ports drawing heat from this critical area and prevents the loss of power associated with overheating at that point.

H-D’s Reflex Defensive Rider Systems are well represented with the lean-sensitive variety added wherever applicable. All these goodies require extra power, so the updated alternator is 58 peak amps, up from 48 peak amps, to keep all the lights on.

Performance Specifications

Design And Styling

The changes are subtle, yet collectively add up to make this a uniquely modern CVO Road Glide. Perhaps most significant were the changes to the new fairing. It’s still based on the original from the 1979 Tour Glide, but with some important changes. The headlight arrangement went from dual round lights to a Lost In Space robot-looking, all-LED setup that comes complete with a DRL bar. Gone are the external front blinkers in favor of integrated lights for an overall cleaner look.

The pared-down front fender is part of the extensive weight-saving measures. A windscreen completes the rider protection, and the fairing is well-vented for comfort. The restyled inner fairing drops the dual analog gauges to make room for a huge, 12.3-inch color TFT screen that handles all the instrumentation and controls all the electronic features. It also comes with an all-new operating system, the Skyline OS, but it seems rather sluggish when loading/changing screens, making it a bit fussy to fiddle with while under way.

The expanded right-side cubby accommodates the larger modern phone types, and comes complete with a USB charging port, while a central drawer added beneath the instrument screen is a secondary place to store your phone. Heated grips help to extend your riding season, but instead of the old bar-end knobs, there’s just a button to mash to cycle through the heat levels. The stock sound system runs a 500 Watt amplifier with 4 RF Stage 2 speakers, which is adequate, but you can upgrade the sound system to put out even more decibels if you feel the need.

The saddle design has improved over the previous seat, which was more about looks than comfort. The factory flipped the script by doubling the padding for a throne that is both cool looking and comfortable over the long run. New saddlebags come with a slight bulge on the sides and a deeper bottom that sports a custom-style cutback for another point of visual interest.

Specifications And Dimensions

Chassis And Handling

For the new CVO Road Glide, H-D relies on the old-school double-downtube/dual-cradle frame made of mild-steel tubing with MIG welded joints. Inverted, 47 mm front forks stiffen the front end with dual shocks in back. The rear shocks come with a dual preload-adjuster system. You set the baseline preload at the rear shocks, but you can adjust on the fly for changes in cargo weight with the hand-knob adjuster for a nice bit of flexibility. Suspension travel is 4.6 inches up front and increased an inch to 3 inches out back.

The wheels are remarkable with a cast outer rim and wire spokes to lace the thing together. Wheel diameter, reduced to 19-inches up front to lighten the steering a bit, is opposite an 18-inch wheel, are both shod with Dunlop H-D Series rubber with an H speed rating. The dual front discs are 320 mm now, up from 300 mm, with four-bore, radial-mount Brembo calipers up front and another out back for the 300 mm rear disc. Lean-sensitive ABS comes stock.

Chassis And Suspension

2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide And Availability

MSRP on the 2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide starts at $44,499. That’s for the Copperhead finish with the really cool scorched-chrome features. If you want the fabulous Legendary Orange colorway, cough up another six grand and forget about the scorched-chrome goodies ’cause all it has is regular chrome.

Pricing And Features

2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Versus Its Competitors

H-D is in fairly rare company as a top-shelf performance bagger at the $44,000 price point. However, there are a few that come close enough for a head-to-head such as the Indian Challenger Elite and Vulcan 1700 Vaquero ABS from Kawasaki.

How the Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Compares To The Indian Challenger Elite

• 	2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide	2024 Indian Challenger Elite
  Engine	1,977 cc V-twin	1,768 cc V-twin
  Transmission	6-Speed Cruise Drive®	Six-speed
  Horsepower	115 HP @ 4,500 RPM	122 HP
  Torque	139 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM	128 pound-feet
  Driveline	RWD	RWD
  MSRP	$44,499	$38,499

Indian gets the closest with its own performance bagger — the Challenger Elite — both in looks and capability, which makes sense given the history and evolution of America’s oldest motorcycle marque. The fixed front fairing is very similar to the Road Glide, though Indian retains the round headlight and analog gauges that the H-D has evolved beyond. At least the windshield is adjustable.

The PowerPlus engine is a 108 cubic-inch, liquid-cooled beast with 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque against 115/139 to more or less break even. Infotainment is a wash, and while the Challenger Elite has decent electronics, the H-D package is still superior at the end of the day. Indian turns its Challenger Elite loose for a somewhat friendlier MSRP of $38,499.

How the Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Compares To The Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero

• 	2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide	2024 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero
  Engine	1,977 cc V-twin	1,700 cc V-twin
  Transmission	6-Speed Cruise Drive®	6-speed manual
  Torque	139 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM	107.6 LB-FT @ 2,750 RPM
  Driveline	RWD	RWD
  MSRP	$44,499	$19,099

Kawasaki gets more of an honorable mention with its Vulcan 1700 Vaquero. As for what Kawi got right, the fixed fairing, prominent vents, and custom American bagger style are on point. I like the extra lower fairings, it adds a nice bit of visual weight to the front. The big V-twin fits the look to a “T,” with its 1,700 cc (103.7 cubic-inch) displacement and 107.6 pound-feet of torque that brings up the rear here, but is still a respectable output. Kawi limits the electronics to cruise control and its in-house K-ACT ABS feature, but this is one of the things that keeps the price low. Comparatively, the price is a bargain at $19,099, so it’s not really in the same league as the other two, but would make a decent “good enough” bike for bagger-riders on a budget.

He Said/She Said

He Said

My husband and fellow motorcycle writer, TJ Hinton, says,

“What a magnificent machine. I usually dislike the Road Glides, mainly because of the fairing, but this new one has kind of grown on me. Too bad the best paint job is $6,000 extra, that seems a bit steep, hand-laid paint or not.”

She Said

“More power, better handling, and sleeker styling all with a top-shelf package of tech make this new CVO Road Glide a grand entry in Harley-Davidson’s Grand American
Touring
stable. As the CVO’s see the addition of the latest and greatest, it’s exciting to think that these features will eventually trickle down into the non-CVO machines for an overall improvement in the lineups to come.”