2008 Harley-Davidson CVOs - First Ride - Motomodif | Social Networking for Modified Automotive, Car/Motorbike Owners. Modifikasi Motor/Mobil

2008 Harley-Davidson CVOs - First Ride

Motomodif: It would be easy to live on your laurels after being in the motorcycle building business for 105 years. But when you have an impassioned army of leather wearing loyalists ready to defend their American motorcycle company with a bust in the chops, complacency is a lethal cocktail. With winds carrying word of an Indian uprising and Victory's recent Vision's of grandeur ready to gobble up market share, you'd better be ready to take it to the next level. Harley-Davidson's 2008 Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) lineup answers the call to keep the company in the higher echelons of the industry.

So why do a limit-production, super-accessorized, high-end motorcycle? Look no further than the 896-page H-D Genuine Motor Accessories and Parts catalog to find the answer. What better way to stir the pot and demonstrate the possibilities of what can be created with a little determination and a pocketful of money. I don't know of any other brand of motorcycles whose owners like to customize their bikes more than Harley-Davidson's. The stock bikes roll out of York looking the same, but it doesn't take long before owners stick on new pipes, switch out handlebars, and start sticking on chrome covers until their bike has been transformed into an extension of a rider's personality. A Harley-Davidson owner is equal to the sum of their motorcycle's parts.

For this year's CVO lineup, the Harley-Davidson Planning Committee decided to let last year's cast return for another curtain call in 2008. Headliners start with two hard-charging power cruisers, the Screamin' Eagle Softail Springer and Dyna. Sharing the 2008 spotlight are the dynamic touring duo of the Screamin' Eagle Road King and Ultra Classic.

The number of bikes in the CVO lineup continues to grow since the 1340cc Evolution-powered FXR2 and FXR3's were unveiled as the first CVO models in 1999. The lineup expanded to three bikes running the Twin Cam 103B mill in 2005. The number jumped again in 2007 as Harley offered four bikes for the first time, powered by its largest-displacement production engine ever, the 100 cubic-inch Twin Cam 110B. Though I'm certain H-D flirted with the idea to bump up displacement even more for 2008, they resisted the temptation to go bigger as the '08 CVOs are powered by the same 1800cc lump as '07, albeit with a new exterior.

Our invitation to ride the 2008 CVOs in Milwaukee included a rare chance to visit Harley's Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations facility and watch the Twin Cam 110Bs rolling down the assembly line. The facility actually produces powertrains for 31 different models, but our interest lie mostly on the 110B-powered CVOs. The smell of machine oil permeated the air as we donned safety glasses and entered the floor of the buzzing assembly plant. Horns beeped four times as the J-hooks moved to the next station as another piece to the engine puzzle was torqued into place. Seeing the 110B's 4-inch cylinders before it got its forged pistons gave me a deeper appreciation of the big-bored V-Twins. Now I see how the 110B's compression ratio jumped to 9.3:1, up from the 103's 8.8:1.

"Attaching the cylinder heads is one of the more challenging jobs," said H-D's Brian Wort. As Wort was saying this, I noticed that almost every job Wort mentioned as being one of the most difficult in the plant was being done by a woman. Rosy the Riveter would be proud.

I watched as builders and operators read red and white model cards to see what part to put on next. The cards are integral to Harley's production. Just look at the Twin Cam 110B. It has a long list of unique components - its wrist pin, heads, head gasket, cylinder base o-ring, modified cases and 255 cams. Take the number of components unique to the 110B and multiply by 30 other engines and the importance of the cards is clear.

We got to watch the 110Bs receive its new granite and chrome finish. Gone is last year's black and chrome scheme. The granite on the 2008s isn't glossy, but still has a sheen to it that gives the powertrain a textured surface. This texture is due to chips of stainless steel in the granite. The finish gives the engine a rugged look that matches its powerful output. And when you boast of torque numbers of 115 ft-lb at 3000 rpm, you don't want a wimpy looking engine that puts out such a hearty grunt.

After watching Pilgrim Road pop out a new engine every 58 seconds, we stepped outside as Harley reps were eager to demonstrate its new ABS. Harley-Davidson has developed its own system that comes standard on its 2008 Screamin' Eagle Road King and 2008 Ultra Classic Electra Glide.

"It differs from the system used on the H-D police bikes that have been in production for the last couple of years," said Nathan Boyd, our H-D emcee during the demonstration.

Boyd described the ABS's fundamental purposes, to keep the wheels rolling and to give riders better steering control. To demonstrate, H-D brought out a rider aboard an Ultra equipped with outriggers. He quickly ran through a couple of gears before jamming on the brakes on a rock-strewn road. Without the ABS on, rocks flew, the front tire buckled, the handlebars shook hard, the bike hopped around and without the outriggers, a painful high side would have been waiting for the rider. With the ABS engaged, the rider once again wound the Ultra up and broke hard right in front of us. Rocks flew, the wheels kept rolling, the rider was able to maintain control of the motorcycle and the bike came to a stop not much off the rider's original line. Not only did it perform to standards, but the system is unnoticeable when the bike is in motion. Harley-Davidson's engineering and styling team went to great lengths to incorporate the system on the bikes without it being an eyesore. The wheel speed sensors are integrated into the chrome front wheel bearing spacers. The ABS Module is tucked neatly away underneath the seat. The braided stainless steel brake lines sit behind the thick, chrome fork.