It is called Francies, and when I worked in town, we often met here for lunches during the week as well as on Saturdays... But it never occurred to me to take a picture of the place..
But after lunch, we traveled over to one of my ham friends homes, where I asked to see his new touring ride... A CVO Road Glide... Now CVO stands for Custom Vehicle Operations... And so this machine was not produced on the normal motorcycle assembly line..
It is hand built by one person from the the beginning to the end.. That fellow picks the parts and assembles them from the very start... The paint is all custom and can cost over 5K more than a stock machine..
Also all that chrome would be about 8 K more.... The seats are custom leathers... And the list goes on with special loud stereo and so on....
It was an over cast day, and my little cell phone camera didn't do the bike any favors...
But you get the gist of all of this, with its 1800 cc engine which is 110 cubic inches, this thing is beyond a normal ride..... When started it has a deep throaty sound that might still be Harley, but it also says I am a poppa Harley... Its potato potato but about an octave lower than its brothers....
Custom Vehicle Operations replaced the older Screaming Eagle bikes that Harley was making in 2009. And this is a 2009... I know it just looks like another motor cycle, until you get the normal stock machine beside it and see how much difference there really is...
Any way I ended up back over to my sister in law's home, and then out to eat again tonight.... It was family and lots of things to get caught up on...
Oh, I did go over to Northern Tool and Equipment that has a store here in Des Moines and purchase a small inverter that will plug into the cigar lighter and put out 110 volts AC at 200 watts. Its a Chinese piece so nothing special, but it ran my laptop without any problem at all and will allow for phone charging and several other tasks...
I am spoiled that I have the 2000 watt inverter in the motor home, but nothing in the Honda, and at $28, the little inverter seemed to be a bargain. It was on special, and was priced less than its 150 watt cousin.
Tonight we are to be below freezing again, and hope to see some warm up tomorrow... It was rather cool in the motorhome last night, but we managed without much trouble...
Retired Rod
Looks like a super duper version of the old FLT I had one of the first one's made in 1980 when they still had the shovel head and a 5 speed that drove an enclosed chain that ran in oil. Never had to replace a chain in 80.000 miles, adjusted it twice. for a little play.They only used that enclosed drive one year, it was to expensive to produce and then went to a dry belt, that broke continuously.It also had true dual exhaust with the pipe from the rear going forward and wrapping around the nose cone before heading back, No balance tube, it had a really deep exhaust note.
ReplyDeleteI on the other hand was riding with a big smile on my face.Have fun and be safe out there.
That's an awesome bike. Looks like the wheel base is a bit longer too? Hard to tell.
ReplyDeleteI've never owned a bike, but it sure is fun to look.
That is one beautiful looking bike - almost be afraid to get that one a little dirty! The way you were adding on $$$$$$$$$$$ there I shudder to think what the final price tag was.
ReplyDeleteThose little inverters work great, I've had one like that in our truck for years and they do come in handy once in a while.
Your friend’s motorcycle looks stunning! It certainly looks prepared for any road trip. I think one advantage of doing your own CVO bike is that you can add whatever you like. And just like your friend’s motorcycle, you can build it with big compartments and saddle bags that would be very handy for long tours.
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