THE CVO KILLER: 209 Horsepower Of Murderous Fun
When I first laid my eyes on a new Harley-Davidson CVO St Road Glide I was in love. It was what I had been hoping for in a factory-direct performance bagger for almost two decades.
It had carbon fiber, a big-ass 121ci motor, inverted frontend, and big radial brakes available from the showroom floor.
But the issue was I already had a 2024 Road Glide. It was the standard edition, and although it was great to ride, I was still really wanting to buy and build a CVO ST. but I was going to lose a ton of money on the bike I had if I sold it or traded it in. So I devised a plan to build a lighter, stronger, and faster Road Glide than the CVO ST. And the project “CVO Killer” was born.
Starting off with a Speed Dealer swingarm and subframe we lost a bunch of weight and really stiffened up the backend of the bike. We also added 1.5-inch over shocks from GP Suspension, a chain drive, a rear radial brake from HHI and a carbon fiber rear fender from Black Label Mfg. Up front we built a frontend of legendary status with a set of Original Garage Moto 2-inch over black DLC-coated tubes, OG Moto triple trees, fully adjustable GP Suspension cartridges, and some beautifully-made and CNC machined fork lowers and big radial brakes from Hawg Haulters Inc. The bike rolls on a set of as-machined custom billet wheels and rotors from SMT wrapped in Shinko rubber.
As far as ergonomic improvements for the bike, I went with a Saddlemen Step Up seat to get my rear end in the correct position. A set of Original Garage Moto risers and ODI handlebars as well as Arlen Ness grips really make the bike maneuver much better than the mini ape hanger setup that came from the factory. A set of Pistol Grip 2-finger brake and clutch levers from Dangerboy USA, OG moto floorboards and adjustable rear brake pedal really made a big difference in both feel and style.
Knowing that we did all these improvements, but not having done anything to increase horsepower or torque, then came the Harley-Davidson Screamn’ Eagle 131ci Stage 4 kit installed by John Jessup at Dream Rides Tennessee. This major upgrade drastically improved the bike’s overall speed and would have been enough for most riders, but not for me. I wanted more. That is when I called Nick Trask and ordered up a Trask Assassin Turbo System with a Thundermax ECU. This system easily doubles whatever horsepower your engine currently has, making this a 206 horsepower beast of a bike with 198 foot-pounds of torque. If you have never ridden a Harley with a turbo, I urge you to do so as quickly as you can. It will change your life.
To top off all the addition hard parts my friend Jeremy at Lucky Strike Designs painted the Road Glide with an all-evil CVO ST scheme complete with a devilish eagle with with teeth, an X for eyes, “CVO Killer” designation on the saddlebags and some Wild Style graffiti “Harley-Davidson” logos on the gas tank in blood red. If you glance at the bike it truly looks like a CVO ST. but it’s far from that indeed.
As you can see this is what happens when your quest for both speed and style gets out of hand. I spared no amount of time and expense on this bike and I think it shows. And guess what? In the next issue of Riser we will show you my project “Killer CVO.” A fully-customized white CVO ST Road Glide custom built as a rival to this very black “CVO Killer.”
Copy: Jeff G. Holt
Photos: Jon Freeman