Harley-Davidson 2016 CVO Pro Street Breakout review vs 2014 CVO

Looks like Harley-Davidson 2016 CVO is incorporating more and more of the chopper look into their production bikes.
It’s nice to see that they finally got their engine up to a 110 and the rear tire up to a 240! I also like the fact that on this model they got rid of their huge speedometer control setup that was in the middle of a lot of their gas tanks.

Currently, I’m writing an 2006 American Ironhorse Texas Chopper that has an S&S 111 engine (actually they had three options for engines from 111 117 or 124) and a nice wide 280 rear tire.  Plus, the Texas Chopper came standard with two front disc breaks. So, it just took Harley about 10 years to start to incorporate some of these features into their bikes.

2006 Texas Chopper

Harley-Davidson works really, really hard to make its bikes sound as good as they can and still pass the draconian noise laws, so the biggest problem with the sound of the CVO Pro Street Breakout is it’s too quiet, there’s no doubt owners and their dealers will be able to release a few decibels to make the audio experience of the Pro Street Breakout as good as the styling.

There’s modern technology inside the 6-Speed Cruise Drive transmission, too. Firstly there’s the light-pull hydraulic slipper clutch, which is easy to use and reduces the propensity of the fat back tire to lock if you’re aggressive on the gear lever and lazy on the clutch. The ’box itself is as loud and clunky as all modern big-bore Harleys, but we never missed a shift.
Final drive is by toothed belt.

All the power in the world isn’t much use if you can’t control it, so Harley-Davidson has added high-performance upside down forks and dual 4-piston caliper brakes.
Compared to the standard Breakout, the front wheel is two inches smaller, a 19 instead of 21. This, combined with the USD forks (and unchanged rake at 35 degrees) have driven the trail out to a very long 196mm, which goes a long way to explaining why the CVO Pro Street Breakout wants to under-steer heavily at walking pace before stabilizing nicely once you’re out of first gear. As speeds rise, the CVO Pro Street Breakout feels better and better, sitting solidly on the road as stable as a rock at highway speeds.
Fast sweeping bends are fun on the CVO Breakout, just push on the ’bars and enjoy the lean over before the footpegs touch down. The suspension works OK, better than I expected although it’s no V-Rod. In slower speed corners you’ll scrape the pegs easily and the fat rear tire doesn’t want to roll over onto its edge, but it’s not scary or anything – just not really what the Breakout is designed for. Just be very careful the first time you do a U-turn.
The USD front end gives confidence under brakes, which themselves are powerful thanks to the twin-disc set-up at the front. Harley has been fitting Anti Lock Brakes to most of its bikes for years, and the CVO Breakout is no exception.

The Harley-Davidson CVO Pro Street Breakout isn’t for everyone. In some ways it is too easy to criticize – too expensive, under-steers at low speeds, poor cornering clearance even by cruiser standards… but that misses the point. If you want those things, Harley-Davidson has plenty to offer you, as do a myriad of other manufacturers.
What we have here is a beautiful machine which offers excellent performance and kick-ass  attitude, which adds up to an incredible ride.

Harley-Davidson 2016 CVO Pro Street Breakout review