Harley Just Unleashed a Beautifully Beastly Race-Ready Bagger Onto the Streets

When you think of motorcycle racing, you probably don’t picture a big ol’ touring-style bike. 

But just as NASCAR almost inexplicably has the Craftsman Truck Series, MotoAmerica’s Mission King of the Baggers series lets riders saddle up and race on the big boys.

Harley-Davidson

Now, with knowledge and components from the Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Team, Harley is rolling out a mind-blowingly robust yet nimble set of wheels for the consumer set: the limited-edition 2025 CVO Road Glide RR. 

As you might expect, this bike is loaded with performance-driven elements, not to mention a sick sound system. Let’s take a look. 

Curb appeal

Right off the bat, one thing I really dig here is how committed Harley is to this exact look and feel. 

Despite the fact that CVO is short for Custom Vehicle Operations, there aren’t really “options,” per se, when there are just 131 hand-assembled, serialized units in the run.

The graphic design is inspired by the racing team’s 2025 livery, with the orange hue essentially disintegrating into little bars that reveal Harley’s bar and shield logo on the fairing, tank, side covers and saddlebags. 

The rest of the body gets a dark carbon fiber weave pattern, allowing various elements, such as the white Screamin’ Eagle graphic to stand out in contrast. 

Harley-Davidson

The engine and wheels are largely black, with orange and red color pops, none of which detracts from the sleek Akrapovič carbon fiber and titanium pipes. 

Beyond the head-turning looks, here are four features that stand out.

1. Potent power

Exclusive to this bike, Harley’s new Screamin’ Eagle 131 V-Twin engine is, the brand says, the most powerful Milwaukee-Eight variant ever offered factory-installed in a production bike.

With a whopping displacement of 2,147cc, it is rated at 153 peak horsepower (114 kW) at 5750 RPM and 150 lb. ft. (204 Nm) peak torque at 4750 RPM. 

One detail that jumps out is the 30-tooth output sprocket, which delivers a lower final drive ratio than the standard Road Glide’s 32 toother, increasing pick-up in every gear.

Harley-Davidson

Another notable element are the streamlined billet aluminum powertrain covers (see image at top of page). Contoured to boost lean angle and outfitted with cooling fins, they feature the same machined finished as the Factory Race Team bikes and are contoured to 

Not to dwell on the exhaust, but it’s worth noting that the titanium and carbon fiber construction makes it more than 10 pounds lighter than a standard Milwaukee-Eight set-up.

The system also helps the engine sound optimally badass every time you rip the throttle, of course.

2. Hot handling

In the press release, Harley dedicates nearly 1,300 to the RR’s various handling and safety features. I won’t go into that much detail here, but I am particularly impressed with the suspension and braking.

Highlights of the former include inverted 43mm Öhlins FGR 253 Hypersport Superbike forks, dual outboard Screamin’ Eagle Öhlins Remote Reservoir shock absorbers and a lean angle of 36 degrees right and 35 degrees left (3 more than the CVO Road Glide ST)

Harley-Davidson

Highlights of the latter include a single rear brake featuring a four-piston Brembo caliper and Brembo GP4-RX CNC front calipers, which, Harley says “combine unrivaled stability with near-MotoGP levels of braking performance.” Alrighty then.

By using alternative materials and pinpointing performance, Harley has slimmed the RR down to a shipped weight of 750 pounds, 50 pounds less than the CVO Road Glide ST model.

The RR also features six Rider Safety Enhancements (mostly oriented around cornering) and nine ride modes: Road, Sport, Rain, Track, Track Plus and four rider-determined Custom options.

3. Aggro ergos

Two traits that immediately mark this bike as sportier than your average bagger are mid-mount foot controls, which elevate the ride height to maximize lean angle, and a moto-style handlebar with a six-inch riser to place the rider in a more upright position. 

Still, the quality that jumps out most to me from this standpoint is the race-inspired solo seat.

Harley-Davidson

Elevated to optimize operation of the foot controls, it boasts a raised rear bolster to hold you in place and a padded pommel to brace the inner thigh when things get gnarly.

The overall seat height is a still-accessible 28.9 inches, 2.3 inches taller than the standard Road Glide.

4. Supreme sound

Alright, so it might not be so directly “performance” oriented, but when you’re riding a bike this fierce, you’ve gotta rock out, don’t you?

Toward that end, the RR marks the debut of a new high-performance Harley-Davidson Audio powered by Rockford Fosgate Stage III system. 

Harley-Davidson

The fairing-mounted 3-way, 6.5-inch speakers are rated for 250 watts RMS power handling per speaker, and the system is powered by a Rockford Fosgate 4-channel, 500-watt RMS amplifier.

Suffice it to say, you’ll have no trouble making your love for the musical stylings of Chappell Roan known on a buzzing highway, let alone on a bustling city street.

Availability and pricing

The Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide RR model is limited to 131 hand-assembled, serialized motorcycles available through select authorized Harley dealers in the US only. The retail price is $110,000.

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide RR

• $110,000 at Harley-Davidson

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