Yup. I added the CVO heated seat and TP backrest for less than $700, and it'll cost about $200 to do the heated grips.

There's a HUGE premium to be paid for a CVO.....To me it's not even close to being worth it.

 

Well there's a bit more to a CVO than heated grips and a heated seat. If you were to buy a RGU and add all the extras yourself to try and make it a CVO you would probably end up paying more than you would for the CVO.

Whether or not all the extras are worth the price is entirely subjective.

 

There is a bit more....There's 7 more cubic inches to the motor (with less compression), there's a Gold Key, and there's lots of shiny pieces. If those shiny pieces appeal to you, that's great. But $17,000 is a whole lot of money that no, you would not spend making a RGU into what you wanted.

Not ragging on CVOs (I had one), just saying that you're paying an awful lot for someone else's idea of "custom".

 

Again, I will respectfully disagree. I don't think you're paying for "custom" you're paying for features. Just a few of the "shiny pieces" a RGU CVO comes with over a standard RGU, besides the extra 7 cubes, heated grips, upgraded heated seat and driver's backrest are:

-braided stainless brake and clutch lines
-premium shocks
-backlit handlebar switch packs
-upgraded stereo/nav with intercom headsets included, bluetooth, CB etc...
-keyless ignition
-remote electric locks on all the bags
-LED saddlebag lights
-felt lined bags with a Tour Pak organizer
-removable bag liners
-garage door opener
-trickle charger
-angled valve stems
-bike cover
-chrome and more chrome

And there's more that I can't remember right now. If there's a $17,000 price differential where you are you're lucky, it's about $13,000 here. Go on the HD site and start pricing out all the additional features and you close in on $13,000 really fast, never mind the labor to install it all.

So at least in my part of the world if those features are important to you, you aren't paying a premium you're paying for extra features.

 

And as I said, if those things are important to you, then a CVO might be up your alley. But...

There are no premium shocks on the CVO Roadie....Regular old air shocks. And they have the same infotainment unit. And the same trickle charger. And the same bag liners. And the same keyless ignition.


$40,299 for the CVO, $25,699 for the RGU. It's a $14,600 difference and you've got a better chance getting something off of MSRP on the RGU. There's nothing on the CVO that's worth that premium to me.

If it's worth it to you, that's great. But for me, I'd rather make the bike what I want, rather than forking over an extra 15 large for someone else's idea of what the bike should be.

 

That we agree on.

If you are getting that on a RGU then you are getting a way better deal that we get here. None of that is standard here.

 

Dang, I got a lot of those things with my RGU that I recently bought at $26,500 out the door.
I wasn't interested in the choice of theme in the CVO trim. Not sure about the gold key either. I would be inclined to think that may a 17karat plated nickle item. I've already got a bike cover. Angled valve stems? I think I can get them at NAPA for about $10. If I had remote control bag locks, I would still be checking em to be sure they're locked.
As far as the motor difference, once you are up to freeway speeds, you'll find that the 103 performs pretty much like the 110 except you can squeeze a whole lot more outa the 103 with engine work if you decide to go there.

 

I seriously considered a CVO Road Glide Ultra in 2015 being it was the only RGU at the time. As much as I love my bikes I just could not justify in my mind a 45k motorcycle. Yes I love all the feature of the CVO plus the prestige of owning one.

The biggest draw for me was the 110 motor and the custom paint. The Aggressor wheels were gone and I disliked the new Slicer wheels. The Chrome Enforcers would have been a better choice in my mind.

So, I waited for 2016 and one month after the release of FLTRU I purchased a new Vivid Black. Prior to picking the bike up I had one improvement made which was chrome lower fork leg and cow bells. Most would think this is for cosmetic reasons but it was more for maintenance. The lowers legs on my 2009 Road King look like caca.

Prior to purchasing the bike I bought a set of Enforcer wheels with and tires with 20 miles on the to go on the Road King. Well they never made to the Road King but I had them swapped out while the new lowers where being put on. To My taste The Enforcers are a much better looking wheel and again to maintenance, much easier to keep clean.

While the bikes was being updated I took the opportunity to rob parts of the Road King that I was not willing to let go with the bike. Primarily the Hammock seat, highway pegs, passenger pegs and floor board relocators. Once the bike was home all these got installed. The Hammock seat made the biggest change, the bike now felt wright. The stock touring seat felt like I was sitting on a beach ball.

Since purchasing the bike I have made some other changes, this consisted of a Fuel Moto 2/1/2 stainless steel Ceramic Coated Head Pipe. This was to do away with the catalytic convert and it's excess heat. Stage one intake. and the E Series mufflers.

In my mind the only bike that could better this one is the CVO version but I would have to make changes to it also to fit my tastes.

 

Every Touring Harley comes with a trickle charger lead, and I've never met a dealer who won't throw the charger into the deal. Every Touring Harley also comes with keyless ignition. Every RGU comes standard with the Boom 6.5 infotainment; you get "upgraded" speakers and an amp with the CVO, neither of which is very good. The RGUs also come with bag liners.

My point being, none of those things justify the price difference unless you're like Texas Rapier and like the paint job and the shiny bits....But even still you're going to end up changing things. That's the nature of the beast.

I got out the door with my RGU, a trickle charger, the shock air pump, a passenger headset to go along with mine, and a 7-year ESP with tire & wheel coverage for $26,000 (MSRP was $26,700). No way I would have done that well on an "in demand" CVO, and even more importantly I wouldn't have wanted to. I do like the grey/black color, but I can't stand the wheels or all the chrome.

To each their own.

 

Okay, I'm curious now. Exactly what off the list I posted was included with your bike when you bought it? None of that is on a 2016 RGU here when you buy it, all of it is extra.