Most of the motorcycle models Harley-Davidson rolls off its assembly line these days leave enough room for customization. Whether we’re talking about the many Softail models presently available or the newer Pan America, every Harley bike can be bettered one way or another by talented hands. But what about that breed grown under the care of CVO?
CVO stands for Custom Vehicle Operations, and it’s a sort of Harley division tasked with creating special versions of the road models for the custom market. Their work usually translates into custom motorcycles that need little to no upgrading to become true beasts, as they already are that.
Yet this isn’t stopping some of the world’s most prolific independent garages from tampering with CVO bikes some more. And that’s exactly what the Germans from Thunderbike did with the Wheel Power, a converted CVO Street Glide 117 with no chance of remaining unnoticed anywhere it goes.
There are just a few modifications made to the bike, but they are enough to make the ride stand out. That massive wheel at the front is the most obvious change, and of course, the most significant.
We’re talking about a 26-inch piece of wonderfully-sculpted metal, replacing the original 19-inch wheel for the maximum cool factor. It sits below a triple clamp with a 40-degree rake that makes it look even more impressive, and also a tad longer than it used to (and it is, with a wheelbase increase of 150 mm).
Photo: Thunderbike
Shod in a Metzeler Ultra piece of rubber, “specially made for big tourers and long distances,” the wheel comes in black powder coating and is shielded by a fender so large it wraps around half its diameter.
Looking so insane, it almost makes you completely forget about the wheel at the rear, almost entirely hidden behind the Street Glide’s big bags.
The Street Glide uses the same Milwaukee-Eight engine it holds in its frame as it exits the factory doors, rated at 106 hp and 166 Nm of torque. There is no indication it was modified in any way, not even with the fitting of a custom exhaust system like we’re used to from so many custom Harleys we've seen over the years.
The full cost of the modifications made to the CVO, man-hours and paint job included, are not known, but we do know the butt-naked wheel alone has a price of 2,322 euros (roughly $2,500 at today’s exchange rate). All the other aftermarket parts used add an extra $3,500, and you should also take into account the price of the base bike: at the time of writing, Harley is selling a CVO Street Glide in 2022 model year guise and with no other modifications for $41,899.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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