A Legendary Harley-Davidson Touring Bike Just Hit Its Evolutionary Apex

The nameplate has been around for more than 40 years, but it’s never looked or performed better than it does with this premium edition.

Close-up of a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine with orange accents and "121 High Output" air filter.

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By Steve Mazzucchi

Published January 16, 2026

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Updated January 17, 2026

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You’ve got to time travel all the way back to the mid-’80s to uncover the original, primordial Harley-Davidson FLHX Street Glide, which sported locking saddlebags, a 5-speed transmission and a 1337cc V-Twin making 50 hp and 69 ft-lbs of torque.

Quite an excellent model for the time, which helps explain why Harley is still making stunning Street Glides more than four decades later.

Matte gray Harley-Davidson touring motorcycle with saddlebags parked on a gravel road in front of rocky cliffs. — From tip to tail, the new CVO Street Glide ST delivers eye-popping looks and show-stopping performance.

But if that’s the Australopithecus afaransis of the bike’s evolutionary chart, the new CVO Street Glide ST is most definitely the Homo sapiens (if not a “post-human,” for Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 fans).

Harley clearly threw everything but the kitchen sink into this modern marvel, essentially transforming it into a touring superbike that looks just as good as it rides.

Power play

As you might imagine, the Street Glide’s engine has come a long way in 40-plus years. The CVO ST boasts a 1,983cc Milwaukee-Eight 121 High Output V-twin, making a potent 127 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque.

All that, plus a 5,900 rpm redline, is made possible by a race-inspired “heavy breather” intake that flows over 25 percent more air than the Milwaukee-Eight VVT 121.

Black Harley-Davidson motorcycle with rider in black gear leaning into a turn on a road. — The engine boasts nearly three times the power and more than twice as much torque as the original.

A number of smart touches enable the rest of the bike to keep up with that beastly beating heart, including the Performance Fused handlebar, which is 1.6 inches wider and two inches taller than the standard Street Glides, making every twist and turn count.

Smoothing out the bumps are adjustable inverted forks with DLC-coated sliders and rear remote-reservoir shocks (discreetly housed in the saddlebags) for race-level shock absorption.

Close-up of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dashboard with digital display, black handlebars, and rearview mirrors. — The Performance Fused handlebar offers both a unique look and confidence-inspiring handling. Did I even mention the two built-in 6.5-inch fairing speakers? (Yes, it has those too.)

The bike also boasts high-performance Brembo brakes complemented by more rider safety enhancements than you can count, including ABS, electronically linked braking, traction control and drag-torque slip control.

Helping you make the most of all that power and performance is a 12.3-inch full color TFT display from which you can choose among eight different ride modes to dial in the optimal throttle response, engine braking and traction control for any road you tackle.

Style points

Along with elevated performance, the other half of the CVO promise is jaw-dropping aesthetics.

Toward that end, this special edition gets a pair of custom-level paint jobs — Inferno Gray (shown on this page) and Electric Coast, a cool blue-heavy treatment.

The strip of forged carbon running across the top of the tank serves as a constant reminder of how special this bike is.

Harley-Davidson

Both versions get Screamin’ Eagle graphics with an iridescent dimension that plays tricks with the light, which is why this bike’s skin tone seems to shift from image to image on this page.

The other big aesthetic touch that makes this bike stand out from just about any other is forged carbon details, which accent the front fender, console, seat cowl and even the end caps of the black powder-coated titanium mufflers.

Close-up of a gray Harley-Davidson CVO ST motorcycle rear with dual Screamin' Eagle exhaust pipes and saddlebags. — The saddlebags offer more than 68 liters of storage space, while even the exhaust pipes get forged carbon end caps.

These precision-crafted pieces not only help the bike shed weight — although it’s hardly light at a curb weight of 816 pounds — but offer just as much function as they do form.

Meanwhile, arguably the Street Glide’s most indelible feature, the batwing fairing, cuts through wind just as smoothly as before, but even its screen stands out from the pack, just as red hot as everything else.

Availability and pricing

The 2026 Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide ST will be available soon at authorized H-D dealerships globally starting at $44,999.

Black and red Harley-Davidson CVO ST motorcycle with saddlebags and a front fairing.

2026 Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide ST

Starts at $44,999

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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