2012 Harley-Davidson CVO Softail Convertible Review

CVOs are notably pricier than the standard models they’re derived from, but by comparison to many high-end, high-priced cruisers from independent shops with low-volume production, the CVOs offer some serious value. Attempting to build something close to a CVO one piece at a time would lead to a sum total cost well beyond a CVO’s MSRP.
And in terms of value, what revs most folks’ engines is getting more than what was bargained for, especially when the deal nets you something on the order of two-for-one. The $29,699 Harley-Davidson CVO Softail Convertible is just such a two-for-one deal.  Model-year 2012 is the third year for the Softail Convertible in the CVO lineup. When it first surfaced in 2010 we discovered how crafty and practical Harley could get.

2012 BMW S1000RR Review

That BMW is a company with huge engineering resources shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. After all, it’s been building motor vehicles for more than 90 years and has a German stereotype to uphold. Nevertheless, my biggest surprise at the launch of the 2012 S1000RR was the boundless enthusiasm each engineer, no matter if gray hair or no hair, showed in regard to sportbikes. There’s a lot more to this performance-driven crew than just building transportation appliances, as we found out at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain, where the bike’s 2012 edition was sampled by the world’s media last week.
For example, Ralph Schwickerath, the S1000’s chassis project manager, is not only a mechanical engineer but a former racer who is nearly as quick as Jurgen Fuchs, a BMW test rider who has raced in 250cc and 500cc Grands Prix. And the RR’s dual project managers,