Man, hard to believe, but the 2010 line of motorcycles is already coming out. We’ve got an invite to travel to Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, CA, next week to ride the 2010 line of Harley-Davidson CVO motorcycles. For those not in the know, CVO stands for Custom Vehicle Operation, which means these are the baddest Harleys you can get straight from the factory. Powered by H-D’s largest production engine, the 1800cc Twin Cam 110, and benefitting from plenty of Screamin’ Eagle performance upgrades, the motorcycles run as sharp as they look.

Harley-Davidson started up the CVO program in 1999. Seems like Harley owners kept asking for a factory-produced custom straight from The Motor Company. H-D responded by building the first two CVO models, the FXR2 and the FXR3. Production was limited to 900 of each model, and both bikes were powered by 1340cc Evolution engines. The initial launch of the CVOs was a success, so H-D did it again the following year, introducing the FXR4 and the Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide. Since then, the line has continued to grow, expanding to three motorcycles in 2005, and growing to four CVO models in 2007.

Since this is the 10th year of the CVO program, I’m sure Harley has a few surprises in store to commemorate this milestone. The lucky motorcycles that are chosen for the program have a habit of rotating year-in and year-out, so it will be interesting to see which bikes get the nod this year. The CVO Fat Bob was my favorite last year. The Fang wheels looked wicked, the Screamin’ Eagle 110 launched the bike with authority, the Tommy Gun 2-1-2 exhaust let out a hearty growl, and custom touches like a granite chin spoiler fixed to the downtubes and the forward-facing air filter made for one smokin’ hot cruiser. Hard to call this thing a cruiser though, the way that it rides. And even though I’m not a fan of yellow, the Yellow Pearl/Platinum Quartz combo on the 2009 CVO Fat Bob is a one that I’d proudly own.

I know firsthand how much pride and hard work goes into the CVO line. For one year, the teams that build the CVOs concentrate on nothing but that – honing in one particular model until it is the best that Harley has to offer. I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting one of the companies that does the paint for the CVOs and was impressed with the amount of hand-detailing that goes into the fenders and tanks. Impressive stuff. So, a little shout-out to my buddy Jeff Smith, who last year was the Team Manager for the CVO Fat Bob. What you got for us this year, Jeff? Guess I’ll find out next week.