Motorman's Roadtest

2010 HONDA FURY
           
I’m no big fan of choppers. Yes, they’re nice to look at and many of them have superb paint jobs. But given the choice of doing a 200 mile day on your average chopper and being water boarded, I’ll take the water boarding every time. Mainly because choppers are painful to ride unless you have arms like an orangutan and an ass made of steel. Plus, they don’t want to lean into a turn due to the extreme rakes and huge rear tires. To me, leaning into a turn is more than half the fun. I won’t even mention the rock hard ride of most choppers, excessive vibration, and the unreliability of the machines. Especially those built by the “bike builders,” that sprung up like stink weeds in the late 90’s. Thankfully, most of those companies are long gone.

            Give me a chopper that looks great, handles and rides like a motorcycle should, and is reliable and comfortable, and I’ll change my mind about choppers. Oh yes, and at a reasonable price. Enter, the 2010 Honda Fury. Yes I know, with the economy in the dumps, who the hell can afford to buy a forty thousand dollar chopper? Well, while Honda may have missed the chopper market peak, they certainly hit the mark with the, “If the price is right, I’ll buy it” crowd. The Fury starts at a dirt cheap $13,499, $13,999 with ABS. That’s not a misprint. The MSRP is correct and the Fury will soon be available with ABS, a first for the segment.

            With a price like $13,499, either all those other chopper manufacturers were ripping you off, since most of those “other choppers” started at 40,000, or Honda knows something those other guys don’t. I’d go with the latter, granted the high dollar choppers had three grand in paint alone and another three grand in chrome trinkets, but the Fury is bathed in chrome as well. All be it, a lot of the Fury’s chrome is plastic but hey, it won’t rust or pit, and it’s lighter. As far as paint, the Fury’s is flawless as show quality. But if you want flames or custom graphics, you’ll have to do it yourself. Personally, I like the Fury’s clean look. As I walked around the bike the only thing that struck me as clear cost cutting, is the kick stand, instead of chrome, the Fury gets a rough cast dull steel look. But really, that’s my only complaint. The rest of the bike is truly stunning. The sculpted tank is superior to anything I’ve seen the O.C. Chopper guy’s pound out. The fenders flow beautifully and close to the wheels. The two into two exhaust system looks after market cool and sounds pretty good as well. The polished wheels look terrific, wrapped around the front wheel is a 90/90 R-21 Dunlop. Out back there’s a reasonably fat 200 mm 50R 18 Dunlop.
            The fury is soft driven but Honda did a great job of hiding that shift behind a frame colored cover. Speaking of hidden, the radiator lies discretely beneath the front down tubes and is barely noticeable. The Fury uses the VTX 1300 motor but is fuel injected. The 1300 is a single pin crank motor with balance shifts for smoothness. This motor has been around since 2001 and has proven reliability. The five speed transmission is also borrowed from the VTX 1300 and works just as well in this application. The 1300 puts out plenty of low end torque and has a peak horsepower rating of 68. More than enough to hustle the 663 lb Fury down the boulevard.
            While most choppers become a clumsy handful at low speed maneuvers and on winding roads, the Honda engineers did a masterful job with the Fury. Though the wheelbase is 71.2 inches long, the extended fork attaches to the six degree raked triple trees. Combine that with a 32 degree neck with 3.5 inches of trail and you’ve got a chopper than can u-turn on your average 24 ft side street.
            The forward controls keep the pegs from scraping too soon. In fact, there’s an inch and a half feeler on the pegs that can be used up long before any head ports start to scrape the ground. On long straight a ways the Fury tracks along just fine.
            The riding position is superior to any chopper I’ve ever ridden. You don’t have to stretch to reach the bars or the pegs for that matter. The seat is even comfortable, for at least 150 miles. The passenger perch is for short hops only though. But hey, as Bruce Willis said in Pulp Fiction, “This ain’t a motorcycle baby, it’s a chopper.” Fortunately though the Fury does in fact ride like a real motorcycle. It just happens to look like a 40,000 dollar custom job. The Fury will get you where you want to go whether it is the local bar down the street or the pub across the state. And with Honda’s reputation for bullet proof motorcycles, you’re guaranteed to get back home without the slightest problem.
            Think of the Fury as a 21st century chopper, it’s got the show and the go and lots of refinement at an amazingly low price.

Copyright2009-Jerry Motorman Palladino
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