When is a custom bike not a custom bike? When it’s made by a conservative mainstream manufacturer from Japan.
It took me a long time to decide what I thought of Honda’s new Fury. In fact I’m still open to persuasion.
The Fury is a full-on chopper, the sort of thing you might see rolling out of the workshop of the tediously feuding Teutuls of Orange County Choppers (purveyors of some of the world’s most acclaimed custom motorcycles) - except the mass-produced Honda is far better made.
For the uninitiated, “chopper” is a derivative term for a bike with a long wheelbase, extra-long forks, high bars and low seat. Think the bikes ridden by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider.
The fact that the Fury comes from the most conservative and mainstream of the Japanese factories makes it arguably the most radical motorcycle we’ve seen for years.
Stylistically it’s a bona fide chopper, with an absurdly raked-out fork angle, high headstock, space above the engine big enough to poke your head through, and a beautifully sculpted fuel tank that’s both delicate and elegant, if inevitably rather small at 2.7 gallons.
The front mudguard hugs the tyre tightly, the nine-spoke wheels look great, and a lot of attention has been paid to achieving an uncluttered appearance that many one-off custom builders fail to achieve. There’s too much wiring in the handlebar region, otherwise it succeeds.
The Honda script appears only on the keyfob, perhaps in an attempt to fool bystanders into thinking the Fury really is a one-off. But when you buy a bike from a Honda showroom you expect it to work and ride like a normal motorcycle. It does.
There aren’t even any steering quirks despite the absurdly long forks common to the genre, although low-speed manoeuvring can be demanding.
It doesn’t even flop down into corners like the laws of physics say it should, and most riders will find it perfectly easy to master.
You could even call it ordinary, especially as the 1,312cc engine is muted and smooth, with little of the character - read vibration - of a big American
V-twin. Unlike most bespoke choppers, you could use it every day. Even the small tank isn’t a great problem. At the 48mpg I was averaging you could scrape 130 miles from the fuel capacity.
Comfort isn’t too bad despite the very low seat, so you could even go places on this bike - although it would have to be solo, because the backwards-sloping rear seat probably contravenes human rights legislation.
So why can’t I make up my mind? Because choppers exist outside the realm of motorcycles I understand.
They populate a place where form precedes function to a degree I find absurd, where the aim is a particular visual signature - which can be pleasing - but which is so dated it’s nearing its 50th birthday.
Yet Honda has created a viable production motorcycle around this idea, and it’s the first big manufacturer to do so, which has to be lauded.
I even managed a 250-mile round trip on one, with my oldest daughter as pillion for half of that (she still hasn’t forgiven me), so it’s a genuinely useful machine. The Fury handles better than any chopper I’ve ridden, with the most neutral steering and best high speed stability, and is superior to many much less radical factory cruisers in these respects.
The suspension could be better and ground clearance is poor by most standards. The brakes work well enough and it even has shaft drive, keeping the back end clean aesthetically and physically, pointing form and function the same way.
My biggest problem is that many of the components which look like - and indeed ought to be - steel, iron or chrome are made of plastic. Real choppers are hewn from honest metal. Plastic won’t rust, of course, it’s lighter, cheaper and strong enough. A prime example of function defeating form so I ought to like it, but I don’t.
Where there is metal, it’s sometimes joined in an unsightly fashion, such as some of the tube welding on the frame beneath the tank. The acclaimed Teutuls generally do a worse job (I’ve seen it first hand) but at least it’s blokes behind the blobs - on the Honda it’s like that because of state-of-the-art automated welding machines.
Looking at it objectively, the Fury is pleasing, even beautiful, and no other manufacturer has made anything as radical. It’s also easy to ride and likely to be very reliable and durable. So instead, complain only about the L12,575 price, which looks a little steep against more substantial cruisers.
But if you like the Fury, nothing else will do as there’s nothing else like it. It’s a job very well done.
THE FACTS
Price/availablility: L12,575/Now
Power/torque: 57bhp@4,250rpm/79lb ft@2,250rpm
Top speed: 110mph (est)
Fuel tank/range: 2.7 gallons/130 miles
Verdict: Who’d have thought Honda would make such a bike? You get the improbable combination of genuine chopper styling with some of the highest reliability and build quality standards
Telegraph rating: Four out of five
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
