Choppers are on the extreme end of the spectrum for bike lovers. The more modded or ‘chopped’ it is, the bigger the appeal. They have been drawing the attention of radical bikers so much that they have created a cult following leading to television shows like Orange County Choppers being birthed in our television sets. Bike Manufacturers have been taking notes from custom body shops and while there is a very unique segment of the population that adores the radical nature of these bikes, companies like Honda and Harley Davidson have been catering to this market for years as well.
Some choppers, however, have largely gone unnoticed, and the Honda Fury is a prime example of a criminally underrated chopper whose build is orders of magnitude better than a handful of the more popular selections available.
Nothing beats the power and style of the Honda Fury when it comes to cost vs raw power. The bike is long, it’s lean and its minimalist style deludes the eye into not expecting much, only to turn around and slam our faces with the power of its 1312cc V-twin.
The Honda Fury is easily the cleanest, and most reliable chopper you can pick up, and for a bargain nonetheless
Honda may not have a huge arsenal of chopper selections, but their Fury more than makes up for the lack of variety. The Fury, while being one of the few radicals in Honda’s production line, represents authentic styling that remains completely true to the Honda tradition of simplicity and practicality. The minimalist design that is featured on the Fury brings out Honda’s aim of pulling choppers out of the niche market that they are traditionally associated with and setting it on a level playing field with other mass-market bikes.
With a teardrop seamless fuel tank that doesn’t get in the way of accessing the handlebars and a single-shock rear suspension system, the bike is comfortable and hardly requires you to be a giant to ride it. The long rake coupled with the long wheelbase gives the bike a 71-inch opportunity between the wheel axles to show off its features, and the Fury takes full advantage of this, packing a gorgeous and minimal design of the engine, with a condensed, hard-tail look to the rear atop the engine.
This stretched out machine features two alloy wheels wrapped with a fat 200-series tire on the rear, with a slim 21-inch slim tire wrapping the front wheel. The stretch as well as the quintessential chopper appearance gives it a look that combines the best features of a cruiser bike, a chopper, and your regular production motorcycle.
Pearl Hawkseye Blue will likely be the paint job on this bike if you lay your hands on one. The bike comes in other variants, but the strikingly glossy finish is a given, regardless of the paint, which brings out the chrome wheels even more.
We Need To Talk About This Engine
The liquid-cooled 52-degree V-twin engine delivers some serious performance, cranking out 53.7 horsepower and 73 lb-ft of torque. The engine delivers this power through the 5-speed transmission with a quiet, clean shaft enclosed by a proprietary Honda aluminum swingarm assembly. With Japanese engineering behind it, the v-twin is about as reliable as they come. The 1300cc as satisfying as it is, however, does not include a tachometer to guide you on your rpm.
You May Own 70 Choppers, But 69 of Them Will Be Playing Catch Up To The Honda
Being the brainchild of a team of designers from Honda R&D Americas and engineers from Honda's Asaka R&D Center, the Fury brought together the best of both Western and Eastern manufacturing. The bike’s features are well thought out, bringing satisfaction to stock enthusiasts, as well as enabling easy customization. Very little is written in stone on this bike, and most parts are easily replaceable. The intentional decision to give the bike a smaller displacement as compared to Honda’s popular cruise bikes enabled the designers to put more thought into the final product design which would turn out to be a completely gawk-worthy machine. With a powerful, beautiful, compact, and customizable machine, they nailed it!
Where Are We With This Bike in 2020?
There are no plans on the horizon to halt production of this bike, much to the chagrin of most critics, who for the record barely have a leg to stand on with their main criticism being that Honda should focus more on their engineering prowess, rather than indulge in chopper design. Well, the joke’s on them, as the bike has been gaining some much-needed recognition and traction from the public.
Aesthetically, the bike has not evolved too far from the 2010 design, with the main difference over the years being the correction of the rake angle from 38 degrees to 32 degrees. The performance of the fury and the engine itself, however, have received some major boosts, with one of the most welcome changes being hosing down the heat from the radiator to within acceptable heat levels, while keeping the radiator and its processes as inconspicuous as possible.