The Corporate Chopper Challenge

Honda's Fury is the epitome of "cruiser," and makes you want to sit back and cruise. It will pick up its game if you push it, with more satisfying power coming in the midrange. The suspension is pretty firm, and turning the long bike around in tight spaces is interesting, but despite these drawbacks, it's still a fun bike to cruise the boulevard on. Brakes are middling, and the only shaft drive in this group of belts does jack the back end a touch, but its mostly unnoticeable. The five-speed transmission is silky smooth, but mysteriously refused to go into first on occasion, while the clutch was slightly heavy under constant use.

H-D: The Rocker had the only...        read full caption H-D: The Rocker had the only 19-inch wheel in a field of 21s, but it's a really nice piece with smooth organic lines, painted to match the bike's details.	Honda: The Fury's front end...        read full caption Honda: The Fury's front end was good from far with a nice wrap-around (plastic) fender, and a rotor that syncs the wheel. But the hotrod-style wheel had some ugly casting tabs.	Star: The Raider's beefy...        read full caption Star: The Raider's beefy 21 with dual rotors looked (and worked) like it meant business, but managed to look a little busy compared to the rest.
Victory: The Vegas rivals...        read full caption Victory: The Vegas rivals the Rocker for attractive front ends, helped by our tester's (optional) chrome package, and the (standard) braided lines. The tightly fender-hugging steel fender compliments the one out back.

Vegas' heavier clutch and notchy transmission was not welcome in the old stop-and-go, but it was mostly made up for abundant torque and quick, precise handling. Unlike the larger-tire Victories it handles like a dream in tight situations. Front brakes were on the weak side while the rears were touchy and easy to lock up. The Rocker was both loved and hated in town. Its predictably clunky 6-speed transmission worked well enough, as do the brakes, and power is torquey and satisfying. In the see-sawing ins and outs of traffic, the close bars are not as much of a handicap. Suspension from the Rockertail rear is fairly harsh, even more than the already unrefined ride of most Softails. For the sake of looks, Harley's normally stout horn was replaced by a tinny-sounding little round chrome thing that just made it sound like a scooter.

H-D: The H-D Rocker's two-valve... 

   

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H-D: The H-D Rocker's two-valve pushrod mill was torquey enough with a broad spread of power, and only annoying vibration at the top end of the scale. A six-speed transmission makes for smooth times on the highway though.

Out in LA's canyons for an entertaining play ride, things changed up a bit. The Victory, which several testers had a lukewarm initial reaction to, was suddenly looking like a star (if not a Star). With a strong bottom end, well-sorted suspension, and stability leaned over, the Vegas shone when pushed. The front compression damping was a little harsh, but that made for absolutely no brake dive. The Freedom engine's torque made shifting optional, and the riding position worked well for a fun ride. Some less-aggressive riders never got "in the groove" with the Vegas, however, while others were fine with it. All agreed it was a very forgiving mount when the roads were challenging.

The Star was also a backroad favorite, with the strongest engine in the group, a well-laid-out cockpit, and smooth handling. A couple of the more aggressive testers had issues with the plush ride, as the big girl would start to bounce around when pushed hard, especially on bumpy roads. Nobody had any issues with the brakes, however, as they embarrassed the binders on the other bikes by slowing a heavier bike down quicker and more predictably than any of the others by a long shot. Clearance, like on the Vegas, was bountiful and the tall bike (for this class) didn't spend much time scraping parts.

The geometric reality of a long, low bike like the Fury is that you simply will have less ground clearance, it's just something you give up for that look. So we really thought it would suck in the twisties, and were surprised when it didn't. Don't get us wrong, the thing drags its peg feelers everywhere, to the point where the pegs started to come apart, but handling manners along with suspension were controlled, predictable and fun. As in the city, it's simply a bike that encourages a rider to cruise, if you adjust your pace to the bike it's a capable companion, but even if you insist on pushing it, the Fury will work it out, you just have to hang off the bike to reduce lean angle. All together we felt the Fury just as quick-steering and confidence inspiring as the Vegas... right up until it started bouncing parts off of the ground.

Honda: Though swathed in... 

   

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Honda: Though swathed in plastic covers, the Honda Fury manages a legit look, tightly cradled in the frame at the rear and proudly showing off a big gap up front, yet still managing to look like a VTXesque Honda powerplant. Though not at torquey as the others, its EFI system is an improvement over the older VTX 1300s' carbs, making for a more responsive engine that revs out well.

The Rocker was somewhat the equivalent of the Fury. The Harley would drag at about the same point, but with its very fat rear tire it required more handlebar input to get it to heel over, but it would readily when push came to shove (on the bars). Suspension was a mixed bag with the front being very compliant, while the rear was an issue on rough roads, as a couple riders complained of being unseated by mid-corner bumps. Brakes were another area that needed adjustment to ride the Rocker properly, as the rear was far more powerful than the front, but with that fat contact patch back there, there was also less chance of sliding it.

Pulling into the parking lot of LA's many biker bars formed a final portion of the test. Unlike many recent tests the Harley doesn't flat-out win the parking lot wars. Experienced eyes will appreciate what H-D puts into design and finishes, along with the slick cantilevered rear fender, but all told, it was less eye candy than we're used to from Old Milwaukee. That, along with a high price tag, less usability, and less performance made for a back-of-the-pack finish for the Rocker. However, there were a couple of testers that said with a drag bar and slightly less-forward controls, they'd take a look at this one for the top spot.

The other bikes were all good in their own way and our testers' opinions varied widely based on taste and riding habits. The Raider is an eye-catching machine, but whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on the beholder. Custom bike aficionados find the droopy-looking back end, tilted tank, and other design faux-pas to be a dealbreaker, for what was universally praised as the overall best-riding bike of the bunch. Less detail oriented folks got off on the thick chrome of our "S" model Raider, and its big, bold stance. For sure there were some nice touches on it, like detailed flames, and stout-looking aluminum frame, there were things that Star even outdid Honda on, but clean design was not one of them. Functionally, it was unchallenged, it's an aggressive machine, but doesn't alienate the less aggressive riders. It backs up this aggression with performance in all aspects of its game. You're (presumably) an adult; if you like the looks, chances are, you'll love this bike.

Star: Though the big-barrelled... 

   

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Star: Though the big-barrelled Raider engine is overall an attractive unit, the left side is guilty of apparatus maximus with hoses and lines and linkages and horns and canisters everywhere. That said, this motor ruled the roost, with responsive power everywhere in the powerband, yet managed to be pleasing to the less throttle happy as well as the hooligans among us.

Despite a clean, swoopy design, and a premium package (including billet wheels, more chrome, a hydraulic clutch, and an HID headlight) that boosted its MSRP over that of the Rocker, the Vegas had trouble truly standing out in the crowd. A reader emailed us at the announcement of the Fury and claimed it's a Vegas clone, which is an extreme compliment to the Vegas. That said, the two tanks do follow similar styles. Hell, Victory likes this tank so much they use it on everything not called "Vision." Our testers who like to push liked it well enough when scootin down a back road, and with that torquey motor and 6-speed tranny it could eat up some miles, but it just doesn't reach for the extreme like any of the other bikes do.

Really, what more can be said about the Fury? It not only broke the mold for what was possible or impossible from a corporate chopper, it also competes on an even footing with bikes both more expensive and more conventional than it is. Naysayers will ask "Who's the market? How does it make sense? Choppers are a lifestyle choice, and Honda can't deliver that!" Anybody can appreciate the flowing elegant lines of a chopper, and that perhaps, is what Honda was thinking. They saw the basic geometry, and decided they could do something with it that could still be a Honda. After all, in the 1970s compact cars were for the poor, which one might say is a lifestyle thing. Now people regardless of financial category are dying to hop in a Mini or an Accord (or if you're swanky, an Acura). Coming from a world in which bikes that look like this are rarefied air for the wealthy or those willing to devote all their spare time learning to build and building one by hand, the Fury threatens to make long low bikes a consumer product. For better or for worse, the bar for entry has been lowered, just like when Harley started marketing its bikes to Baby Boomer professionals in the 1980s.

Victory: The Victory's engine... 

   

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Victory: The Victory's engine bay is so clean it's almost antiseptic. The Vegas' mill makes all kinds of valvetrain noise, but puts out mighty bottom-end torque. If you're so inclined you can start this thing in second gear without any kind of rattle.

So to answer the parking lot question, the Fury was the undisputed champ in iconic biker bars from Cook's Corner to the Rock Store, drawing curious crowds in its wake. The sleek design, with tucked-away radiator and shaft drive, giving off its big, bold attitude was enough to let people look past the plastic fenders and covers and generic controls. There was enough genuine machine on display to overcome the well-executed fakery, the mini chopper enough bike to get over its size. Like the Raider, (and despite being a step behind the Star in most objective categories) if you like what you see, you'll love riding this bike.

H-D: The Rocker's minimalist...        read full caption H-D: The Rocker's minimalist perch made everyone feel a little insecure. It's wide and supportive enough laterally, but in combination with the close bars and reach to the pegs, the slight rise in the rear is not enough to be supportive.

Honda: The Fury seat is thin...        read full caption Honda: The Fury seat is thin (as style would dictate) and basically unsupportive.

Star: The Raider had the...        read full caption Star: The Raider had the best seat in the group, yet still manges to be a good looker as well, with both a nice kicker at the back , as well as getting a support assist for the rider from the angular passenger pad.

Victory: Though the shape... 

   

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Victory: Though the shape of the Vegas seat is ergonomically-correct, the foam is not, with a very squishy consistency. Some people (and a couple of our riders) are into the "gramma's feather bed" feel.

Seems like it was just a few...        read full caption Seems like it was just a few years ago that most cruisers (other than H-D) had shockingly generic controls that stuck out like a sore thumb of bikes that otherwise exuded style...

It's still that way on the...        read full caption It's still that way on the Fury, as Honda refuses to update their 90s-era dated-looking controls. The Fury also has the only "stick-style" non-rounded levers. Harley brings it with painted versions of their organic-looking (actually, also 90s-era) buttons,

while Star thoughtfully includes...        read full caption while Star thoughtfully includes a switch for the auxiliary lights

and Victory's rounded housings... 

   

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and Victory's rounded housings get the chrome treatment.