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"   Carlsbad, Calif.\u2014Most people probably think of choppers as long and low custom motorcycles cobbled together in small workshops by a dedicated group of talented, tattooed fabricators. Honda&amp;#039;s new Fury, a production chopper we first saw in January, must seem to hardcore chopper fans like a kind of cookie-cutter homage bound for the garages of dilettantes.   But whether or not lifelong chopper advocates accept the Fury, it&amp;#039;s very likely that this slick new motorcycle from Honda will draw new devotees into the fold.   Yes, it&amp;#039;s that good. This new chopper injects high levels of reliability, quality and even a little respectability into the equation. Some social acceptability might not suit your average outlaw on his rat bike, but we&amp;#039;re willing to bet the new Fury finds buyers from every level of society. \u2014Barry Winfield  The Specs  Based on a design by Bruno Conte, senior designer at Honda R &amp;amp;amp; D Americas Inc, the Fury captures everything we like about chopper styling: The raked-out fork, the elongated teardrop tank, the artful V-shaped drape of the seat, the hardtail look of the back end. These all evoke the best of current chopper-building design. Better yet, under the makeup is a diligently engineered vehicle that meets all of Honda&amp;#039;s stringent engineering standards.   Power is supplied by an adapted version of the six-valve, 1312-cc, 52-degree V-twin we know from the VTX1300, but with a new programmed fuel-injection system utilizing one 38-mm throttle body. This engine pedals through a five-speed transmission to a shaft-drive system cleverly camouflaged by a sculpted swing arm form that bolts to the center of the final-drive pumpkin.   The tube frame leaves plenty of space between the engine and fuel tank, showing off the broad expanse of chrome on the front cylinder&amp;#039;s cam-covers. It also meant Honda had to hide the liquid-cooling hoses and minimize the visual impact of the radiator. This was accomplished by routing the top radiator hose beneath the front valve cover, and by integrating the thin radiator between the front frame down tubes in a way that renders it virtually invisible in profile.   This partly explains Honda&amp;#039;s choice of the 1300-cc engine instead of the 1800 V-twin found in the big-brother VTX1800. The bigger powertrain would have required a beefier radiator, and probably some other components that might have been more difficult to package in this spare design. As it is, the hydraulic master cylinders, gearshift linkages, mirrors, turn signals, and all other necessary mechanical contrivances have been integrated skillfully, making for an overall design that is, above all else, minimalist.  The Ride  The ride is quiet and smooth\u2014perhaps too much so for those iron men in pudding-bowl helmets\u2014while maintaining adequate power. The V-twin wears dual counter-balancers, so it&amp;#039;s smooth at just about all engine speeds. Yet the essential pulse of a common-crankpin V-twin is still there, throbbing gently through the drag bars and the surprisingly deep seat cushion.   There&amp;#039;s torque aplenty, so the bike launches easily, and it shifts as smoothly as any bike on the market. The fuel-injection calibration is so fine-tuned it makes the rider feel like he has the timing of a kung-fu champion. Although the bike weighs 663 pounds (or 681 when equipped with ABS), it steers and handles as if much lighter.   The Fury is easy to balance, and you can perform feet-up U-turns on two-lane streets\u2014despite the bike&amp;#039;s lanky 71.2-inch wheelbase and raked-out forks.   The staggered shotgun pipes are fairly muted, but they deliver a faithful &amp;quot;potato-potato&amp;quot; beat with an appropriate baritone timbre. As is typical of bikes of this genre, there&amp;#039;s only a single disc brake up front (better to show off the wheel), gripped by a modest twin-piston caliper. A smaller disc with just a single-piston caliper slows the rear wheel. Initial brake bite is pretty underwhelming, and it takes a hefty squeeze to get strong deceleration from this big motorcycle.   Although the rear end of the bike looks to be a hardtail for all intents and purposes, there&amp;#039;s a single coil-over shock with adjustable rebound damping and five-position spring-load adjustment hiding back there. And unlike many a cruiser ridden by this elongated rider, big bumps encountered by the Fury do not send painful jolts straight up the spine.   Finally\u2014and here&amp;#039;s a bit of a surprise\u2014the Honda Fury handles well. It fails to produce any scary hinge-in the-middle motions when cornering at high speed\u2014like a custom chopper does. The 200/50-18 rear tire and 90/90-21 front tire provide good levels of grip with an accompanying sense of stability.   This bike is stable at an indicated 100 mph on the freeway, feeling poised and capable of more. High speed is probably not what you buy choppers for, but it&amp;#039;s nice to know the Fury fulfills Honda&amp;#039;s evident belief that a bike should feel safe at whatever speed it&amp;#039;s capable of running.  The Bottom Line  The Fury proves that radical design alone does not necessarily produce an impractical, unreliable or unsafe motorcycle. To underscore that, the Fury is available with ABS, at $13,999. Standard models are listed at $12,999, while a special matte silver metallic version runs $13,499.   A range of accessories will be available concurrent with the bike&amp;#039;s arrival in showrooms in April, including leather seats and pouches, backrest/sissy bars, windscreens, billet hard parts and braided lines. The ABS model arrives later this Fall.   The Fury may not be a one-off machine from one of the bespoke chopper houses, built by the Teutuls or any other identifiable celebrities. But it&amp;#039;s a head-turning bike at a reasonable price, and it carries the promise of excellent durability. In other words, it&amp;#039;s the Honda of choppers.   RELATED STORIES \u2022 PLUS: 2010 Honda Fury, Production-Ready Chopper for Spring &amp;#039;09  \u2022 GALLERY: Top 10 Hot New Bikes from Cycle World Motorcycle Show  \u2022 VIDEO: 5 New Middleweight Cruiser Motorcycles Comparison Test   2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury 2010 Honda Fury "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a12907/4307019/>