2x2: 2010 Honda Fury vs. 2009 Star Raider S

Choppers go mainstream and morph into usable motorcycles.

By Mark Hoyer | Photos by Brian Blades

July 2009

Photos: Honda Fury vs. Star Raider S >>

The irony of the original chopper movement of the Sixties and Seventies is that the bikes that showed such freedom of expression were awful for actually pursuing the freedom of the open road.

Our staff chopper guy is the Editor-in-Chief, and he kindly (?!) let me try his raked BSA and also his Honda 350, both ex-showbikes of the era. I have to say I have never been so terrified on two wheels in my life. And all I did was ride down the street.

These days, even custom builders make a better chopper-like motorcycle, thanks to fatter forks, improved brakes and all the engine advancements the decades have brought, but it took major manufacturers to roll out raked custom machines with The Look that don't have The Penalty.

The Star Raider S proved the pick of the bunch last year after a head-to-head comparison with the Harley-Davidson Rocker, getting the nod for its overall higher functionality and lower price.

Honda, meanwhile, surprised everybody this year with the 2010 Fury, perhaps the most unexpected machine from the least likely manufacturer. But we stopped scratching our heads in mild confusion after we rode it because it turned out, simply, that the Fury is a really good motorcycle. Displacement-disadvantaged in the class, yes, but it's got an excellent combination of functional balance and a cleanliness of line that is impressive.

Yep, after our full test of the Fury (CW, June), we felt compelled to get this rakish pair together to search for that rubber road to freedom we all are after and can finally ride on a "chopper" because they now work like real motorcycles.

But before we saddled up, we thought we might just park the Raider and the Fury together and consider how they look and what they are made of. Material considerations weigh heavily here, due to the fact that the chopper-like custom is as much an aesthetic exercise as it is a functional one. In terms of the actual "stuff" that makes up the bike, the Raider is definitely more materially satisfying. It's got steel fenders, metal engine covers, and it is just generally lighter on plastic parts; this isn't to say it doesn't have any, but the important metallic bits are there. The Fury's fenders, some of the engine covers, valve covers, headlight bucket, etc., are plastic or plasti-chrome, which just seems antithetical to the idea that these bikes are meant to represent. You also appreciate the air-cooled Star's lack of radiator, although the Fury's rad and hoses are very well-concealed. Further, the belt final drive of the Raider makes later application of a custom rear wheel that much easier than with the Fury's (well-hidden) shaft-drive setup.

So the Raider definitely gets the "magnetism" award here, even if the Gothic styling seems rather more forced than the Fury's airy, clean contours with its awesome gas tank shape. Yes, the Raider has a look to it that makes it seem sort of like an Iron Cross genetic-mutation experiment gone awry, particularly our extra-chrome S model with its "tribal" pinstripe graphics. But the Star does feel a bit more real and definitely more satisfying when you put your hands on it, and the paint quality is better, too. If you don't find a plastic chopper problematic, there is no doubt your eyes will glide much more smoothly along the Honda's pleasing and chopper-like lines.

And? Well, we're in it for the riding more than the parking, so, to the road!

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