Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Honda Chopper, Electric Scooters Highlight Motorcycle Show

The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show stopped at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan earlier this month. The traveling show carries a load of new models across the country, making weekend-long stops in major cities, so the New York edition had only a handful of unique touches to offer:
• Honda officially unveiled its new Fury, the company’s latest effort to sell custom-bike looks to riders who might be wary about the reliability, safety or cost of a custom machine. The Fury, which Honda said has the longest wheelbase of any motorcycle the company has produced, does look very clean, and it showcases a classic — if slightly generic — chopper look, with a 38-degree rake. At a glance, the bike could be mistaken for something built in a garage, but a second look makes it clear that it’s a factory product. It seems clear that the point is not to win over the editors of Easyriders, but to attract bikers who want a look that’s more extreme than a Shadow cruiser, with about the same risk of being stuck on the side of the road.
2010 Honda Fury
2010 Honda Fury.
The unveiling was accompanied by a 90-second video teaser and a blaring metal soundtrack in which the bike’s features were revealed at a striptease pace. (Thrill to the Fury’s, um, bullet-shaped headlight.) A skeptic might point out that the Fury embodies the spirit of rebellion to the same extent as Mountain Dew and Axe body spray, but it’s a bit childish to deride the bike for its big-company origin. Depending on the base price, which Honda has not announced, the Fury could find its niche in a market in which sales of large motorcycles have been consistently down.
• The most striking bike at the show had to be the Victory Core concept:
Victory Core concept
Victory Core concept.
Victory said the bike is intended to show what a performance cruiser of the future might look like. While it shares much of its architecture with theVictory Vision, the Core concept carries no visible bodywork on its cast-aluminum frame, with the fuel tank, battery box and electrical system tucked out of sight inside. In case you’re wondering, the seat is made of mahogany.

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