Story: Peter Laverty • Photos: OBA
It was touted as Royal Enfield’s “Gold Star”, and the “Fury” was certainly a step in the right direction from the reliable but rather tepid performance offered by the standard 500cc Bullet.
The year was 1959, and what was badged for export to the USA as the Indian Westerner, and later (following the AMC takeover of Indian in 1960) as the Royal Enfield Fury, was the sportiest-yet version of the model that had first seen the light of day in 1936 and reappeared post-war as the Bullet in 1948, complete with a neat swinging arm frame that was subsequently plundered by many a ‘Special’ builder.
We’ll stick to ‘Fury’ here, although the featured motorcycle (a 1960 model) is one of the re-badged 500cc Indians that were part of the complex and ever-changing line up of models on the floors of Indian showrooms. There was also a very small batch of 350cc Fury model produced. With around 30 horsepower on tap, the Fury had much more grunt than the standard Bullet, but was still substantially shy of the revered ‘Goldie’ as well as other sporting singles like the G80CS Matchless and Velocette Venom. But it was certainly an improvement, and quite a few of the US model were stripped for action on Flat Tracks, where, further enhanced with various locally-produced go-fast components, they gave a good account of themselves. For the US market, the Fury could be supplied with or without lights, speedo or rev counter. When supplied with lights, the Fury had a Lucas alternator and a wider primary chaincase.
The model’s visual signature was an externally enlarged cylinder head, with squarish finning, like the Goldie, and a big fat inlet valve of 2-inch diameter that received its mixture via a one and a half inch Amal GP carburettor with a matching inlet port. An Alfin alloy barrel with cast iron liner replaced the iron version of the standard Bullet. High lift cams and increased compression ratio (from 6.5:1 to 7.3:1) added to the more aggressive character, and sparks came from a Lucas Racing magneto. Unlike the standard Bullet, the rocker box was cast integrally with the cylinder head. As well as being neater, this arrangement provided a more rigid mounting for the rockers and spindles. To aid starting, a cable-operated decompression valve was screwed into the right side of the cylinder head.
Downstairs, the steel crank sat in a double-row caged roller bearing on the timing side and a ball race outside a roller bearing on the drive side, with a plain white metal big end bearing. Flywheels were sourced from the late-model 350cc Bullet which were slightly smaller in diameter than the 500 wheels. The timing case cover contains a flange mounting at the end of the magneto shaft for the rev counter, should it be fitted. According to marque specialists, the Achilles Heel of the engine was the standard bottom end and gearbox/clutch, which complained rigorously when the power was increased. American-made Barnett alloy clutch plates with bonded linings were a favoured and successful replacement for the old RE friction plates. For this reason, later versions of the big-head Fury, which lasted until the non-unit construction Bullet ceased in 1962, had the inlet port reduced to 1 3/16” with an Amal Monobloc carburettor of the same choke size. This severely gagged the power output, dropping horsepower to 27 at 5,750 rpm but restored bottom end life. There were few road tests at the time, but a top speed of 90mph was claimed, along with fuel consumption of 74 miles per gallon. However at anything above 70mph, vibration severely tested the bonding of dental fillings, and a head steady from the top frame tube was a popular modification.
By comparison, both the BSA Gold Star and Velocette Venom were capable of a genuine 105mph.
Looking rugged and handsome in vivid Chinese Red with gold pin striping, the Fury is a mass of gleaming alloy, shiny chromed mudguards and deep black paint for the venerable chassis. That chassis was supported at the rear by Armstrong spring/damper units with two load adjustments, and at the front by the standard Enfield telescopic forks with the axle mounting ahead of the alloy sliders. Departing from the usual practice of 19-inch wheels at both ends, the rear wheel is 18-inch. Hubs are full width alloy, 7-inch front and rear, as fitted to the post-1959 Bullets. Folding steel footrests, required under US racing rules, were standard fitment.
Long after the Fury was laid to rest, several highly modified versions were still winning in USA. One in particular, built by Shell Thuett from Los Angeles and ridden by Elliot Schultz, was a consistent Goldie-beater at the popular Ascot clay track in Gardena, California. Thuett disclosed that the secret to keeping the engine together was discarding the standard RE conrod in favour of a shorter and more robust aluminium rod made for small-block Chevrolet V8s, with a Forgetrue slipper-type piston. This combination allowed the barrel to be reduced by 25mm, with shorter pushrods, Chevrolet valves and Harman and Collins cams. Schultz and later Roger Goldthwaite regularly cleaned up the lucrative prize purse at Ascot and were still winning as late as 1967.
Our featured motorcycle was imported by Classic Style and fastidiously restored in their workshop at Seaford, Melbourne. Classic Style owner Jon Munn says the beautifully presented bike is the only one he knows of in Australia, although he has parts to build two more.
