Does a Honda Reflex Scooter handle well on the highway?
How fast do they go?
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Filed under: Honda Scooter Forum
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Hi Star,
I have a Honda Reflex, and I use it to commute, 80 miles round trip, to work and back in the spring, summer, and fall. In fact, even in the winter on the warmer days, you may see me commuting between Tecumseh, MI and Wayne,MI. As long as the road is free of ice and snow, I’m riding.
I KNOW for a FACT the Reflex is very stable on the freeway. I’m out there every day. I’ve been in rush hour traffic on the freeway with the Reflex, and it handles it well. As a matter of fact, on Saturday, Sept. 1, I rode the Reflex from Detroit, MI all the way to St. Joesph, MI, on the west side of the state with no problem. I took I-94 all the way.
Top speed of my Reflex, on my trip, was 85MPH. Now the bad part, 85mph is all she has. That is wide open throttle for 20 minutes and not level ground either, and not for to much longer. I didn’t want to find out the hard way the Reflex didn’t like going that fast, but It did. All through out the trip, the bike remained stable.
The Reflex had a real workout that day. On the way home, I settled down to cruising at 70 mph. OK, truth is I saw more cops out that night then during the daylight hours.
If you plan on riding with the sport bike types, the big touring bikes, or cruisers that like going very-very fast, the Reflex is the wrong bike for you. However, if you plan on commuting to work and back, taking weekend rides at your own pace, or just getting a well balanced good handling scooter, it would be hard to beat the Honda, Reflex.
I’ve included some links below that WILL have more information.
Other people who have answered(you can spot them), don’t own one and therefore do not know what they are talking about.(1 and 4 exceptions)
All the best to you, Star, and
Ride Safe
yes. Its very capable of the speeds, and handles well obviously on a flat road type surface. Trust me I think you will be pleasantly suprised. Just dont get into an accident, lol, I think you may be at a disadvantage.
the max is usually 70-80 Mph, which is plenty, unless your taking the Autobonn, and im sure there are ways of exceeding its max with modifications.
reflex is too small to handle freeway speeds. they top out at about 45 mph on the speedo, but before u even get to that speed, those itty bitty tires it has will start shakin.
they’re strictly for 2 lane back roads.
dont even think about trying to take 1 of these underpowered junk’s on a 4 lane freeway. it isnt stable enough at high speed, and it still falls short of the speeds needed to stay with traffic flow. they’re for back 2 lane country roads. vehicles on freeways must have at least 5 brake horsepower or greater. this is too underpowered.
A Reflex has 19 horsepower which is sufficient to reach and maintain highway speeds…but that is not the question. Does it handle well compared to what? Not as well as a Harley or heavier motorcycle. A Reflex weighs about 359 pounds, which will get pushed around by turbulence from larger vehicles, like semis. I can cruise all day @ 70mph(and 60 mpg), but it is not comfortable.
I own a 2005 Reflex. If you have a lot of highway travel it may not be the best. It will keep up with freeway traffic, however at 80 MPH the engine is turning close to its 8500RPM redline. Even at redline the single cylinder engine is extremely well balanced and quiet.
If your use will not include much freeway driving they are great for around town and on roads where the speed limits are 55-65. If you need to travel on roads where the speed limit is 70-75 you may not be able to keep up with the traffic flow. Max speed I have observed with the scooter is about 83MPH on level roads. This is at the engines max RPM limit. (8500 RPM) I would not operate it for extended periods of time at this speed.
Other than the gearing needing to be a litttle lower to allow it to get up to, say 90, it handles great. Even at high speed there is no feeling of instability and it gets great gas mileage. 60 - 70 MPG. It will carry a passenger but don’t expect the same performance as running solo.
For the money it is a great scooter. It looks like a sport bike from the front. It is quiet. It is relatively economical to purchase. I think the ’07’s are around $5600.00. I would opt for the ABS model for $500.00 more
If you really want a scooter that you can take on the freeway, look at the Silver Wing. It is about $2300.00 (Add $500.00 for ABS version) more but will run at freeway speeds without pushing the engine to its limits. (I can tell you that it will run 110MPH at the engine’s 8500RPM redline) I own a 2002 Silver Wing also. It has a 600 cc twin, fuel injected DOHC 4 valve engine and computer controlled transmission. It will hold two full face helmets under the lockable seat and carries two people with ease. You will notice minimal difference in perfomance with a passenger.
Good luck with whatever you decide to purchase.
The ferderal rules say that you need at least 150ccs to be on the freeway. the reflex is a 250, and very capable. Dont be paranoid about it.
Jeez, I`m a scooterist, I`ve been on the freeway with a 180cc Yamaha. Its no big deal. Hell you can ride cross countery if you feel you need to!
http://www.scootercannonball.com/
250cc is 100cc over the usual limit to be on the freeway (150cc). The Reflex is capable of freeway speeds and should get to about 80 without too many issues.
If you want a little more get-up-and-go or are planning to take a passenger, for about $500-$600 or so more, the Yamaha Majesty and the Suzuki Burgmann have 400cc engines.
I own two touring scooters. 1981 Helix and 03 Reflex. I ride long distances every year and it doesn’t mater which scooter I ride I get virtually the same ride. I live at an altitude of 6500′ so my performance is cut some but I can still maintain highway speeds of 65 to 70 mph. Being that the bikes are light they tend to waver in wind gusts and when being passed by 18 wheelers. I carry my camping gear so my excess load is over 200 lbs. Yet I still maintan 55 to 60 on most roads.