Honda Ruckus Top Speed: How Fast Can It Really Go? (According To Owners)

While Honda makes some incredible sports bikes and touring bikes, those are not the volume sellers for the Japanese giant. Scooters and commuter bikes make up most of Honda's sales globally, selling like hotcakes all over Asia, in countries like Indonesia, India, and more. While most of its scooters are made with the Asian market in mind, some are designed for the American market. One of those is the Ruckus, a barebones 50cc scooter made for urban commuting.

Its 50cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, four-stroke engine produces an estimated earth-shattering 4.4 horsepower and transmits power through Honda's V-Matic belt transmission. As a result, owners claim the Ruckus achieves truly remarkable speeds of around 35 mph, up to 40 mph. Jokes aside, that's plenty for your daily commutes. 

With bikes like these, which anyone can ride without obtaining a motorcycle licence, you compare them to walking or cycling rather than fully fledged motorcycles or cars. In that respect, it crushes walking and cycling in terms of raw speed. However, Honda doesn't provide an official top speed rating. As such a barebones scooter, factors like rider weight, road inclination, and elevation have a lot to say in determining its top speed, so your mileage may vary.

Some people have also increased its top speed from 40 mph to 46 mph with the help of tunes. Talon Sei, a YouTuber, achieved a top speed of 46 mph with the help of a few modifications, including a CDI install, variator, new exhaust, and other mods, essentially calling it a stage two tune. The Honda Ruckus is quick for a 50cc scooter, but it's nowhere near Honda's fastest 50cc, as the company once built a 50cc race bike capable of hitting 100 mph.

The Ruckus' major rivals include the Vespa Primavera 50 and the Aprilia SR50, both of them powered by 50cc engines. However, the pre-2017 Vespa models, as well as some older Aprilia SR50 models were powered by two-stroke motors, which offered better mechanical efficiency over the other two bikes, producing more power and torque. Due to this reason, the Vespa also had a slightly higher top speed and acceleration. In a drag race conducted by FortNine between the three, the two-stroke Vespa came out on top, marginally beating the other two.

However, Vespa models started using conventional four-stroke engines after 2017 for better emissions compliance and fuel efficiency. The new Vespa models also tend to be a little slower, producing only 3.1 horsepower, making the Aprilia and the Honda the fastest 50cc scooters on the market today.

Additionally, having an unconventional naked body design with bare tubing, the Honda tips the scales at just 194 pounds, making it lighter than the 200+ pound Vespa and Aprilia. This also makes it one of the most fun scooters around, people love to perform stunts with it, and they treat it like a toy. That being said, all three of these brands rank among the top five on our scooter brand list.