Scooters CAN go on a highway as long as the motor is large enough. Mopeds and those with engines that are below the 200cc threshold are better suited for other purposes. If you are in the market for a 200cc or higher-sized scooter, then highways can be part of your routes! This is the list of the best motor scooters for those eager to have the most comfortable ride on a highway for those long trips on the open road.
The best scooter for the highway is the Suzuki Burgman 400 based on this scooter’s speed capabilities, comfort, and convenience features.
Alternates depending on budget and styling:
- Best Budget Highway Scooter: Kymco X-Town 300i ABS
- Runner Up: Vespa GTS 300 HPE Touring
Whether you are a beginner scooterist that knows that you’ll be on the highway at some point or an experienced scooterist looking to upgrade for highway riding, I’ve picked the best options to help you narrow down your choices. Of course, I’ve got a guide with a side by side view of all new scooters available if you’d rather start there with choosing a scooter.
Gear to get your scooter from point a to point b <Amazon>
How the Best Scooter Was Decided
Choosing a scooter can be tough. If you’re upgrading you get it. If only you had thought to get a larger scooter to begin with! I go into all the details on what to look for when picking highway scooters, but here’s how ow I picked which highway scooters would make this Best Of list:
Engine Size 200cc+
The features that make a motor scooter better equipped for the highway start with the size of the engine. You’ll want to start by looking at 200cc as engine size at a minimum.
Remember, the higher the cc number, the higher the speed the scooter is capable of reaching and also maintaining. Maxing out a 150cc by driving 65 miles per hour for long periods of time will certainly wear the engine out faster than cruising along with a 300cc at that speed. Scooters in the 200cc+ engine size are generally called maxi scooters but certainly not all!
In this range, the scooter with the lowest top speed according to the manufacturer is 75 miles per hour and the max at 100 miles per hour. All are fine for highways, so the top speed is not a significant factor to make this list of best maxi scooters.
Read more about why you’d want to buy a maxi scooter here
Comfort
Scooters are known for their small tire sizes, but scooters ready for the highway tend to have slightly larger tires. The average tire of scooters below 200cc is 12 inches yet 14 inches beyond the 200cc threshold.
However, the Vespa GTS 300 has 12-inch tires, so there is still plenty of variation in this category of scooter. The larger the tire, the less nimble you will find the scooter. However, they will add a bit more stability and a lot more comfort at highway speeds.
Convenience
Storage becomes a major convenience. The further I go, the more items I find that I need. I look for scooters that can fit a full-face helmet at a minimum with the flexibility of having additional storage added such as racks or saddlebags.
Features Almost All 200cc+ Scooters Have
There are a few features that almost all of the scooters in this category have, so they are baked into this list but not as differentiators. ABS brakes are standard in this class except for the 3-wheel trike Piaggio MP3 500cc. In addition, the Sym Citycom S300i does not have ABS, but all others do.
All of these larger, luxury-style scooters are liquid-cooled whereas most scooters tend to be air-cooled. The move to liquid-cooled is better for emissions and fuel efficiency which definitely comes into play for highway legal scooters.
The average miles per gallon for the scooters in this category is 70 mpg, though, which is still quite a bit lower than what you’ll find in the 100-200cc range (90mph).
Smaller scooters are more frequently the carbureted style of fuel injection, but the touring scooters in this category are all electronic fuel injected.
Best Scooter for Highway Riding
The top scooter for highway riding maxes out all the categories with speed, comfort, and convenience.
The Suzuki Burgman 400 is the winner of the overall best scooter for highway riding. It is also a premium scooter that has an MSRP of $8,299.
This scooter is literally the largest engine size that you can get on a 2-wheeled scooter with 399cc. Suzuki advertises this scooter’s top speed at 95mph which is the highest speed advertised for the lineup of new scooters.
The tires on the Burgman 400 are 15 inches in the front and 13 inches in the rear. They aren’t the largest in the category, but they are pretty close.
I am a huge fan of the under-seat storage box being large enough for 2 helmets, and it has the foot pegs, as well as, grab bars to help a passenger mount.
I’m all about a larger fuel tank when possible if you know long trips are in your future, and the Burgman 400 has the largest fuel capacity at 3.6 gallons.
This scooter seems luxurious. It comes with a windshield, has an adjustable backrest for the rider, and the under-seat storage box comes with a light to illuminate the large space.
I love storage, and there are additional compartments in the front with a DC outlet, as well.
Additionally, it comes with features that you find on cars like letting LED indicators, freeze alerts, and an Eco Drive indicator that lights up when you’re scooting in a way that’s most fuel efficient (like not throttling to the max when leaving a light).
Cons of the Suzuki Burgman 400
All of theses features add up to a scooter that is also the heaviest short of the 3-wheeled Piaggio. The Burgman 400 is 474 pounds. Also, the warranty provided by Suzuki is only 12 months. Lastly, this is one of the most expensive scooters with an MSRP of 8,299.
Best Budget Scooter for Highway Riding
If you want the most bang for your buck as the most important factor in your scooter, choice, I recommend the Kymco X-Town 300i ABS.
This scooter is the cheapest on the list, but it has more features than the other scooters nearest in price or engine size. The MSRP for the X-Town 300i ABS is $4,499.
2 full-sized helmets will fit in the under-storage seat box. The storage box also has LED to light up the cavernous interior.
The tires are 14 inches for the front and 13 inches for the rear, so it is in the space between being nimble versus also being more stable feeling, and comfortable.
Despite being the cheapest scooter in this class, it does not have the smallest engine size in the category. The Kymco X-town has a 276cc sized motor, and Kymco advertised a top speed of 80 miles per hour.
Additionally, the X-Town has the largest fuel tank of the scooters in the 200-300cc range at 3.3 gallons versus 2.6 gallons average for the rest. Stopping less for fuel means more time having a blast scooting.
The X-Town also has a built-in windshield to deflect a little wind off of you to keep you from tiring from fighting the wind for stretches of time.
It’s liquid-cooled, has ABS brakes for safety, and like the other larger scooters for highway driving, it also has electronic fuel injection.
Lastly, it’s one of those scooters that has a 24-month, unlimited miles warranty. That’s definitely relevant if you plan to do some highway driving which likely equates to higher mileage trips.
Runner Up
I have to throw in a runner-up because while the Suzuki Burgman 400 and Kymco X-Town 300 are wonderful scooters, they are missing the Italian styling that drew me personally to scooters in the first place. You may be able to guess with that introduction, but the Vespa GTS 300 Touring has a special place in my heart because of the styling on top of the capacity to hang on a higher-speed highway.
The Touring version of the GTS 300 HPE includes a windshield, a larger under-seat storage compartment, a thicker cushioned seat, and a folding rear rack to accommodate a top box without additional accessories needed. The Touring model has an MSRP of $7,299.
Of course, it’s a Vespa, so it has the steel body that speaks to many scooter fans. The GTS 300 also has a 278cc engine with a top speed advertised at 78 mph. The fuel economy is 73mpg, but the fuel tank is on the smaller side at 2.2 gallons.
Just like other scooters of this size, it is liquid-cooled with the ABS braking system, as well as, electronically fuel injected.
The biggest downfall for comfort is the 12-inch tires on the front and rear of the Vespa GTS 300. This will make highway riding a bit less comfortable than competitors, but it does make this a scooter that traverses both slower and higher-speed roadways well enough. Nimble when it needs to be for more city-style driving.
Wrap It Up
So there you have it. The top scooters for highway riding. The Suzuki Burgman 400 if you have the funds for the luxury, and the Kymco X-Town 300i ABS if you are looking for the best value style scooter that can handle highway scooting.
If you aren’t willing to let go of the classic Italian scooting, the Vespa GTS 300 Touring is definitely the runner up.
Coincidentally, the Burgman is the most expensive, and the Kymco is the cheapest. That said, they are genuinely the top scooters I’d recommend if you are shopping for a motor scooter specifically to work well at highway speeds.
We did buy a Kymco AK550 recently reviewed here after trying a Burgman despite the higher cost, so your mileage may vary. 😁
Want more detail on what to consider for your highway scooter rides? This article is for you: Highway Scooters: More Power for the Open Road
What scooters can go on the freeway?
Can a Vespa go on the highway?
A Vespa GTS 300 is the most likely Vespa model that could hold highway speeds. A 50cc will have a top speed of around 45 miles per hour if not restricted and 150cc will go up to about 65 miles per hour.