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Messages - rjs987

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1
General Discussion / Re: AK550 "Mode Indicator" light
« on: April 29, 2025, 01:58:44 PM »
For those who have the same question in the future:

The light goes on/off according to the luminosity sensor on the dash; The intermittent on/off characteristic that I noticed usually happens on my building's garage when I ride by a light on the ceiling;

BTW -- turning the "auto brightness" settings on the app does not change this behavior.

I noticed this behavior when riding at night. The dash would either dim or brighten depending if I was under or between the street lights. So I solved the issue by turning off auto brightness and keeping it at maximum all the time.

2
General Discussion / Re: Wax question for ak550
« on: April 22, 2025, 09:44:31 PM »
I never wax a Matte finish. Water alone is enough. A good soaking (NOT power washer) and use a microfiber cloth. That's all it really needs. If you really really feel the need to use more than water then get a mild detergent that specifically states it is used for Matte finishes. Don't confuse a Satin finish with a Matte finish. It's not the same.

I was warned to stay away from any kind of "wax" for the Matte finish since that will  leave blotches all over making it look really bad.

3
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 18, 2025, 12:06:29 AM »
Sorry to read! There is only one original water pump replacement kit from KYMCO. Has its price though.

I bought all the parts except the impeller and the oil side bearing. The parts I didn't replace looked and worked in perfect condition.

4
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 16, 2025, 12:07:49 AM »
Bad news.
I think the parts I was sent don't match exactly with the model AK I have. They all looked exactly the same as the parts I took out. And I was VERY careful to install them the same as the parts I took out. But today when I finally had time to finish I started pouring coolant into the radiator and noticed that it simply started to drain out the weep hole as if there were no seals installed.
That's not right.

My next move is to take it to the dealer to let them make it right.

My wife is implying that I made a mistake buying a Kymco since it isn't a mainstream brand for the USA with a local dealer.

5
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 13, 2025, 01:48:56 AM »
Parts replaced. Everything is now reassembled and waiting for the gasket sealant to cure before I can refill coolant and oil. About half the oil needed to be drained in removing the left cover.

A few cautions for doing this. When removing and installing the left cover care must be taken since there is a pin that fits into the starter gear. Also, when removing the cover I discovered that the starter gear shifted on the teeth of the flywheel gear so was offset from where it should be. I aligned the starter gear and inserted the pin into it. The pin is loose. I knew the gear was in the right alignment when the cover was able to be reinstalled since one end of the pin fits into a hole in the cover. Adding the gasket maker/sealant was a mess. Putting the cover on required the bolts be only finger tight... enough that the silicone gasket sealant oozed out around the edges. That sits for an hour and then tighten the bolts to torque.

Then I replaced the lower radiator hose and installed the water pump cover. I reattached the hoses to the water pump housing. Tomorrow night or Monday morning I'll refill oil and coolant and test for leaks.

The gear puller worked with some finesse after heating the mechanical seal/bearing. The old seal came out in parts. The inner part with the spring fell out without effort, then the metal part is what needed extra effort to break free. After that the sealing gasket/bearing had to be wedged out since the bearing puller just slipped off because that one is mostly rubber/silicone. The third seal is in the impeller itself. I took pictures of the removed parts. I used correctly sized sockets to seat the new bearings. The one I used for the mechanical seal/bearing can be seen in one of the photos. I cleaned up the cover surfaces before reinstalling and replacing the water pump gasket.

Here are photos of the parts:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZJt7EBy6WP19VSAo8

6
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 12, 2025, 07:09:28 PM »
Please ignore that last post...
BIG HINT: triple and quadruple check that ALL the bolts are removed!!!
Yeah, there was one bolt hiding at the very top up under some cables and a part of the panels I didn't remove. Took that bolt out and the cover sides off easily. Figured it just had to be something simple that I was missing.

7
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 12, 2025, 06:41:40 PM »
Wow!
That left side cover is a bear to get off. Still working on it. Since there is oil in that space I needed to pull the front oil drain plug directly below the cover. The cover also seems to have a liquid gasket glue like seal that is holding it on. There are 3 pry or pull tabs around the cover but I can only get the bottom unsealed and the top and sides don't want to break free. I know there is a bearing for the stater/flywheel so I'm trying my best to pull it straight out but that's proving to be really hard. The stater stays on the cover.

Anyone have any hints to make it easier?

8
General Discussion / Re: new battery volt level
« on: April 10, 2025, 03:38:54 PM »
I haven't seen or used a battery that had to add acid in years, AGM for me

One time I bought a battery for one of my former bikes where I did have to add the acid to the battery. But I learned there are other versions of the same batteries that come with acid already installed.

Example: My AK uses a Yuasa TTZ12S from the factory. Though the newer model years seem to have the TTZ14S from the factory. The direct cross optional battery is the YTZ12S or YTZ14S. BOTH are AGM batteries. But the TTZ has the acid shipped separately in a plastic container that you simply push onto the top of the battery with each opening of the acid container lining up with the cell openings. The YTZ battery comes with the acid already in the battery. Both can be bought in the USA and most other countries. I prefer not to mess with separate acid containers and choose to go with the YTZ batteries for all my bikes.

9
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 10, 2025, 02:04:05 AM »
Finally a nice day that I also had time to use it...

First thing I did was remove the panels on the right side. I already removed the panels on the left side.
Here are a few photos of that.
Left side: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iCnBDWW83wgGnvwF7
Right side: https://photos.app.goo.gl/61y8ZJhNgaUa6EZi6
No need to remove more than these panels.

edit: I did remove the front inner 2 screws of the lower foot board to make it easier to remove the slanted foot board. In one photo I am pointing to one screw and one large plastic rivet that needs to be removed to take off the front panel. They are kind of hidden.

I then pulled the radiator fill tube from the holders so it hangs out as shown. This now looks the same as I see in the service manual.

I removed the radiator cap, then the drain bolts at the water pump to drain the coolant into a container. I am using a wide mouth container to catch the coolant as it drains and then pouring that into a half gallon milk jug to take to recycling. I also pulled the bottom hose at the coolant recovery tank to drain that as well.

Then I put the recovery tank hose and drain bolt back on and filled the system with 1/2 distilled vinegar and 1/2 distilled water. The system only holds a total of 1500 cc or 50.5 oz so not a lot of fluid. 1200 cc in the cooling system (radiator and engine) and 300 cc in the recovery tank. This step took a long time to pour in a little "flush mix" and wait for it to move into the radiator. I'd pour a little and then shake the bike side to side, pour a little more, repeat. Still didn't take anywhere close to 1200 cc since the engine doesn't fill this way. The recovery tank filled easily.

Then I ran the engine until the fan turned on and continued running for a few minutes more. I checked the recovery tank and refilled it as needed. I let the system cool a little while before opening the radiator cap SLOWLY and still has a little blow out. After shaking the bike some more I was able to open the cap and add more flush mix until the radiator was full again. Then I ran the engine past when the fan turned on again. I repeated this a few more times until I wasn't able to add any more to the system. Still didn't take all the measured flush mix I had ready. Maybe 900 cc at the most.

Then I drained the system as before and there was still a lot of green coolant but it was very diluted. I then repeated the flush sequence but using ONLY distilled water this time. I repeated all the steps I did before. This time when I finally drained it out it was still a little green but very diluted. I am letting it sit with the drain bolts out and the bottom radiator hose removed at the water pump to let it all drain out. Sometimes it seems to have stopped draining and then another dribble comes out as air bubbles through. I'll let it sit overnight like this and then take apart the water pump and alternator cover tomorrow.

It takes time to get all the fluid in... or as much as I can get in... and then heat it up to flow through the engine... and then wait for it to cool before touching anything to prevent burns.

10
Technical | How To / Re: Final drive belt adjustment for AK550
« on: April 10, 2025, 01:42:45 AM »
Thanks, Bob! This is great info! I had previously bought one of those belt deflection measuring tools but couldn't figure out how to use it. I actually tried checking tension with a guitar tuner but didn't have any luck. Somewhere, I had seen to tune for 110 hz but that wasn't specifically for the AK550. So, basically, I remove the lower belt cover, find the center of the belt, and look for 3/8" deflection at 10 lbsf. Getting that right and keeping the belt in the center of the rear pulley could require some patience.

YEP!

11
yep, I replaced a perfectly good battery cause I didn't check the fob first,  9 months has been average replacement

I replaced the battery in one fob and removed the battery in the other fob at one year. I still am on the second battery in the fob since then and that was November 2022! Still going since then. The other fob I leave without a battery and put it in the storage box to use in emergency since the bike can be turned on without a battery in the fob. I have a hidden emergency seat latch release so I don't need a working fob to open the seat but no one can find it unless they know about it. I posted about installing the emergency seat latch release in the forum. It's a mod that works on ANY scooter or other motorcycle with a seat latch. I had the same installed on my Burgman 650.

12
Technical | How To / Re: Final drive belt adjustment for AK550
« on: April 08, 2025, 03:02:34 PM »
As for centering the belt...

I find that my belt refuses to stay in the very center. My current adjustment is the best that it's been since I've owned the AK. My belt has been very consistently 2-3 mm from the outer rim of the rear sprocket since the last time I replaced the rear tire. Up until that time, for the first 2.5 years The belt was often drifting from outside to inside on the sprocket. The important thing to know is that the belt must be set to be a minimum of 1 mm from either rim of the rear sprocket. I haven't looked for a while but I was sure the Owner manual states that. I do have the service manual downloaded and it gives a detailed explanation of how to adjust and where the belt should sit. As long as the belt doesn't touch the rim on either side. 1 mm is about the thickness of a standard (flat) screw driver blade, usually. Here's a series of photos for when I adjusted the belt adjusters.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Kf1x6Dw1tC51mwHg6

Aside from the video in the post above there are many videos for adjusting the belt on many motorcycles with a belt final drive. Almost all are the same procedure.

The manuals for the AK show using a sonic tension meter to adjust the proper belt tension. I'm not spending the high cost just for one device that I will only use for one thing on the rare occasion that I would need to use it. I decided to follow the method used by Harley Davidson owners for their belt final drive bikes. I bought a belt tension tool from Amazon. I found the center point between the front and rear sprockets and use the tool on that point along the belt. When I first bought the AK I checked the tension to get a starting point for what tension is needed. I found that pushing up on the bottom run of the belt along the mid-point with the tool the deflection needs to be between 3/8 and 7/16 inch at 10 lbs force. Here are a few pics and a short video how I check this.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/25dydWo8FZ2szXS17

Here is a link to the tool I bought.
https://a.co/d/3XKu9S3

If tension is too tight, meaning more force needed for 3/8 inch deflection, then the belt needs to be loosened just a very little bit. If tension is not enough, meaning more than 7/16 inch deflection at 10 lbs force, then the belt needs to be tighter. This is the part that takes patience and time... usually. Have the axle nut making full contact but not tight. Not loose either but just so the axle plates can slide. Check alignment and tension again after tightening the axel nut to torque spec.

I cut a slot in the inner bottom belt cover that my tension gauge fits into to allow me to hold the gauge straight up. Another owner who followed my lead on this and posted a YouTube video on it actually removed the belt holder on the gauge and put a hole in that inner cover rather than a slot. I felt the belt holder was needed to avoid damage to the belt.

13
General Discussion / Re: new battery volt level
« on: April 05, 2025, 03:34:13 PM »
Yep, Battery plates, anodes and cathodes, already have the potential charge on them when new due to the materials they are made of. The acid just enables that charge to "flow" inside the battery. Activates it.

14
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 04, 2025, 08:56:14 PM »
The new puller set I linked to in my last post arrived today. I tested the fit and the 12mm collet works great for pulling the bearing and seals out. At least it fits great in the new ones. Now to get past the next few days that will be colder weather for working in the garage to flush the cooling system and take it apart.

I figure I'd flush it first so it will be cleaner when I get it apart.

15
Technical | How To / Re: 2022 Kymco AK550 anti-freeze leak
« on: April 03, 2025, 08:53:56 PM »
The bearing puller I ordered arrived today. Test fit it with the new bearing part I have for the repair... didn't fit. The size given in the description is the right size IF I could get the legs into the bearing. That's what doesn't fit. So this one is being returned to Amazon.

So I've ordered this one that should work. It's a collet type of motorcycle blind bearing puller kit.
https://a.co/d/9n3AKle

This one has a bit as small as 8mm and also a 10mm, 12mm, up to  25mm.
Should be here tomorrow.

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