KymcoForum.com

Kymco AK 550 - Part & Salvage - Needs Engine - $1200 or best offer

Pick up only, in Santa Clara, at a motorcycle shop. Can ship it at your expense, if you set that up.

This was a good bike, but, recently, while riding, I started to hear an unusual sound, and I pulled over and had it towed to a shop. It would barely turn over. Mechanic at the shop diagnosed it, and said, while it turns over, there's a very loud knock. They found debris in the oil. Most likely the crank, but would need to open it up to confirm. They recommended a new engine, said it was a catastrophic failure.

I called a Kymco dealer, and they said I'm better off just salvaging the bike, and buying something else -- because, if they go down the rabbit hole of trying to diagnose the problem, at $175/hour, the costs would rise very quickly, and even then, it wouldn't necessarily be a permanent solution. Given the price point for a new bike, I'm better off salvaging this and moving on.

This would be a good project for someone who is mechanically inclined, and wants to put in the time and effort to go down the rabbit hole of trying to fix the engine and / or install a new engine.

Comes with everything pictured, except for the TopCase and TopCase mount on the back (I'm keeping that for my next bike). This does come with the installed after-market rear rack. I'm also going to pull off the two RAM mounts above the dash.

23,100 miles

Body is in great shape. A few scrapes on the outside of the muffler, where I fell at very low speed once, but otherwise body is fine. I'm the original owner, and the title is Free & Clear. Registered with California DMV through May 2025. I bought this new in 2022 from Rockridge Two Wheels in Berkeley, CA.

I had it serviced at regular intervals, per the owners manual, and have the receipts.

Comes with:
2 electronic key FOBs. One of the two FOBS doesn't work wirelessly, and must be placed on the vehicle detector to function properly.
Givi D6110S Windshield - Installed on bike in December 2024.
Original Factory Windshield
Noco Trickle Charger & pigtail to connect to the battery.
New in Box - Kymco Original 550 Timing Belt - purchased from tawainbigscootershop within the past year. I was going to have this installed at next service interval.

Questions, please ask. Thanks for looking.

On Friday, I went to start the Kymco, and it wouldn't recognize the Key Fob. I noticed that the Key Fob Battery appeared dead, as the red light on the Fob stayed dark when I pressed the Fob button.

So I grabbed my spare Key Fob -- and what's odd is -- the button emited a red light when I pressed it -- so it appeared the battery in the fob was good -- but when I stood in close proximity to the bike, the bike still wouldn't recongize the Fob, as it normally did -- however, when I placed the Fob on the manual starter activation square -- the bullseye on top of the glove box -- the bike did recognize the fob and I was able to start the bike.

I've been able to replicate this between Friday and today.

So, now, the bike only starts when I place one of the fobs on the manual bullseye starter. The bike doesn't seem to recognize the other fob.

Any ideas on what could be causing this, and what troubleshooting steps I should take? If this has happened to you, what did you do to address it?

I put the bike on a trickle charger, hoping that would help, but the battery seemed fine, even before this hiccup. I've taken the trickle charger off whenever trying to start the bike again.

If I find a solution, I'll update this thead.

Get this item from TBS. It is made specifically for the AK 550. Include the the left bracket but leave off the RAM phone holder (unless you want that item also).
RAM mounts has mounting balls that will install on this bracket, both the center and left. Or you can even put on 3 RAM balls and with the RAM arms you can mount several devices and angle them to fit. RAM arms are really nice in that a quick twist of the knob releases the arm from the ball to remove any device rapidly. I did that with my GPS device and later with my phone so I could take them with me or stash them in the locked storage box.

https://taiwanbigscootershop.com/collections/ak550/products/kymco-ak550-mobile-phone-holder-multi-function-integrated-system

This bracket is also available from AliExpress and maybe a few other places online.

So I've successfully set up my radar detector and iphone, but it's not as stealth as I'd like.

Thinking of removing the phone mount from the TBS phone bracket (calling it a TBS bracket here, for lack of a better term, but I realize it's also sold on Ali Express and other places), and then attaching two RAM Mounts to that TBS bracket, one for the radar detector, and one for my iphone, then hard-wiring both to a connection to the battery.

Been looking at RAM Mounts. If I'm understanding correctly, RJS, do you remember / know what mount you used to connect the RAM Mounts to the TBS bracket? In other words, what RAM Base Mount did you use to connect to the TBS Bracket?

I've been looking at the RAM Mount Bases online, but have been struggling a little bit to find two bases that I think would connect relatively seamlessly to the TBS bracket, if that makes sense.

Thanks, RJS987, and Super Dirt Dud, and congrats Super Dirt Dud!

I do have the phone mount RJS987 was referring to, and think it's great.

For the RAM Mount base, I bought this and it works really well: https://www.amazon.com/BRCOVAN-Aluminum-Motorcycle-Reservoir-Compatible/dp/B0BXWFRVY4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SWMUMA50ZT4M&keywords=BRCOVAN+Aluminum+Alloy+Mount+Base+with+1%27%27+TPU+Ball+for+Motorcycle+Brake%2FClutch+Reservoir+Cover+Compatible+with+RAM+Mounts+B+Size+1+Inch+Ball+Double+Socket+Arm&qid=1690381667&sprefix=brcovan+aluminum+alloy+mount+base+with+1%27%27+tpu+ball+for+motorcycle+brake%2Fclutch+reservoir+cover+compatible+with+ram+mounts+b+size+1+inch+ball+double+socket+arm%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-1

Different Question:  Now that I have my radar detector set up, I'd like to cover the exposed RJ11 cable when I've parked the bike outside, and have taken the radar detector off. I could tuck the cable into the glove box, or use a plastic bag and a rubber band, to cover the exposed RJ11 cable, but neither seem like the quickest solution...

...does anyone know of a general purpose clip on protector that could be used to protect the end of an unplugged RJ11 cable?

I'd like to find a reliable way to mount my Radar Detector to my Kymco, so that I could remove it after each ride, and am struggling to find a good solution. Any ideas?

I already have a cell phone mount that I bought on Aliexpress, and it's the style that's connected underneath the four windshield screws, and I have it hard-wired to the battery, so I can use waze on my iphone while riding, and it's awesome!

I've thought of using a suction cup to the inside of my windshield for the radar detector, and just run the power cord from the glove box, but things could get ugly if the suction cup and radar detector fell off while riding.

I know in my car that suction cups sometimes loosen in the heat, so that wouldn't be a good / safe solution.

Anyone have any good mounting solutions to add a radar detector? Thanks.

Curious how many miles you've gotten out of your tires, and how you make your decision to replace (other than for obvious reasons like a significant puncture).

I'm at 8,900 miles on the original tires, and I think I'm ready for a new set, but I'm also a bit unsure if I may be acting prematurely. I'd also feel silly replacing the tires if it's not necessary -- I also want to ride safe and reduce risk of injury or crash as much as possible -- so I'm a bit unsure if I'm ready or not.

They still feel great, and I've mostly been running at 35 psi fr and 39 psi rear. I did try the Washington Quarter Head Test, and based on that, it seems like I'm ready for a new set (his head does not sink past his forehead when I insert the quarter into the tire grooves).

I've also noticed that on both tires the center of the tire is starting to develop a straight line across the surface of the tire -- in other words, it is starting to look like a horizon versus a curved surface like they were when I originally bought the scooter.

The tires are Metzeler FeelFree: https://www.metzeler.com/en-us/catalog/product/feelfree
Front Tire
Metzeler 120/70 R15 M/C 56H
Rear Tire
Metzeler 160/60 R15 M/C 67H

I've been having the oil replaced every 3,000 miles on my AK550 -- looking at the Service Manual I received with the scooter, it seems to indicate that no Oil Change is necessary at 9,000 and 15,000 miles (screenshot).

I like the idea of saving time and money -- any thoughts on the rationale for why the manual would recommend skipping the oil change interval? Do you skip this interval for your AK?

Thanks, Bob, for these helpful troubleshooting steps.

I've had a few days where the Heated Grips are consistently working again - and the troubleshooting I did was to plug in the trickle charger overnight. This is by no means scientific, of course, and I'm glad they are working again.

As stated in prior posts by me the heated grips controller WAS proven the fault and was replaced. It failed on the bike as well as on the test bench when hit with freeze spray. The new controller was also hit with freeze spray on the test bench before it was installed and continued working fine. The grip heat temp sensors are located near the grips just where the wires enter the handlebars. It does seem that when you ride in really excessively cold temps like I do it is possible this cold air can blow into that hole in the bars and cool the grip heat temp sensors to give a false error indication to the controller. But as I posted just above the grip heat worked great at 15F without my handlebar muffs. My normal is that when I ride in any temp below 40 (getting older makes one less able to handle cooler temps) I do use the handlebar muffs. I don't usually turn on the grip heat at that temp but maybe at below 35F I will. The handlebar muffs shield the handlebars so cold air doesn't blow into the holes where the grip temp sensor is located so no false error can happen. The design is not the best.

If you are getting a flashing red light at the left grip indicator then you need to pay attention to the code that flashing shows. Here is the section from the service manual on the fault indication, the same information is in the owner manual. The bold part in step 5 is the error code to look for to determine where the fault is. The fault code shows before you turn off the bike when the heated grips fail and after the self check is done if a fault is found.

Handlebar Heater State Indicator:
1. After turning ON KEYLESS Main Switch, a self-check is performed with the
LED indicator flashing in a 1-white and 1-red format.
2. After KEYLESS Main Switch ON and indicator self-check, in the event of a
Handlebar Heater anomaly, the indicator will flash in red, with the Handlebar
Heater function disabled. (Refer to anomaly states below for indicator flashing
modes.)
3. After KEYLESS Main Switch ON, press and hold the button to activate
Handlebar Heater. Indicator lights in white constantly for normal operation.
4. Turn KEYLESS Main Switch OFF or press and hold the button to deactivate
Handlebar Heater. The indicator will go out, indicating the function is switched off.
5. If Handlebar Heater is faulty, the indicator will flash in red.
When Handlebar Heater function is OFF, anomaly states are as follows:
a. 1 flashes (on/off) per 0.2s followed by 2s off: Handlebar Heater function is
faulty.
b. 2 flashes (on/off) per 0.2s followed by 2s off: Handlebar Heater temperature
sensor is faulty.
c. 1 flash (on/off) per 0.3s followed by 0.3s off: Handlebar/ Controller Circuit is
faulty.

After eliminating the fault and re-starting (Key Off -> Key On) the vehicle,
indicator will resume normal operation.

Clicking the button when the indicator is flashing in red will stop the flashing. For
the sake of your safety, please go to a KYMCO dealer for check-up.

I have found that I haven't needed to turn up the heat any more than the lowest setting. I have tried medium and even high for short times but those were too hot for me even below 10F with the muffs also in use. In Dec 2022 I rode in temps at around 6F with the muffs and grip heat on low and was toasty warm. It is all working fine for me since the controller was replaced last year.

BTW- riding at any temp above freezing should never cause the grip heat temp sensors to fail.