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General Discussion / Re: AK550 Grooved Rotor
« on: June 02, 2023, 10:44:42 PM »that looks fine, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Ok phew! Sounds good. Thank you! :a)
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that looks fine, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Looks like a normal rotor to me.
How are your brake pads?
Do you use the parking brake much or have you left it on after forgetting to take it off?
You can search this forum for several threads I posted on some of these issues and other details using Noodoe and operating the control knob. They can be found in this General sub forum as well as the Technical sub forum and maybe the Roadcraft sub forum.
How long between times that you tried to start the bike? Several days? or Next day? or Hours?
If next day or just hours then there is something not right with the battery or charging system. There are batteries that can be used in place of the OEM battery. The important part is the voltage is the same and the physical size of the battery is the same. CCA can be anything equal or more than OEM. Stick with AGM type batteries since those do best in a motorcycle in spite of what some say about using Lithium or Gel batteries. Lithium doesn't do well with short term discharge to start an engine and recharge while the engine is running, they do best at long term deep discharge like in an EV. AGM shines doing that kind of start/charge/start/charge cycle.
I did find that the AK 550 battery would run down faster than other older bikes I've owned but those other bikes didn't have any of the fancy electronics that were always on like the AK does. But still I am able to let my AK park at a campground for a few days and then start up with no issues... but I'm not fiddling with Noodoe settings while it's parked. I normally keep it plugged into a Battery Tender Jr. when it is parked in my garage and I take that BT Jr with me when I go camping just in case. I still have the OEM battery but I have found that most motorcycle OEM batteries are not as good as aftermarket batteries of the very same battery brand or model for some reason. I always ended up with better performance after I replaced an OEM battery with a new aftermarket one. Yuasa makes the OEM battery but a Yuasa battery of the same model but not an OEM battery is somehow better. Yuasa is a very good brand to go with. It's like the ink cartridges that come with an inkjet printer only last a hundred pages or so but when you buy new ink, even of the same brand and part number, they last for 1000s of pages.
You are right that the right OFF position does not really shut the bike entirely off. It is only for shutting off the engine and dash lights for refueling since the fuel door release is in that direction of the knob. The bike is still technically "ON" but just the engine and lights are off. This position also allows to open the seat and I use that position on the knob when I stop for just a minute or two to snap a photo and also when I park but want to get into the storage box before I turn the bike completely OFF. Then I can just turn the knob back to "ON" and I'm off again. The left "OFF" position does turn the bike as off as it can be turned off. But it still needs to be run every few days to keep the battery charged enough to start it reliably.
There are a few electrical gadgets on the bike that are "ON" all the time just the same as is on most modern bikes and automobiles. There is a Welcome feature that I didn't see was needed that is always on but I turned that off in the Noodoe setup on the phone app, which updates to the bike next time you turn it on.
BTW- I have 2 cars, a Rav4 and a Legacy. One or the other usually is left parked in the garage and not used for over a week at a time since my wife uses on car and I ride. When that happens the car that sits won't start after a week and a half ending up with a dead battery. So I put that car on another Battery Tender any time it is parked in the garage for a few days or more... which happens a lot. So this issue is not unique to the AK 550. It's just that most people don't leave a car sit for very long between times using it. I asked a Subaru mechanic about this and he told me this is normal for modern cars.