How To Jump Start An AK 550

[Quick-Star24]

 Wanting to know if it is even possible to jump start an AK 550?

Two weeks ago I came home in a storm that was whipping up and had not yet starting raining. I made it home just a minute before it really got bad and was raining.

I hurried up and put my cover on the bike....I park it outside....and forgot to turn the dial/switch to the off position.

Next morning dead battery.

I quickly found out you cannot just jump start the bike because of the Electronics and that Switch that has to be turned on.

So I had to take the battery out and put it on a charger.

I can picture myself one day doing the same thing again....parking it without turnin that Dial / Switch off.

[rjs987]

I think I recall a post just like this that I contributed to a few months ago about the AK 550. Someone did exactly as you did. Came home, it rained, they threw over the cover but forgot to turn off the AK. What's a little water. Turn off that switch and problem solved. The AK is like any other bike in that it can handle rain. It's made to be outside so rain really won't hurt it. I don't mind getting a little wet from rain. I even ride in it... sometimes in torrential downpours. It's why I carry a set of Frogg Toggs rain gear if there is even a slight chance of rain while I'm out.

First off... You CAN jump start the AK 550 BUT you would have to remove the windshield and the meter cover under it to get to the battery. You should never jump start any vehicle from a battery tender lead or 12 vdc socket since you really don't know if that runs through the ECM or other electrics that will be damaged and also you really don't know what size the wire really is behind those. Wire size is REALLY REALLY important when attempting to jump start. LOTS of high voltage and current running through the wires with a jump start. However there are jump start cables that can be bought and put on a battery and terminate someplace easier to get to for just that purpose.

My Battery Tender cable is connected directly to the battery as all Battery Tender cables should be. There should be no reason to power on the bike to connect a Battery Tender or charger using that cable. When I travel long distance I carry along my Battery Tender Jr since it's a bit smaller. That's just in case I need to recover from a low battery charge. A Battery Tender will recover a battery that is even as low as 3 vdc. It may take a while to bring a battery that low back up to over 12 vdc but it will work. I figure if I let my battery discharge that low I can wait several hours while it charges. If not, then I'll just have to remove the shield and cover and use the jumper cables on a spare battery. Oh, and never NEVER jump a motorcycle battery from a running car. Always have the other vehicle engine turned off to jump a motorcycle battery.

[Quick-Star24]

Thanks.....Yes.....I am good at removing the wind shield and cover after all that....had to remove it all 3 times on that day....got the bike running and took a quick ride down the road and back maybe half a mile total.....went in for a shower and later on the bike was dead again....did not charge it up enough once running.
I have a jump starter unit with jump start cables on it that is portable but the bike Switch would not turn on when using that and I did not want to mess up the electronics trying to use that.

Not sure what you mean about not using a battery tender lead. I've never used a battery tender. My KTM 390 Duke was brand new 2019 and I sold it a year later.

I have used a non-running car battery for jumping my tractor once. As for rain....I plan to ride in the rain and not worried about it at all, but I don't really want to leave my bike out in a pouring rain all night or day even though it won't hurt the bike. If I cover it up I don't have to towel it off after the rain stops. I can just remove the cover and jump on it and go.

I think I recall a post just like this that I contributed to a few months ago about the AK 550. Someone did exactly as you did. Came home, it rained, they threw over the cover but forgot to turn off the AK. What's a little water. Turn off that switch and problem solved. The AK is like any other bike in that it can handle rain. It's made to be outside so rain really won't hurt it. I don't mind getting a little wet from rain. I even ride in it... sometimes in torrential downpours. It's why I carry a set of Frogg Toggs rain gear if there is even a slight chance of rain while I'm out.

First off... You CAN jump start the AK 550 BUT you would have to remove the windshield and the meter cover under it to get to the battery. You should never jump start any vehicle from a battery tender lead or 12 vdc socket since you really don't know if that runs through the ECM or other electrics that will be damaged and also you really don't know what size the wire really is behind those. Wire size is REALLY REALLY important when attempting to jump start. LOTS of high voltage and current running through the wires with a jump start. However there are jump start cables that can be bought and put on a battery and terminate someplace easier to get to for just that purpose.

My Battery Tender cable is connected directly to the battery as all Battery Tender cables should be. There should be no reason to power on the bike to connect a Battery Tender or charger using that cable. When I travel long distance I carry along my Battery Tender Jr since it's a bit smaller. That's just in case I need to recover from a low battery charge. A Battery Tender will recover a battery that is even as low as 3 vdc. It may take a while to bring a battery that low back up to over 12 vdc but it will work. I figure if I let my battery discharge that low I can wait several hours while it charges. If not, then I'll just have to remove the shield and cover and use the jumper cables on a spare battery. Oh, and never NEVER jump a motorcycle battery from a running car. Always have the other vehicle engine turned off to jump a motorcycle battery.

[rjs987]

...

Not sure what you mean about not using a battery tender lead. I've never used a battery tender. My KTM 390 Duke was brand new 2019 and I sold it a year later.

...

Many owners of the AK 550, as well as many other bikes I know of, do put a Battery Tender pigtail on their bikes and keep the Battery Tender plugged in at least through winter storage. I tend to plug in my AK every time it is parked in the garage. I was referring to IF you had that pigtail installed to not use it for jump starting since jump starting puts a LOT more amps on the wires then the Battery Tender pigtail can handle. Don't know why the ignition switch would not operate while the jump starter is connected to the battery. A jump starter is really only a very temporary option.

Hopefully you can get the battery charged, but the best way is to use a Battery Tender. If you can get the battery charged to more than 3-4 vdc then a Battery Tender left connected on the battery overnight will properly bring all the cells up to full charge and then shut itself off when fully charged so it won't burn the battery. Just be sure, after you get the battery charged, that when you turn off the bike you turn the switch to the LEFT OFF position to turn it off to drastically reduce the phantom drain on the battery. You cannot eliminate that entirely for any bike with as much electrical stuff as this bike has. At least not without installing a battery disconnect switch.