Author Topic: I finally got my Kymco AK 550  (Read 2230 times)

NomadCF

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I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« on: July 17, 2021, 09:36:23 PM »
I finally got my AK550 on the 14th (July) and it was worth the wait. Great scooter. I mean nothings perfect but It's close to it.

I have to give a shout to Clevelandmoto! Great f'ing dealer to work with. Honestly I can't give them enough praise.

But back to the scooter. I picked it up and on day where it pour so bad that quite literally all visibility was lost. So I got the pleasure of try out this new scoot with new tires and 2 miles on it, On I480 during rush hour. And it handled perfectly.

The weight of it feels non existent. Really the balance on this thing is fantastic. That being said I am coming from a Honda VTX 1800 which with my ass on it weighted over 1000lbs.

The height of it for me is pretty good. I'm 6'3" and when seated properly my feet are "just" flat on the ground.

The noodoe system as I figured, is truly useless and a gimmick. But having that center screen able to be a second speedo helps a lot in direct sunlight. As the red colored text on the right and left side "gauges" completely washes out. Where as the center with blue text and black background are still visible.

The controls are mix bag for me. The fourway flashers switch is part of the starter switch and is like a rocker switch. Push it like normal on the right side to start the bike, and in the left for four way flashers. But I the switch is sensitive enough that I tend to bump it when moving my thumb up to the other controls.

The heated grips are ridiculously hot. While getting drenched on my first ride. I started to feel "chilly". So I tried setting them to "1". Which is the lowest settings and my hands felt like they where on fire in a second. I had to just turn them off. As a side note the grips themselves feel to small or thin for my liking, my hands feel over "worked" due to the thinness.

The led lights are bright (go figure) and the high beam throws out a huge about of light everywhere. Which for my it's ideal. I need the light strong and Infront of me. Off to the sides is great and all but limits it's usage for me even more.

The window screen. Not this thing I'm not sure on. It works and it works great. But I feel like I'm always about to impale myself on it while maneuvering the bike around in say the garage or other random places. But again it works and works well enough that my hat doesn't blow off while riding and it kept my torso dry in the trench downpour. Although my arms and shoulders were soaked.

Now let's talk about it's performance. It's pretty good and it's smooth. It's not going to knock your socks off when you get to throttle. But it's also not going to feel like you're doing more than 35 mph when your doing 105 mph. It's just smooth and "quick". But not earth shattering.

Storage on it's pretty good it's enough to hold a "2 liter" of something and about 8 bags of chips or let's say a full average bookbag. The under seat storage does have a little led light (well two LEDs really). But for me they poorly light the whole area. I'll be adding a top down led soon as the warranty is done. Until then I'll just add a small tap light.

Mpg on this so far is hard to judge as it only gives you a "real" time mpg reading and not a over time. Plus I've only got 100 miles on it for far. But that being said the fuel gauge reads half empty now. And my rough guesstimation is I'm getting about 55 mpg.

The glove box storage on either side for me is basically useless. By phone only "fits" in the right side (with out the USB plug) and I do mean it just fits. And the left side with the USB fits my wallet. Not are awkward shapes, And good luck trying to plug anything into that USB port. I needed to use a long pair of needle nose pliers to plug in the USB cable.

Overall I'm happy with the scoot. It does everything I need it to and almost everything already I want it to. So money well spent so far!

Now I just need to paint it and start thinking about my pre and post warranty mods.

Side note, there is a cellphone holder for the AK that you can order from parts unknown. And the holder brackets are okay. But the powering wireless charger requires a bit of work...

rjs987

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2021, 09:55:49 PM »
I never rely on the display mpg anyway since I've found it to be inconsistently off every time. Instead I go by how many miles since last fill up divided by how many gallons added. That way even if the odometer is off it is still way more consistent and is usable as an indicator of performance. I know that's more effort than just letting the computer tell you what it is but what good is the computer info if it's not consistent. I also use the instant mpg at times just to get a feel for what the bike is doing in the moment. Kind of like getting to know what makes for better mpg vs not so good mpg. But I don't obsess on that. It's there so I notice it occasionally.

Oh, and love to see some pictiures  ;D
/bob
2022 Kymco AK 550 Super Touring Extreme in Matte Deep Blue
RETIRED - US Navy and Air National Guard and civilian career

JustWait

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2021, 09:58:09 PM »
What color are you painting it? I have just short of 2000 miles on my 2021 AK550. I have added a GIVI screen and an aftermarket rear shock. I love this scooter.

NomadCF

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2021, 10:51:04 PM »
What color are you painting it? I have just short of 2000 miles on my 2021 AK550. I have added a GIVI screen and an aftermarket rear shock. I love this scooter.

I'm torn, I was going to do a metal flake blue and black. But now I'm thinking white and black.

Stig / Major Tom

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2021, 02:14:13 AM »
Wonder how fast the other one sold at your dealer?
People will travel for the scoot they want!
Read about a guy who flew to Arkansas and rode home his new Honda SuperCub 125😊 back to California!
Stig
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And, I'm feeling a little peculiar.

klaviator

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2021, 02:43:31 AM »
Wonder how fast the other one sold at your dealer?
People will travel for the scoot they want!
Read about a guy who flew to Arkansas and rode home his new Honda SuperCub 125😊 back to California!
Stig

That was the guy who is currently in second place in the scooter cannonball.  I read his ride report when he rode his super cub from Arkansas to California. 
I Ride Therefore I Am

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Neil955i

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2021, 09:03:56 AM »
That was the guy who is currently in second place in the scooter cannonball.  I read his ride report when he rode his super cub from Arkansas to California.

Great backstory!
Regards & ride safe,
Neil

Current garage:  Kymco DTX360 & Triumph Street Triple 675R
Past bikes: BSA C15. Honda S/wing (GL500). Kawasaki GPz750. BMW K100RS. Kawasaki GPZ900R. Yamaha FJ1200 x2. Sprint. Triumph Daytona 900. Kawasaki ZX-7R. T595 Daytona. Kawasaki ZX-9R x2. Triumph Daytona 955i. X-Town

Iahawk

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2021, 03:03:50 PM »
Oh, and love to see some pictiures  ;D

yes, definitely this!
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Grumpy old man

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2022, 06:37:19 AM »
Yesterday I got my AK 550
I had a 2015 Yamaha T max and I loved it until a lady named Karen pulled out in front of a parked semi on a highway and tried to left turn in front of me, I ended up with a broken ankle and elbow.  3 years later I bought a Kymco AK 550  it was one of the scooters I wanted back in 2017 but in America could not get.  until 09/18/2022  I purchased and drove off with my new scoot.  I traveled from Oklahoma City OK to Eureka Springs AR. and today I traveled to Louisburg, KS  I have a total of 617 miles on it.  I am doing an oil change using Amsoil 10-40 motorcycle oil.

The filter was a challenge I purchased a Purolator pureone 14610 oil filter for it but wasn't able to use it.  I have since ordered an Hiflofiltro HF164 and a KN 164 replacement filter, I sawed off a piece of plastic covering the filter to access it. The power is probably equal to the Silverwing 600 I was using prior to the purchase to the AK550..  However the windscreen and fairing were very small compared to the above scoots and I felt quite a bit of wind turbulence. 
I would love to recommend the AK 550 except that the wind screen is set for a sport rider not a tour rider.  and the scoot needs a trunk mount.  I will add to the comment as I flesh out the scooter and get used to it.


 

 

rjs987

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Re: I finally got my Kymco AK 550
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2022, 02:26:26 PM »
Yesterday I got my AK 550
I had a 2015 Yamaha T max and I loved it until a lady named Karen pulled out in front of a parked semi on a highway and tried to left turn in front of me, I ended up with a broken ankle and elbow.  3 years later I bought a Kymco AK 550  it was one of the scooters I wanted back in 2017 but in America could not get.  until 09/18/2022  I purchased and drove off with my new scoot.  I traveled from Oklahoma City OK to Eureka Springs AR. and today I traveled to Louisburg, KS  I have a total of 617 miles on it.  I am doing an oil change using Amsoil 10-40 motorcycle oil.

The filter was a challenge I purchased a Purolator pureone 14610 oil filter for it but wasn't able to use it.  I have since ordered an Hiflofiltro HF164 and a KN 164 replacement filter, I sawed off a piece of plastic covering the filter to access it. The power is probably equal to the Silverwing 600 I was using prior to the purchase to the AK550..  However the windscreen and fairing were very small compared to the above scoots and I felt quite a bit of wind turbulence. 
I would love to recommend the AK 550 except that the wind screen is set for a sport rider not a tour rider.  and the scoot needs a trunk mount.  I will add to the comment as I flesh out the scooter and get used to it.

Congrats on the buy. Good that you went with the HF164 filters. Same filters used on BMW bikes. I bought the filter cap wrench tool to remove and install that filter.
https://a.co/d/bO7vEpf
I found I can reach in and get to the filter just fine without cutting off that protective cover under the filter with this tool. Of course you know not to use the nut on the K&N filter to install it. There was at one time a recall due to that nut being used to install resulting in a weld failure and leak at the nut. It's there only for removal per K&N.

I usually set my windshield to the upper position during cold riding season, Nov through March/April in central Iowa. Yeah, I ride in some VERY cold temps (down below zeroF sometimes). There is a Givi windshield that is bigger than the stock one and has flares for some weather protection of the hands as well. I just happen to like the stock screen for now.

For a top case mount I went with the Givi SR6110 rack and M8B plate (although any Monokey or Monolock plate will work). This setup will work with any Givi Monokey top case. If I do add the top case I was thinking a Kappa case (made by Givi but less cost). Shad also makes a rack for adding a top case as well as adapters for side cases, I just liked the look of the Givi rack with the black aluminum plate better. I don't intend to make mine wider with sides cases however. Just me.
/bob
2022 Kymco AK 550 Super Touring Extreme in Matte Deep Blue
RETIRED - US Navy and Air National Guard and civilian career

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