Fellow AK550 Owners Question - Noticeable vibration at deceleration

[WEL]

Hi AK550 Owners.

I have about 700 miles on my AK550. From the beginning I noticed a vibration, may more of clunk during deceleration at about 20-22 mph (32-35 kph).

My guess is it's the clutch/transmission disengaging or something like that. The scooter runs fine, without any noticeable issues.

Changed the oil and filter about 100 miles ago and no change and runs great.


Have any other AK owners noticed this characteristic?

[JustWait]

Hope the vibration goes away. Doesn't seem to be engine related to me.  Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Check tires for any flaws.  I am still waiting for my AK550 to come in.  I am curious as to what speeds you are riding during break-in.  My dealer is an hour away from my home. I am going to have to ride the AK550 home on a highway.  Not looking forward to that part of my purchase.  Let me know if you get your vibration problem solved.  Good Luck!

[Neil955i]

New AK550?  Jealous?  Who, me?

Enjoy the ride and don't forget the photos.  As is often said on here, "No pictures?  It didn't happen!"  Oh yes, and welcome to the forum!

[Durdle]

Good to know there are a few ak 550 owners out there.  I don't think this bike was introduced in the US until 2021 (could be wrong), anyway I bought an ak550 3 weeks ago from a dealer in Phoenix, az.  It was the company's demo and had 438 miles on lit.  I was always reluctant to buy a demo "cuz it could have been ridden hard in the 1st couple of hundred miles.  This one though was in perfect condition with absolutely no problems. I'm very happy since I have had many scooters in my life but not one with the power of a motorcycle.

To address the problem you brought up.  I find that I get intermittent vibration (thru the foot board) when I not putting the engine under load such as when I'm going 56-60 on level ground while backing off the throttle a bit and not losing speed. Otherwise I don't get the feeling.  I have a Piaggio BV 500 also and find that that happens to it as well but not as noticeable. I suspect this will go away with more bread-in time. 
WEL, thanks for starting a conversation.

[JustWait]

WEL, did you ever find out what was causing your problem?  Interested to know. I haven’t had this problem, at least so far.

[Neil955i]

I haven't taken in to the dealer. I only feel the brief vibration slowing downs at right at about 22-20 MPH. It runs great and I'm not sure if it's just a characteristic of the scooter.

It may well be. All scooters have their own idiosyncrasies in my experience. I was concerned about vibes at 60 mph earlier and these have virtually disappeared now the motor has a few 000 miles on it! Ride, enjoy, repeat!

[jermwars]

Mine does the exact same thing...did you ever figure it out?

[rjs987]

I guess what matters more is at about what RPM does this happen. I know it's hard to determine very closely what the RPM is with the segmented meter for it. My Burgman clutch totally lets go at 1500 rpm and that is very noticeable even with the newer model that has the clutch with less drag. I also know that the AK 550 revs higher than my Burgman does. I did the chance to test ride one last week, twice, but didn't notice any significant vibes that caught my attention.

As soon as my Burgman 650 sells I'll be wheeling and dealing with a dealer willing to talk to me who has one of these.

[rjs987]

Was there a comment you wanted to put along with that quote? Outside the quote box please so it can be easily seen.  Or is this just an attempt at a duplicate posting?

[john grinsel]

Rubber Band drive scooters do have clutch dis-engage on decel....bike free wheels to stop.  Just the way it is----maybe you are new to this type of drive line---I have had 11 new Maxi scooters and over 400,000 miles with them---all feel the same.  No fix.

[rjs987]

Every time I read someone talk about a "rubber band" drive I can't help but wonder if they really understand much about the belts in the CVT regardless how many scooters they've owned or how long they've owned them. While the belt in the CVT IS made of mostly rubber it is the same kind of construction as the drive belt in the final drive of Harley Davidson, some BMW, and several other motorcycles. Not much stretch to them. But then I did have one person describe why they call it a rubber band FEELING... it was to them due to the very slight hesitation between twisting the throttle to feeling the power at the rear wheel. So NOTHING to do with what I think of when I hear "rubber band" drive.

I haven't had a lot of CVT scooters but I've done all maintenance and ridden my wife's Honda Metropolitan since 2004 and I've owned and ridden and done almost all maintenance on 2 Burgman 650 scoots over the years between then and now. It's not always a matter of how many owned or how many years but rather how much learned. Some riders can own something for a year and learn more about it than others who have owned several of the same model for a few decades.

And it is true... if due to the clutch releasing and not some other problem then there is no fix.

[Iahawk]

yeah, talk about the clutch releasing...my Helix at around 12-13 mph has the clutch disengage and it is very noticeable...I'm slowing down, down, down...waiting...and boom!...clutch disengages and scoot free wheels forward. Nothing wrong with it, like you guys said..it's just the way the driveline works.

I also think John Grinsel calls them 'rubber band drive' scooters somewhat tongue in cheek...

[jermwars]

Was there a comment you wanted to put along with that quote? Outside the quote box please so it can be easily seen.  Or is this just an attempt at a duplicate posting?

OOPS 

I didnt realize id done that. Thank ya, sir.

[jermwars]

Have you gotten any insight here?

Im still really trying to figure it out...i still refuse to believe its a defect that makes yours and mine do exactly the same thing

[jermwars]

I guess what matters more is at about what RPM does this happen. I know it's hard to determine very closely what the RPM is with the segmented meter for it. My Burgman clutch totally lets go at 1500 rpm and that is very noticeable even with the newer model that has the clutch with less drag. I also know that the AK 550 revs higher than my Burgman does. I did the chance to test ride one last week, twice, but didn't notice any significant vibes that caught my attention.

As soon as my Burgman 650 sells I'll be wheeling and dealing with a dealer willing to talk to me who has one of these.

On mine, this happens right when the tachometer drops off the 3000 bar...just a slight little "thump"

Its driving me neutz