AK550 - Some initial stuff

[KayakGuy]

I've had my AK for about a month now and I really love the bike. My wife has a Piaggio Liberty 150 and the X-Town 300 I had was enough for tooling around together, but I just wanted something with more power I could go for longer highway rides with. My buddy has a Harley and it makes it easier to ride with him too. Glad I made the trade. Here are a few things I have found:

1. What's up with that fuel gauge  ? I have had the same issues others on here have posted about - low fuel indicator blinking pretty early. Dealer fueled it up when I bought it, but not sure if it was really topped off. Blinking started at around 112 mi. and I got gas at 117. Took almost 2.6 gal, which means there was about 1.3 left. I topped it off and will do the calculations at the next fill-up. Don't like the early low-fuel warning, but once I know what I'm dealing with it should be ok.

2. Great ride! Really comfortable and smooth. The back support is ok, not great; better than not having one at all. I'm 5'8" and could put both feet flat on the ground on the X-Town, but because of the wide seat on the AK, I can't do that anymore. Not a big deal for sure, just something's that's noticeable. The power is a big difference for me. I really have to get used to rolling on the throttle when coming out of a turn as it wants to take off. I took it up to the highway to open it up a little, but there was new construction so had to keep it under 60  But soon!

3. The power/ignition switch took some getting used to. And after the last visit to the dealer, I've got that spinning wheel down. I can even open the seat without turning it to the on position!

My dealer always includes leads on new bikes for connecting to battery tenders. They put the wrong leads on mine and it blew a fuse and wouldn't charge the battery. Turned out to be a good thing for me. I bought a Zumo GPS last year, but couldn't install it on my X-Town. When I took the AK in to fix the battery lead problem, I asked if they could connect my GPS wiring while they had the windshield off. They did and the wire came out the same cut-out as the brake cable. I installed a Ram offset reservoir cover mount (pics included) for the GPS. Works great. I will install a similar one on the left side reservoir cover for camera and cup holder.

With riding season approaching I plan on putting some miles on and will post things that might be helpful for others.

[KayakGuy]

Also - forgot to mention this - I found the speedometer more accurate than other bikes I have owned. Checking it against the GPS I found speeds around 35 mph and under to be right on. Higher speeds seem to be within 1-2 mph of the GPS. Very satisfied with this small difference. Wonder what others riding the AK are finding??

[rjs987]

Congrats on your new AK 550!


I also found the speedometer to be a little more accurate than other bikes I've had but not as close to actual as yours is. Every bike, even within the same model series, is different in that. But some tend to be close a similar offset. Mine is 5.5% optimistic based on measuring the time between mile markers and adjusting for an actual 60 mph. Should be exactly one minute between mile markers when I get it right. Also compared with the GPS indicated speed for a variety of mph to verify. My AK speedo offset is almost exactly the same offset as both my other vehicles.


On that fuel gauge. I've not found a bike yet that has a linear fuel indicator. But as I and others have posted elsewhere, possibly in another forum now that I think of it, that the last red bar is not the end of fuel in the tank. I usually find I can get up to 40+ miles from when that starts flashing. A flashing red bar means time to START looking for a gas station.
And then that last red bar drops off and the red "E" starts flashing. Now THAT means LOW FUEL. Based on how many gallons I put in when that happened to me, and how many gallons my tank is from my recent test for usable capacity, that when the red "E" starts flashing I calculated that I should be able to go another 20-25 miles before I am totally dry. I calculated based on the mpg I get when temps are above 55F... or 55+ mpg calculated using the odometer reading of Trip A and how many gallons I add when I do fill up.


When I read that you can open the seat without turning the knob to the on position I get the impression that you usually turn the knob to the RIGHT off position when you park. That is not a true off position. I posted elsewhere in this forum about the keyless switch functions. The right position only turns off the engine and all the lights, including the dash lights, but the bike is still essentially "ON" allowing you to open the seat and the gas door cover. In that position anyone can come along and turn the switch back to the on position, start the engine, and ride off, even without the keyless fob being anywhere around. The bike is not secure while the knob is in that position and there are some electrical things on the AK that are still draining the battery a little while the switch is in that position. At least more so than if you were to actually completely turn the bike off. The only positions that will turn the bike completely off are the LEFT off position and the handlebar lock position. With the knob put in either of those positions you will note that the ring around the switch turns red for a few seconds and then after beep it turns completely off. With the bike completely turned off like that the keyless fob must be near to be able to turn the bike on at all.


The only reason I turn my knob to the right side of the switch is when I stop for gas or for a photo op or some other reason for a very short stop where I don't leave the bike unattended. If I do walk away from the bike I always turn the knob to the left side of the switch and make certain that the knob will then freely spin without activating anything. Only then is the bike is secure.


Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[KayakGuy]

Congrats on your new AK 550!


I also found the speedometer to be a little more accurate than other bikes I've had but not as close to actual as yours is. Every bike, even within the same model series, is different in that. But some tend to be close a similar offset. Mine is 5.5% optimistic based on measuring the time between mile markers and adjusting for an actual 60 mph. Should be exactly one minute between mile markers when I get it right. Also compared with the GPS indicated speed for a variety of mph to verify. My AK speedo offset is almost exactly the same offset as both my other vehicles.


On that fuel gauge. I've not found a bike yet that has a linear fuel indicator. But as I and others have posted elsewhere, possibly in another forum now that I think of it, that the last red bar is not the end of fuel in the tank. I usually find I can get up to 40+ miles from when that starts flashing. A flashing red bar means time to START looking for a gas station.
And then that last red bar drops off and the red "E" starts flashing. Now THAT means LOW FUEL. Based on how many gallons I put in when that happened to me, and how many gallons my tank is from my recent test for usable capacity, that when the red "E" starts flashing I calculated that I should be able to go another 20-25 miles before I am totally dry. I calculated based on the mpg I get when temps are above 55F... or 55+ mpg calculated using the odometer reading of Trip A and how many gallons I add when I do fill up.


When I read that you can open the seat without turning the knob to the on position I get the impression that you usually turn the knob to the RIGHT off position when you park. That is not a true off position. I posted elsewhere in this forum about the keyless switch functions. The right position only turns off the engine and all the lights, including the dash lights, but the bike is still essentially "ON" allowing you to open the seat and the gas door cover. In that position anyone can come along and turn the switch back to the on position, start the engine, and ride off, even without the keyless fob being anywhere around. The bike is not secure while the knob is in that position and there are some electrical things on the AK that are still draining the battery a little while the switch is in that position. At least more so than if you were to actually completely turn the bike off. The only positions that will turn the bike completely off are the LEFT off position and the handlebar lock position. With the knob put in either of those positions you will note that the ring around the switch turns red for a few seconds and then after beep it turns completely off. With the bike completely turned off like that the keyless fob must be near to be able to turn the bike on at all.


The only reason I turn my knob to the right side of the switch is when I stop for gas or for a photo op or some other reason for a very short stop where I don't leave the bike unattended. If I do walk away from the bike I always turn the knob to the left side of the switch and make certain that the knob will then freely spin without activating anything. Only then is the bike is secure.


Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Thanks for the reply rjs. I prob wasn't too clear about opening the seat. I agree with what you said and that is the way I do it. I meant to say that with the dial in the LEFT off position, I press the power button and can push and turn the dial to the left with handlebar turned that way to lock, then let dial up and turn further to the left to pop the seat open.

As far as the fuel gauge - the red E did start blinking with about 112 miles on the ODO. I'm pretty sure the dealer did not really top it off, so I will be monitoring it all closely so I know what I'm actually getting out of it - and when I need to refuel.

[leomagnus]

Thanks for the info. I am picking up my 2022 AK550 matt blue this saturday. Trading in my Xciting 400. looking forward to getting it broken in early to enjoy some summer beach riding.

Dean

[KayakGuy]

Thanks for the info. I am picking up my 2022 AK550 matt blue this saturday. Trading in my Xciting 400. looking forward to getting it broken in early to enjoy some summer beach riding.

Dean

Good luck! I’m sure you’re gonna like your AK.