AK 550 Rear Brake

[Quick-Star24]

I have to say that surely there is something I need to adjust or do about the rear brake on this new AK 550...I have to pull the brake lever all the way back almost touching the hand grip just to get a wee bit of stopping power or slowing down....something is not right....if this is how they are supposed to be I would be surprised. Is there an adjustment that needs to be made? Is this normal to have to adjust something?

[Stig / Major Tom]

I have to say that surely there is something I need to adjust or do about the rear brake on this new AK 550...I have to pull the brake lever all the way back almost touching the hand grip just to get a wee bit of stopping power or slowing down....something is not right....if this is how they are supposed to be I would be surprised. Is there an adjustment that needs to be made? Is this normal to have to adjust something?

Yep! time to visit your dealer to get this put right!
Braking on this bike which is capable of very high speeds is nothing to mess about with.

Stig

[rjs987]

Have you checked your brake pads?
Have you checked the level and condition of brake fluid in the reservoir?

Have you been riding with the parking brake on?
Check the lines for kinks?

That is not normal. There is a knob on the brake lever to adjust but that doesn't determine how much you have to pull to engage the brakes, only how far the lever is from the grip to start with.
Looking in my service manual for info. The brakes are mostly hydraulic so no adjustment there but the parking brake is a cable and if that is not adjusted right it could possibly impact the hydraulic operation of the rear brakes.

The manual gives several things to check, same as on any brake system of any bike. Here is the list:
• Air in the hydraulic system
• Low brake fluid level
• Clogged fluid passage
• Contaminated brake disc pad
• Warped/deformed brake disc
• Worn brake disc pad
• Sticking worn master cylinder piston
• Contaminated master cylinder
• Contaminated caliper
• Caliper not sliding properly
• Leaking hydraulic system
• Worn caliper piston seal
• Worn master cylinder piston cups
• Bent brake lever

Some of these are obviously not the issue but still on the list. Some are easy to check but other items would need some level of service work to verify.

[Quick-Star24]

Have you checked your brake pads?
Have you checked the level and condition of brake fluid in the reservoir?

Have you been riding with the parking brake on?
Check the lines for kinks?

That is not normal. There is a knob on the brake lever to adjust but that doesn't determine how much you have to pull to engage the brakes, only how far the lever is from the grip to start with.
Looking in my service manual for info. The brakes are mostly hydraulic so no adjustment there but the parking brake is a cable and if that is not adjusted right it could possibly impact the hydraulic operation of the rear brakes.

The manual gives several things to check, same as on any brake system of any bike. Here is the list:
• Air in the hydraulic system
• Low brake fluid level
• Clogged fluid passage
• Contaminated brake disc pad
• Warped/deformed brake disc
• Worn brake disc pad
• Sticking worn master cylinder piston
• Contaminated master cylinder
• Contaminated caliper
• Caliper not sliding properly
• Leaking hydraulic system
• Worn caliper piston seal
• Worn master cylinder piston cups
• Bent brake lever

Some of these are obviously not the issue but still on the list. Some are easy to check but other items would need some level of service work to verify.

Thanks guys for the responses!

And you know what? I believe I did ride all 130 miles home from the Dealer with the parking brake on....70 miles an hour the whole way....they never told me about it and never told me it was in the ON position....
Since the bike was brand new I never gave it any thought to check on anything or look over anything....just thought maybe they were not adjusted right or something and so I asked you all here.....

[Stig / Major Tom]

Thanks guys for the responses!

And you know what? I believe I did ride all 130 miles home from the Dealer with the parking brake on....70 miles an hour the whole way....they never told me about it and never told me it was in the ON position....
Since the bike was brand new I never gave it any thought to check on anything or look over anything....just thought maybe they were not adjusted right or something and so I asked you all here.....

Should have been a heck of a smell after that!
Stig

[Quick-Star24]

Should have been a heck of a smell after that!
Stig

I can't remember if I smelled something or not....I think I might have and just thought it was from someone in front of me....again....since the bike was new, never ridden....

[laur.alex]

Hello,

I have an AK550, 2018 and the parking brake led stays when I ride it.If I turn the handlebar to the right, at 45 degrees it dissapear, then with the handlebar straight it comes again on the dashboard.
Do you happen to know what should I do?The guy from whom I bought it changed the brake disk and the brake pads.

Thank you.

[Ruffus]

Don't know about the AK 550, but maybe att link helps...

https://kymco.at/pub/media/Download/Kymco/WHBAK550.pdf