AK 550 Coolant change tips?

[Kahuna_550]

Reached 6K miles and service says to change the coolant.

Heres my wall of questions..

What type of coolant to use?

Someone here said removing plastics isn't necessary and I can see the tank cap under the forks but does the coolant from tank drain from drain hole ?

Is changing it even necessary?

Thank!

[rjs987]

I didn't change mine yet. I figure it should last as long as on a Burgman or other bike I've had. Also I checked on time though.

I actually haven't looked into the process to do it.

[Kahuna_550]

I didn't change mine yet. I figure it should last as long as on a Burgman or other bike I've had. Also I checked on time though.

I actually haven't looked into the process to do it.

How long is it on the Burgman? You think it's an unnecessary change, including the brake fluid at 6K? It seems overkill, I've never changed coolant in a bike or even my car unless it was to replace coolant that was lost due to changing out water pump or thermostat.

I have the Cyclepedia manual, it's says use Kymco Sigma or similar. Can't find green coolant like bike, only the Type 2 Honda blue or the orange motocool I beleive. The books tells you to bleed from thermostat or just to rock bike back and forth for bubbles to escape, it looks like an easy job just don't want to flush whole system because of a new coolant brand.

[rjs987]

For the Burgman 650 it depends on which coolant is used. There is a Suzuki Long Life coolant and then there is the Suzuki Super Long Life coolant. Never mix coolant colors or types even if both can be used in the same engine. I still have a few bottles of the Suzuki Super Long Life coolant that I plan to use.
The Burgman 650 service manual calls for changing the coolant every 4 years or 29,000 miles (48,000 km), which ever comes first. I believe that is for the Super Long Life coolant. The Long Life coolant calls for every 2 years or 7000 miles.

As I said. Always a good idea to at least check it. Make sure it doesn't change color (that's bad) and that the level in the overflow bottle is where it should be. Inspection slot is on the left side in the front wheel well just in front of the slanted part of the left foot board. I will likely change coolant on my AK initially at the 12,000 mile interval and then put the Super Long Life coolant in for a longer interval. I have read about some Burgman 650 owners going well over twice that with no issues. One even stated he hadn't changed it in 10 years, but don't know how many miles he rides in a year.

I also think that it is a little overkill. How often does it get changed in a car? The service manual for my Honda CTX1300 says to change it at 24,000 miles with standard coolant. That's the same as the ST1300.

[kp]

Something that I would consider is maintaining the warranty. If you had a pump failure or a pump seal failure, for example, then they could play hardball and deny a warranty claim, imo.

[Kahuna_550]

Something that I would consider is maintaining the warranty. If you had a pump failure or a pump seal failure, for example, then they could play hardball and deny a warranty claim, imo.

Know this guy on YouTube called @RiderGuy, his mechanical seal failed for water pump while still under warranty. Kymco claims that is not covered under the warranty so he just paid to get it fixed.

All these "warranties" are bubcus 💦👌💪anyway at the end of the day.

Not what we want to see here.
The 550 in question had a coolant leak. It was covered by Kymco and it was repaired  by his dealer.
It was off the road for a time while the dealer waited for parts.

Edited by the moderator.

Stig

[Kahuna_550]

What does your edit mean on my reply? That's what happened, it's not covered.

[rjs987]

I'd be real curious to know if it was the first or second year of warranty. The warranty coverage is different between the first and second year. Also, if it was determined that the seals were really no defective... IOW, there was a very occasional plop of coolant under the bike but the coolant level didn't drop (which is normal in certain conditions)... but the owner claimed the seal was defective and was insisting it be replaced. In that case I can totally understand that the owner would need to pay for it. If it was a truly defective seal and there was found to be a constant drip under the bike so that a tray would need to be placed to catch it all, and the coolant level constantly dropped and needed to be regularly replenished, and possibly there was found to be coolant in the alternator casing, and it was the first year of warranty, then I would say it should be covered under warranty. The weep hole is in a gap between 2 seals on the shaft that passes from the alternator case to the water pump impeller with the intent of expelling the few drops of coolant that normally can seep through the first seal to prevent any from getting into the alternator case.

But I don't know all the details so cannot really comment if the end result was right or wrong.

[rjs987]

What does your edit mean on my reply? That's what happened, it's not covered.

Stig was just being ultra pro Kymco there and saying that the original post is not the "Kymco preferred" kind of comment. Even though it may be what really happened. I know a few Kymco dealers in my area who refuse to work on anything a big as the AK but they will work on the smaller Kymco scooters. I reported them to KymcoUSA who told me that they are violating their contract which requires them to work on the entire Kymco product line. That was when I was looking for the dealer to work on my issue which KymcoUSA told be was entirely warranty covered and which was repaired under warranty. Those dealers told me that Kymco did not cover them working on the AK which is false. That reply was from the dealer and not from Kymco.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Stig

[rjs987]

SO...

THAT'S the rest of the story!

I was wondering if that was what really happened. Sounds like another case of dealer being reluctant to provide proper service. Have had that happen with Honda and Suzuki as well but not as often called out about it.

[Kahuna_550]

Stig

Could have just replied with that instead hi jacking my comment ya Goofy Goober.

[NorWeWa]

On most Kymcos you need to remove the engine to service the water pump. The cost comes with the labor, and Kymco footing the bill.  I'm sure they want to warranty this when necessary.

Art 

[rjs987]

On most Kymcos you need to remove the engine to service the water pump. The cost comes with the labor, and Kymco footing the bill.  I'm sure they want to warranty this when necessary.

Art

I guess that makes it a bit easier and less labor on the AK. The alternator and water pump can be removed without removing the engine from the frame. Simply remove some of the plastic on the left side and those bits are exposed. The frame wraps around in front of and above those bits, but they hang below and are easily accessed.

[Neil955i]

Could have just replied with that instead hi jacking my comment ya Goofy Goober.

All that happened here is that inaccurate information was corrected. Did it really call for this response?

If you read a bit more of the postings on here, you’ll note that they are a bit more gentle than you seem used to, maybe from elsewhere on SM.