Kymco AK 550 brake pad cross reference

[rjs987]

Found a cross reference for the AK 550 front brake pads. I emailed my dealer last week and they sent me a price for the pads for both sets in front as well as the rear pad set. The AK 550 has 2 disks in front so need 2 sets of pads. The AK uses Brembo brakes which are the same as on some BMW, Ducati, and other bigger bikes. The dealer listed an EBC brake pad for the front sets but the official Kymco AK 550 pads for the rear set.

The front pads cross to an EBC FA630HH which is the same pads used on the BMW R1200GS and the Ducati Monster 821 bikes. Amazon has them for a good price currently at $34.32 per pad set. To order the Kymco pads from TBS costs more than double that. The only difference I can see is that the EBC pads are not segmented like the official Kymco front pads are. Having segments aids in cooling mostly but I never intend to need to max out the braking capacity envelop. I know, I know... no one ever does.

I have not found any cross for the rear pads yet so I did order the official Kymco AK 550 brake pads for the rear brakes from TBS for $25 + $12 shipping.

I really am not even close to needing any brake pads just yet but wanted to have them on hand since they have a very long shelf life and prices will only go up. I am waiting on ordering the front pad sets since I want to do a little more searching on those. I really don't expect to find a better option however. If/when I do order those from Amazon I will need to pull one of the front pads to verify that the EBC pads will fit the same before the return window expires. But that's only one pad pin to remove and a spring clip and the pads lift out. Looks to be the easiest pad replacement I've ever known on any bike I've owned. I may not even have to remove the caliper at all. Though I have had those off when I replaced the tires.

[rjs987]

Did find the rear pads cross reference...
EBC SFA719

But those are not available in the USA... yet.

[Neil955i]

Interesting Rob, thanks. On the odd occasion (955i) I’ve kept a ‘bike long enough to need pads EBC have been my go to brand. Good results. So far never needed pads for a scooter - if you ignore the new rears I had thrown in with a new rear caliper for the X-Town replaced under warranty!

[Stig / Major Tom]

So far never needed pads for a scooter -

Yeah, agreed - still I bought the pads when I bought the LIKE200i - who knew they'd still look this good 10 yrs on?!
Figured I'd put the new ones in while I had things apart for the new rear tire. Scoot and I'd be good for another 10 yrs, knock on wood!
Nylon wedges keep things 'safed' until I slip it back on the disc.



Stig

[rjs987]

I've run through a second set of pads on 3 of the bikes I've owned.

I use a regular paint stir stick wrapped with a few layers of card stock for a perfect fit between the pads when I take the calipers off. Similar to using the nylon wedges. I cut the stick into 2 sticks, one for each of the front calipers when I remove/replace that wheel.

[Stig / Major Tom]

I've run through a second set of pads on 3 of the bikes I've owned.

I use a regular paint stir stick wrapped with a few layers of card stock for a perfect fit between the pads when I take the calipers off. Similar to using the nylon wedges. I cut the stick into 2 sticks, one for each of the front calipers when I remove/replace that wheel.

When one putters around at 35mph in the dark - brake pads can last a very long time 🙂
Stig

[NorWeWa]

When I take a caliper off, I usually spray some brake cleaner on the bake pistons and work the pistons in and out some. Not worried about maintaining the piston position. 

Art 

[Neil955i]

Yeah, agreed - still I bought the pads when I bought the LIKE200i - who knew they'd still look this good 10 yrs on?!
Figured I'd put the new ones in while I had things apart for the new rear tire. Scoot and I'd be good for another 10 yrs, knock on wood!
Nylon wedges keep things 'safed' until I slip it back on the disc.

Stig

Does this mean that Like wheel may be going back in this week Stig?

[rjs987]

Yesterday I received the rear brake pads that I ordered from Taiwan Big Scooter Shop. Official Kymco rear brake pads for the Brembo brakes
https://taiwanbigscootershop.com/collections/ak550/products/kymco-original-parts-brake-pad-for-ak550?variant=39519459442787

I was looking at the front brake pads I have in my wish list on Amazon (EBC FA630HH) and was looking for a reason a single pair of pads cost less than half the price of a double set. I would need 2 pairs of pads for the front end since there are 2 calipers up front. The double set is really just 2 packages of one pair each. What I noticed was that the double set was described as FRONT pads and the single pair was described as REAR pads. But the only difference I could find was that one was a double set and one was a single and sometimes on Amazon that is all that is needed for that statement in the description on Amazon. At least it is in this case. Anyway, there is no difference between those pads other than how many come with an order. I plan to buy 2 single pairs of the pads for a total less than $75. Taiwan Big Scooter Shop has the official Kymco branded pads at $75 for just 1 single pair so Amazon has them for half that price. From my research there is no real difference between the official Kymco pads and the EBC pads other than the branding stamped into the pad backing.

[rjs987]

Today I received the first half of my order for the front brake pads from Amazon.
I had ordered a 2 pack of a pair of EBC FA630HH. That would be a total of 4 pads... 2 for each caliper up front where there is a caliper on both sides of the front wheel.
Amazon's price for this 2 pk item has been fluctuating between $84-$85 for a long time now and then on March 24 it dropped to just less than $48. So I put in my order. The next day it went up $10 higher and now is back to $84. It is a 2 pk with 2 pads in each blister pack. For some reason they were shipped separately so I received one blister pack today and the other still shows on the way.

I wanted to verify myself that these will work so I pulled a pad out on one side to compare and these are an almost exact match. I say almost because the pad material itself is one solid segment for the entire pad and the OEM pad has a few segments. The OEM configuration allows for better cooling but I think that will only come into play in doing a lot of hard braking. Otherwise these EBC pads are an exact match for size and shape and fit.

Pulling the front brake pads out to replace is a VERY easy task on the AK. There is a pad pin clip to pull out (can be done by hand!). Then the pad pin uses a 30 mm eTorx to remove. The pad spring pulls out easily and then the pads pull out VERY easily. Inserting everything is just the reverse. Since I had the pad pin out I sanded the little bit of rust off of it using an emery cloth and then lubed with Silicone grease. The brake pad replacement on these Brembo brake calipers is the easiest I've ever done on any bike or car... ever!

The Brembo FA630HH pads are a common item used on Ducati and BMW bikes so will be around for a very long time.

I don't need to replace brake pads yet, but I like to have them on hand since they do have a very long shelf life. Rubber parts, like belts and tires, I like to wait until just before I need them since they can get old and degraded sitting in the garage for a long time.

Edit: I found out that the reason I only received one set instead of two sets of pads is that the seller listed them as a 2 set by mistake. They were really only a single set of pads. The price was outstanding for 2 sets of pads but not for a single set so I returned the pads using the free return label provided by the seller. I don't need the pads at this time so I can still wait and watch the fluctuation of pricing for the single set of pads and buy them when the price is low.

[rjs987]

For those with the AK 550 who don't want to go with the HH series sintered brake pads another option would be the EBC FA630V. These are listed as semi-sintered and cost a little less than the sintered pads.