AK550 variators and pulley info.

[bryan0101]

Hi greeting,
    I'm a riding in North America new to Kymco. Juts got myself a AK550 and its a fantastic machine. But since there are not that many people riding scooters in NA, its not easy to learn about the variator+pulley mechanism, aa well aa recommendation for aftermarket parts.
    If anyone here have recommendation for ak55 variators/pulley_combo, please post here and lets discuss. I see there are diff solutions from polini, malossi, dr.pulley and j.costa, with varying cost.

Cheers
Bryan

[Stig / Major Tom]

Welcome to the forum Bryan~!

Stig

[rjs987]

One owner on the ADV rider forum replaced the stock rollers and contra-spring with a set from Dr.Pulley. He posted about it here:
https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/kymco-ak550-in-the-usa-for-2021.1470001/page-20#post-42046092
And gave a little more detail in following posts from that one.

In previous posts to what I linked to on ADV that same rider replaced the wind shield with one from Givi. And he also replaced the stock passenger handles to add a Givi rear mounting plate for a Givi Monokey top case.

I've also added that Givi rear bracket and plate to my AK 550 but I don't plan to get the top case just yet and just use the plate as a luggage rack.

Shad has the full luggage setup to add any of their top cases as well as saddlebags and also a step through tunnel bag designed for the AK 550.

I've orderd several things from Taiwan Big Scooter Shop, https://taiwanbigscootershop.com/collections/ak550, including brake pads and the CVT belt. And also I installed the storage box divider that I bought from AliExpress.

There are aftermarket parts and gadgets available if you look around the web... but most likely you'll be ordering from outside the USA to get them. Not really a bad thing but that's just where the stuff is found.

[Stig / Major Tom]

Curious....simply - what were the results of those modifications to the CVT?
Stig

[rjs987]

Curious....simply - what were the results of those modifications to the CVT?
Stig

A bit faster acceleration and higher rpm a little sooner. But that depends on the roller/slider weight you get as well as the spring strength. Heavier rollers = rpm ramps up faster resulting in a bit more torque sooner and a little faster acceleration. Less strong contra spring = something similar. There needs to be balance between the roller weights and spring strength. Also, using sliders instead of rollers sometimes allows more range of pulley ratios... the belt can ride higher in the variator pulley.

But IMO it's a lot of work for very minor changes. I'm good with the factory settings and have no plans to modify my CVT like that. I think acceleration of my AK is more than good and I spend all my riding time in the rpm mid-range so any change that increases rpm won't really be useful to me. It would just lower my mpg.

[Super Dirt Dud]

So I also have a new ak550 and have 5600 miles on it and it says it needs an oil change I picked up the filters now I need some oil .
What kind of oil do you recommend synthetic or plain old oil and what weight does it take . Also there is a oil change light on so I guess I need to get rid of that .
I never read the manual in regards to what they recommend so let me know what you guys do .
I believe that I will get a 15 roller set and a 16 roller set but the tool to hold the basket was on backorder last time I checked .
This bike is a blast in sweeper covers as is but in hair pin cork screw up hill it is a little weak so over the winter I will install some rollers .
Good luck with your new ride they are a blast my back tire is showing a little wear but otherwise it has been a blast .
Also I reached 110 on this stead not Harley type power but it does great for a scooter !

[Super Dirt Dud]

Bob I found your post on ADV rider about the oil changes great post with all the little oily details .

[rjs987]

Bob I found your post on ADV rider about the oil changes great post with all the little oily details .

I also put that post here in the Technical/How To sub forum here:
https://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=32739.0

I also noted what oil I use in that first post.
Somewhere I read that Kymco does recommend full synthetic oil.

There are several posts about technical stuff in that sub forum. One I saw even about replacing the variator with an aftermarket one.