[rjs987]

Is it easy to check the coolant level? Is it a pain to replace the air filter?

Those 2 items are actually the easiest things to check. The coolant level can be checked by looking at a slot in the front wheel well just like with the Burgman 650. The coolant fill cap is even easier to get to and is under the left sloped part of the foot board mat under a small door with one screw there (at the top end of the coolant tank as shown in the above naked photo).

The air filter access is the cover in the step over hump. 4 plastic rivets come out (2 of them behind the glove box doors but can be removed simply by opening the doors). Then 4 screws that hold the air filter in place. This photo is shows the step over hump with the cover off and the air filter pulled out when I checked it this August. BTW, when I first brought my AK home I pulled out the air filter just to see how to get it out and check what it looked like new. This photo is about 6000 miles and the filter looks the same as when new.

And this photo shows where that is.

 

[Dave_J]

Just saying, IF I start making trikes, the 2007 up AN400 and this Kymco AK 550 are my top two picks for power.

 

[rjs987]

Just saying, IF I start making trikes, the 2007 up AN400 and this Kymco AK 550 are my top two picks for power.

You know that Kymco does already have the CV3 model... which is like the MP3 using the AK 550 for a base. Just not available in the USA.
Here is the link to the UK page for it: Kymco CV3 | Kymco UK

 

[mike1nw]

Ok.
Engine > mechanical CVT 🙂 > shaft > clutch > gear reduction? > shaft > rear wheel belt drive?
What controls the clutch, is it centripetal force?
Think there's one at local dealer 🙂

 

[rjs987]

Ok.
Engine > mechanical CVT 🙂 > shaft > clutch > gear reduction? > shaft > rear wheel belt drive?
What controls the clutch, is it centripetal force?
Think there's one at local dealer 🙂

Yes, the clutch is also mechanically activated. Centrifugal force operated with weights like many modern scooter clutches.

I determined from personal experience that the clutch on my Burgman 650 would just begin to engage at between 1800-1900 rpm, but not really enough to overcome me holding it still with just my feet on the ground (no brakes). At around 2200 rpm the Burgman clutch would solidly engage. When slowing down to a stop the Burgman 650 clutch would remain engaged and then suddenly let go at about 1500 rpm.

The clutch on the AK 550 is similar. Hard to pin down precisely what the rpm is when it engages or releases though since the tach is in bars of about 500 rpm for each bar. But the clutch does seem to react at close to the same rpm as the Burgman for engaging and releasing... maybe 100-200 higher.

You have the order correct:
Engine crankshaft > mechanical CVT > shaft > clutch > gear reduction > shaft > final drive forward sprocket for belt drive > belt drive > rear sprocket/rear wheel.

BTW, since we are writing about it... On the Burgman 650 the reduction gear set (called the "transmission" by Suzuki) has a separate oil reserve from any other part of the engine (oil seal/bearing between clutch and reduction gear set) and must be replaced separately same as the engine oil change. On the AK 550 the reduction gear set is open to the same oil reserve as the engine and clutch and all 3 share the same sump. There are 2 oil drain plugs since there is a small partition between the engine and clutch but that is only like a half wall preventing ALL the oil from being drained through just one drain plug. There is just a very small amount of oil that would remain on one side or the other. Maybe just over a pint total (half a quart) divided between the engine and clutch sides. An oil and filter change only needs 2.7L (2.85 quarts). The AK doesn't need much oil compared to other bikes I've owned.

 

[NewNC_Rider]

And then I had done some emailing to Kymco, asking where there was a 550 in stock, so I could at least SIT on the freakin scoot before I ordered one. (There's a Suzuki dealer maybe four miles from me, where I'd get my oil filters and suchlike, who also happens to sell Kymco. But they only have the little ones; the owner offered to order a 550 for me, but I put that off.)

In any case, Kymco never got back to me, after several attempts. And I couldn't locate a showroom model within a thousand miles or so, if at all. Much as @rjs987 has detailed his rides and maintenance and satisfaction with the 550, I refuse to order a bike that I haven't at least sat on, at a dealer's, Americade, the NYC Cycle Show, etc., no matter how much I read about one. (My first sit-down on a Big Burger was at the NYC show in late 2006 or early 2007, as was my first sit-down on a Victory Cross Country Tour, in late 2011; I bought both a few months after each test-sit.)

Head to Honda Sea-Doo in Clemmons, North Carolina. Last time I visited my local cycle shop, there were two Kymco 550's in stock and I sat on both of them... Honda, Sea-Doo & Can-Am of Winston-Salem · 6209 Ramada Dr, Clemmons, NC 27012 They have a fabulous array of color choices! Metallic Gray and Flat Gray.

 

[Ron Moropito]

What is with the recent lack of colour choices on many bikes/scooters? Last few years the manufacturers seem to have decided "boring" is an appropriate colour choice. The dull colours do NOT enhance visibility of your machines on the road. Be interesting to see if there are any statistics about frequency of road accidents, versus paint colour for both bikes and cars.

 

[mike1nw]

/\ Yes!
My Cannondale 29er is metallic acid green. Not the alternative color dark matte gray. Every bit helps.

 

[wspollack]

Head to Honda Sea-Doo in Clemmons, North Carolina. Last time I visited my local cycle shop, there were two Kymco 550's in stock and I sat on both of them... Honda, Sea-Doo & Can-Am of Winston-Salem · 6209 Ramada Dr, Clemmons, NC 27012 They have a fabulous array of color choices! Metallic Gray and Flat Gray.

Thanks for the info, and for thinking of my travails. While that shop is about 700 miles from me, it's only about 140 miles from my daughter, whom I visit once or twice a year, in Asheville.

However, my potential interest in the AK550 -- and all other scooters -- was set aside last May, as I bought a brand new scoot then. See:

Ordered a C 400 GT BMW Today

Well, looks like I'll be drifting away from the forum again (i.e., I owned an '07 Exec from 2007 - 2012, and bought an '08 Exec in 2016, so I was absent for the intervening four years). My wife and I just got back yesterday from two and a half weeks in Europe. During that time, we were riding...

www.burgmanusa.com

 

[darter6]

Nevada Power Sports,Henderson Nevada, had 4 550's a few months ago.
I was very tempted to trade my Burgman 200.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Nevada Power Sports,Henderson Nevada, had 4 550's a few months ago.
I was very tempted to trade my Burgman 200.

Wow! I stopped by there before. I always thought they were a Ma and Pa type of scooter shop. Compared to all the Ride Now Powersport shops. If they are selling good here maybe we'll see one pop up on Craigslist Las Vegas someday. Have not seen any on the street though. Happy with my Burgman 400 for now. Paid for, farkled, just need to add gas and fluids.