Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Chat about all makes of Maxi scoot here!
Post Reply
User avatar
roadster
Benefactor
Posts: 495
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2016 2:06 pm
Current Ride: Silence S01

Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by roadster »

The AK550 is now nearly two years old and although I have no problems as such I thought I should chase up the known issues before the warranty runs out. So I went back to the supplying dealer and sure enough there were three required fixes in the system which they had not made any attempt to contact me about.
One of them concerned the final drive with some changes to the belt and pulley alignment and some sort of modification to the front pulley. I had noticed a sort of twittering at low speeds so hopefully this won't come back.
The second is a change to the tyre pressure monitoring which reduces the frequency of communication with the sensors, presumably to reduce battery consumption in some way.
The third is an additional relay for the headlights plus some sort of electronics which doesn't switch them on until the engine is running. This required a major new section of wiring loom and it took two attempts by the dealer to get it working correctly. I had already replaced the battery and fitted a charging lead for an Optimate so I hope this will prolong its life and reduce the need for fortnightly charging during the winter months.

All the above were carried out free of charge which is certainly a good point for Kymco's customer support although it would have been better if they had contacted me because without forums such as this I wouldn't have known about them. I have now obtained a workshop manual and a wiring diagram via the internet so I feel much happier about keeping everything in good order. Final drive belt tensioning may still be a headache because the approved tool for doing this acoustically costs well over £500. But I do have readings from a simple spring type load/deflection tool so I can maintain it at the original tension.

It remains a great machine to ride and if they offered an updated version thats a bit lighter and has a more sensible fuel gauge or fuel range instrument I would buy it in a flash. Even better would be a hybrid version but it seems that hybrid scooters are still a pipe dream.
Located on UK South Coast
SYM Joymax 125 and Honda CB300R. Previously Silence S01, Kymco AK550, Triumph Tiger 850, Triumph Street Twin etc...

User avatar
Data
Benefactor
Posts: 3216
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:43 am
Current Ride: 2016 Vespa GTS300ie abs asr
Location: North Essex, UK

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by Data »

Good! Glad to hear everything going well.

Regarding the bikes updates. When it's not a recall issue some dealers often rely on you coming in for service, especially when the bike is under warranty, to tell you about this sort of stuff. Sometimes you get a phone call or letter about it from a dealer or the importer. We used to contact customers to make sure they were aware of any updates, but it depends on when the updates are available as to when you might get a call or letter. Usually no one got left out so I expect you would have eventually been contacted.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

MrGrumpy
Benefactor
Posts: 7109
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by MrGrumpy »

Interesting. Whilst the Tmax has visited the dealer for several service/safety recalls, I'm not aware of Yamaha ever doing 'upgrades' like this - though maybe the ECU remapping that they did at the first recall maybe in this category rather than a safety issue. But as you say, if no-one informs you about these things how can you have them done? And what about once the warranty expires - these upgrades are still useful, and if they are faults then they really should be fixed (free). Since I don't have a Yamaha dealer within 40 miles, my Tmax only visits one in emergencies or recalls, so I'd never find out about such fixes!

User avatar
Data
Benefactor
Posts: 3216
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:43 am
Current Ride: 2016 Vespa GTS300ie abs asr
Location: North Essex, UK

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by Data »

Grumpy, it's well worth asking your dealer from time to time about updates for your bike. Many are free. If they are only minor things you won't be contacted about them, but ecu updates can be priceless. My Vespa had a free ecu update some while ago after I asked if there were any updates. They scanned my bike and told me there was and did it for free. I do however spend huge amounts of money with them on parts for bikes that I service, although I do all my own work on bikes I own.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

User avatar
Ralph
Posts: 965
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:20 am
Current Ride: Yamaha X-max 300 300
Location: Near Fleetwood

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by Ralph »

Once rolled up at a BMW dealers on a R80 noticed the owner having a good look
when he came in he told me it had a recall outstanding for the front wheel and
could I come back tomorrow, they fitted a new wheel, bearings and tyre, no
charge, how long had the recall been outstanding? over 15 years.
Ralph
Nr Fleetwood
Yamaha X-max 300
Ariel NG 350
AJS Model 18S.

icon_maxi_scoot.gif


Image

Image

Image

MrGrumpy
Benefactor
Posts: 7109
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:50 pm
Current Ride: T-max mk6
Location: Teesside UK

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by MrGrumpy »

Data wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:23 am If they are only minor things you won't be contacted about them, but ecu updates can be priceless. My Vespa had a free ecu update some while ago after I asked if there were any updates.
Yeah - the remap of mine seemed to greatly alleviate a weird off-throttle surging issue that I was having (that no-one else seems to have suffered!). Don't know if it was actually intended to fix it, but it did!

User avatar
Data
Benefactor
Posts: 3216
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:43 am
Current Ride: 2016 Vespa GTS300ie abs asr
Location: North Essex, UK

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by Data »

Yeah, sometimes just a reflash of the original software does the trick but most things are fixable these days with modern ecu tech.
Probably not ugly enough for the 'Ugly Bunch'! :lol:

Been riding for 54 years & owned too many bikes to list here...

Biglee 123
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:28 pm
Current Ride: Kymco400i

Re: Kymco AK550 nearing end of warranty

Post by Biglee 123 »

Hi all in regards to service parts for this scooter I use a company called wemmoto there oil and air filters are really cheap I ordered 3 oil filters a d and a recharge kit and a plug came to 33 quid all in delivered I have the kymco400i

Post Reply